Re-creating identities: postwar Dutch Reformed immigrants in southern Alberta
Date
2016
Authors
Schalk, Lisa L.
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
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Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of History
Abstract
This thesis examines how postwar Dutch immigrants who came to southern Alberta re-created their self-understanding in light of their new situations. Oral history interviews which I conducted with nine of these postwar Dutch immigrants are the main sources for this study and are integral throughout. Because the nine individuals whom I interviewed were all members of Calvinist Reformed churches, both in the Netherlands and in southern Alberta, my study focuses on that segment of the Dutch immigrant population. I argue that, despite the dislocation they felt and the steep learning curve they experienced after immigrating, the nine individuals whom I interviewed re-created their identities in southern Alberta by firmly grounding themselves in the various Reformed churches and church communities which they joined and created.
Description
Keywords
Dutch immigrants , Dutch Reformed churches , identity , oral history interviews , postwar immigration , southern Alberta