On the Tightrope Between Worlds: The Dramaturgy of Acculturation

Abstract

Acculturation is a stage where individuals act as directors, choreographers, performers, audiences, and critics of their own behavior. This paper examines how migrants negotiate identity, authenticity, and performativity while adapting to a new cultural context. Migrants face pressures to craft and present intelligible, socially competent, and authentic selves, often at the expense of their pre-migration identities, their overall sense of identity coherence, and sometimes their close relationships. Drawing on philosophical and psychological literature on authenticity, including Goffman’s dramaturgical theory, we explore how migrants experiment with self-reinvention, juggle multiple identities, and manage personal and relational costs. While performative adaptation can facilitate social integration and personal growth, it may also generate relational disconnection, chronic self-monitoring, and psychological strain, highlighting the delicate balance between cultural adaptation and maintaining continuity with one’s prior self. We discuss all these phenomena through the lens of the actor’s performance art.