Abstract:
Identityingeneralandethnicidentityaspartofsocialidentity,isaslipperyconceptthat
canbeseenfromdifferentperspective.Byusingacombinationofsocialidentitytheory,
self-identificationtheorywithmarginalmanapproach,thestudyfocusedonthe
experiencesofindividualsofmixedethnicidentity,inanefforttoexploredimensionsof
identification,identitysalienceandperceivedbenefitsandchallengesofdescendingfrom
twodifferentethnicgroups.Qualitativeresearchapproachemphasizingoninterpretive
phenomenologicaldesignisused.Thisstudyexaminedtheseissuesthroughin-depth
interviewwithSevenpurposelyselectedstudentsattheUniversityofGondar.Athematic
dataanalysistechniquewasadopted.Thus,findingsillustratethatindividualsofmixed
ethnicheritageidentifythemselvesinto(1)eitheroftheirparents’ethnicgroup,(2)mixed
ethnicidentificationand(3)‘neithernor’ethnicidentification.Onthebasisofidentity
salience,religiousandgenderidentityappearedasalientidentityofindividualsofmixed
ethnicheritage.Moreover,individualsofmixedheritageexperienceopportunitiessuchas
flexibilityinethnicidentification,broadersocialnetwork,andpluralisticworldview.
Conversely,challengeslikeidentitydilemma,contradictionbetweenselfandsocietal
identification,forcedchoicedilemmaandmisrecognitionarenotedaschallengesof
descendingfromparentsofdifferentethnicheritage.Itisnotedthatexperiencesofethnic
identificationisaccompaniedbythedynamicsofsocietalandpersonaltraits.Itisalso
boundedbytheinterplayofsocietyandanindividual.
