Collaborative Identity Decolonization as Reclaiming Narrative Agency: Identity Work of Bengali Communities on Quora

Title of the Paper

Collaborative Identity Decolonization: Agency as Re-Narration — Identity Work of the Bengali Community on Quora

Bibliographic Information

• Research Areas: Decolonization studies, identity construction, human-computer interaction, social computing
• Keywords: Bengali, Quora, identity, colonialism, decolonization, collective identity, narrative, cross-cultural

Research Background and Issues

• Issues and Challenges:
  • The profound impact of colonialism on local cultures and identities continues to persist in the post-colonial era, leading to identity marginalization.
  • There is a lack of research on how information and communication technologies (ICT) can support communities affected by colonialism in reconstructing, repairing, and strengthening their identities.
• Significance:
  • Colonialism has globally influenced cultural, social, and political structures. Therefore, studying how local communities use online platforms to resist these impacts and reinforce their identities holds significant social and academic value.
• Research Motivation:
  • Although identity experiments in human-computer interaction research have extensively explored topics such as gender, race, and class, studies on the decolonization process of identity construction are scarce.
  • Understanding how the Bengali community engages in cultural restoration and identity work through Quora can expand the understanding of identity decolonization.
• Related Work:
  • In recent years, decolonization and post-colonial theories have provided theoretical frameworks for describing the relationship between colonialism and technology design. However, the role of online platforms in identity decolonization remains underexplored.

Solution

• Research Methods:
  • Employing the "Trace Ethnography" method to analyze question-and-answer threads on the Bengali-language Quora (BnQuora) platform.
  • Utilizing Poka Laenui's five-stage framework of decolonization as an analytical tool, including: Rediscovery and Recovery, Mourning, Dreaming, Commitment, and Action.
• Innovative Contributions:
  • Introducing "narrative resilience" as a new perspective for recovering from colonial impacts.
  • Highlighting how social media facilitates decolonization in identity work, with an analysis of how Quora serves as a critical medium for validating regional culture and decolonial narratives.
• Implementation Steps:
  • Data Collection: Combining purposive sampling and snowball sampling to collect question-and-answer data from the BnQuora platform, ultimately analyzing 1,471 threads.
  • Data Coding: Conducting open coding of the collected textual data to identify key themes in user discussions.
  • Theoretical Framework Alignment: Integrating coding results into Poka Laenui's decolonization framework for analysis.

Research Findings

• Specific Findings:
  • Identified five critical stages in the decolonization process and the strategies employed by users at each stage:
    1. Rediscovery and Recovery: Collective discussions of colonial history to redefine and restore local culture and identity.
    2. Mourning: Users engage in collective grief and healing over colonial trauma through playful predictive identity narratives.
    3. Dreaming: Users envision a more unified future that transcends existing geopolitical boundaries.
    4. Commitment: Users rebuild collaboration across identity affiliations by emphasizing shared goals.
    5. Action: Leveraging platform connectivity to address long-standing cultural fractures and misunderstandings, restoring socio-cultural structures and proposing specific future improvements.
• Advantages:
  • Compared to other platforms, BnQuora enables users to express themselves more freely in their native language, providing a culturally sensitive space for identity reconstruction and decolonization.
• Experimental Evaluation:
  • The study indicates that discussions on Quora not only facilitate the reconstruction of collective identity but also promote collaborative relationships within the community, such as redefining cultural fluidity and cross-cultural interaction patterns.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • Limitations: Data is sourced from a single platform, BnQuora; findings primarily reflect the experiences of Bengali and Indian users, with limited insights into Pakistani users.
  • Future Directions:
    • Cross-platform exploration: Expanding the study to other online platforms (e.g., YouTube and Facebook).
    • Observing how online discussions translate into real-world actions, particularly their impact on regional politics and socio-economic reforms.

Conclusion and Outlook

• Academic Significance:
  • Introduced the new concept of "narrative resilience," offering a fresh perspective for theoretical research on identity dynamics and coping mechanisms.
  • Emphasized the intersection between decolonial discourse and social computing research.
• Practical Significance:
  • Highlighted the importance of designing culturally adaptive platforms, particularly technologies that support marginalized communities in expressing their identities.