How do you feel about your name?

Names and how we feel about them are linked to our sense of self-identity. For people with non-Western names in Western English-speaking contexts, this relationship can be complicated. My Name Is explores verbatim narratives from research participants who have non-Western names, examining how individuals view their relationships with their names, how names impact self-identity, and how names can correlate to the pressure to conform with westernized English norms.

An extension of the My Name Is® research project and award-winning documentary, this book shares valuable lived experience as well as looking at the importance of getting names right.

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Acknowledgements
• Abstract
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Understanding name identity using Whiteness ecology theory
  • Classifications
  • What is Whiteness ecology?
  • Ecological Whiteness
  • Chronosystem
  • Macrosystem and exosystem
  • Mesosystem and microsystem
• 2 My name is Javeria
  • Introduction
  • Meet “Jo”, the artist formerly known as “Javeria”
  • Struggling with “Javeria”
  • Finding Javeria …
  • Returning to Javeria
  • Applying Whiteness ecology theory to Javeria’s story
    • Chronosystem
  • Macrosystem and exosystem
  • Mesosystem and microsystem
    • Javeria’s attempts at assimilating into a Whiteness ecology
• 3 My name is Dheeraj
  • Introduction
  • The past
  • Acting
  • Uber for Dheeraj?
  • Reflections
  • Two sides to me
  • Perceived shifts in British attitudes towards ethnicity and race
  • The future
  • Applying Whiteness ecology to a backdrop of messy colonial histories of migration and nationality
• 4 My name is Pereko
  • Introduction
  • Growing up in South Africa
  • Significance of my name
  • Carrying my identity in my name
  • Navigating name identity
  • Importance of names
  • Whiteness ecology in a still colonial context
• 5 My name is Sahil
  • Introduction
  • About me
  • Growing up
  • Name experiences
  • Meaning of my name
  • Pronouncing my name
  • Compromising in Whiteness ecology
• 6 My name is Armen
  • Introduction
  • Where I grew up
  • Pronouncing my name
  • In the past
  • And now
  • Acting life
  • Importance of names
  • Changes to the Whiteness ecology over time
• 7 My name is Syra
  • Background
  • Pronunciation
  • In the past
  • Making an effort to get a name right
  • My relationship with my name (changes over time)
• 8 My name is Phoenix
  • About me
  • My background
  • Impact of my art on my name identity
  • Being Phoenix
  • Navigating the two-name identities
  • Married life and exposure to others’ cultural name navigations
  • Affirming Phoenix
• 9 My name is Teeroumanee
  • Racial and cultural background
  • Racial and cultural ramifications to name pronunciation
  • My relationship with my name
• 10 My name is Georgina
  • My name and its origins
  • Moving to the UK
  • When returning to South Africa
  • Identifying with my name
• 11 My name is Musarrat
  • My name and its cultural ties
  • Growing up
  • Temptations to abbreviate or anglicise the name?
  • The turning point
• 12 My name is Suryani
  • My name and the meaning behind it
  • Growing up and my journey to “Yani”
  • Getting a name right
• 13 The themes
• Notes
• Recommended discussion topics
• References
• Recommended further reading
• Index

Javeria K. Shah, PhD, is an interdisciplinary academic specialising in sociology, media studies, education, inclusion, and policy. She holds academic and senior management positions at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, and frequently serves as a guest lecturer at various universities. In addition to her university roles, she is a member of several boards, including the Young Vic and a Community Advisory Group within the London Mayor’s Office. Javeria also co-chairs the Anti-Racist Teacher Education Network (ARTEN) at the Centre for Race, Education, and Decoloniality at Leeds Beckett University. She founded the Social Performance Network in 2018 and is a prominent advocate for inclusive practices and pedagogy in the UK.

How much does your name shape your identity?

This book is extension of the My Name Is® research project and award-winning documentary that explores the experiences of individuals with non-western first names, its link to their identity, and how it correlates to pressures of conforming to westernized English norms.

More info: https://mynameisdocumentary.com