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Oral history interview with Kanwal Rahman, July 15, 1999 [electronic resource] : interview K-0817, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).

Summary:

Kanwal Rahman left Bangladesh for the United States in 1991, looking forward to earning a public health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The second thoughts she had as soon as she got on the plane were compounded by her workload; feeling alone and overworked, she wanted at once to return home. She stayed on, however, determined to prove her worth and hopeful that she might use her success to benefit her home country. Eight years later, at the time of this interview, Rahman has found her niche, and some good friends, in the Chapel Hill area. But she has not lost that sense of connection with Bangladesh, and feels acutely the sense of separation from her family there. In this interview, she reflects on her experience and her efforts at adjustment. One of the most difficult adjustments to make was embracing the American ethic of independence, the opposite of the interdependent, even dependent, posture she learned as one of five daughters of a very successful father. In making this adjustment, Rahman uncovered hidden strengths, but concedes, too, that she worries for her future as a single Asian woman in America. This concern dramatizes her enduring connection to Bangladeshi culture and the way in which assimilation challenges the core of at least one immigrant's sense of self.

Electronic resources

Record details

  • Physical Description: 1 online resource
  • Edition: Electronic edition
  • Publisher: [Chapel Hill, N.C.] : University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2007.

Content descriptions

General Note:
Duration: 00:44:17.
Interview participants: Kanwal Rahman, interviewee; Rajika Bhandari, interviewer.
Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.
This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.
Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 25, 2008).
Type of Computer File or Data Note:
Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 96 kilobytes, 81.0 megabytes.
Original Version Note:
Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0817, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 25 p.
Funding Information Note:
Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.
System Details Note:
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
System requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.
Subject:
Rahman, Kanwal > Interviews.
Americanization.
Autonomy (Psychology) > United States.
Bangladeshi Americans > Cultural assimilation > North Carolina > Chapel Hill.
Bangladeshi Americans > North Carolina > Chapel Hill > Interviews.
Women immigrants > North Carolina > Chapel Hill > Interviews.

Accessibility Features

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1001 . ‡aRahman, Kanwal. ‡einterviewee
24510. ‡aOral history interview with Kanwal Rahman, July 15, 1999 ‡h[electronic resource] : ‡binterview K-0817, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
2461 . ‡iAlso cited as: ‡aInterview K-0817, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
24630. ‡aInterview with Kanwal Rahman, July 15, 1999
250 . ‡aElectronic edition
264 1. ‡a[Chapel Hill, N.C.] : ‡bUniversity Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, ‡c2007.
300 . ‡a1 online resource
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500 . ‡aDuration: 00:44:17.
500 . ‡aInterview participants: Kanwal Rahman, interviewee; Rajika Bhandari, interviewer.
500 . ‡aText encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.
500 . ‡aThis electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.
500 . ‡aTitle from menu page (viewed on Nov. 25, 2008).
516 . ‡aText (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 96 kilobytes, 81.0 megabytes.
520 . ‡aKanwal Rahman left Bangladesh for the United States in 1991, looking forward to earning a public health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The second thoughts she had as soon as she got on the plane were compounded by her workload; feeling alone and overworked, she wanted at once to return home. She stayed on, however, determined to prove her worth and hopeful that she might use her success to benefit her home country. Eight years later, at the time of this interview, Rahman has found her niche, and some good friends, in the Chapel Hill area. But she has not lost that sense of connection with Bangladesh, and feels acutely the sense of separation from her family there. In this interview, she reflects on her experience and her efforts at adjustment. One of the most difficult adjustments to make was embracing the American ethic of independence, the opposite of the interdependent, even dependent, posture she learned as one of five daughters of a very successful father. In making this adjustment, Rahman uncovered hidden strengths, but concedes, too, that she worries for her future as a single Asian woman in America. This concern dramatizes her enduring connection to Bangladeshi culture and the way in which assimilation challenges the core of at least one immigrant's sense of self.
534 . ‡pOriginal version: ‡tSouthern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0817, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡nOriginal transcript: 25 p.
536 . ‡aFunding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.
538 . ‡aMode of access: World Wide Web.
538 . ‡aSystem requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.
60010. ‡aRahman, Kanwal ‡vInterviews.
650 0. ‡aAmericanization. ‡0(CARDINAL)229422
650 0. ‡aAutonomy (Psychology) ‡zUnited States.
650 0. ‡aBangladeshi Americans ‡xCultural assimilation ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zChapel Hill.
650 0. ‡aBangladeshi Americans ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zChapel Hill ‡vInterviews.
650 0. ‡aWomen immigrants ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zChapel Hill ‡vInterviews.
7001 . ‡aBhandari, Rajika. ‡einterviewer
7102 . ‡aSouthern Oral History Program. ‡0(CARDINAL)315877
7102 . ‡aUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡bDocumenting the American South (Project) ‡0(CARDINAL)530366
7102 . ‡aUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡bLibrary. ‡0(CARDINAL)155444
7400 . ‡aOral histories of the American South.
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