Dancing, drawing, and crossing ethnic boundaries

Colombia's worsening economic and political conditions have caused immigration to spiral, making Colombians the largest South American group in the United States. The case of Colombian youth calls for particular attention because of the negative stereotypes associated with Colombia, namely those involving drugs and violence. This dissertation is a case study of seven young Colombian immigrant participants of a Boston-based program that taught them Colombian folk dancing. The dance group increased the participants' connection to their culture promoting positive development and resilience. However, the fact that it was composed of only Colombians raised the question of whether programs like this, which are designed to deepen adolescents' connections to their own culture, in fact prevent them from positively engaging with people from other cultures. Three research questions guided this study: How do these youth identify themselves broadly and more specifically in terms of their ethnic identity? How do they draw ethnic boundaries with non-Colombians in the context of their experiences in a dance program that emphasizes their ethnicity? Do ethnic identity and social awareness abilities interact within the context of these youth's lives and immigration experiences resulting in particular ways of drawing ethnic boundaries? To answer these questions, the study employed a multicultural dilemma in which subjects had to decide whether to let non-Colombians participate in the group. Responses were analyzed using three frameworks: Phinney's ethnic identity development theory was used to assess youths' sense of identity; Berry's acculturation theory was used to explore the way they drew ethnic boundaries with non-Colombians; and Selman's developmental framework on social perspective coordination was used to assess social awareness abilities. Overall, these findings shed light on how to develop tolerance, which is necessary in a democratic context where differences abound. However, just developing higher-level perspective coordination abilities is not sufficient. In some cases, allowing youth to develop a non-conflicted sense of ethnic identity can help them form a multicultural orientation towards others, especially when they live in a context where Colombians are a stigmatized ethnic minority. It is essential to understand how participation in programs like this dance group help or hinder different domains of human development. This dissertation is a first step towards this goal.