Migration Experiences, Learning and Identity (Re)construction: An Analysis of the Autobiographical Story of Neža Gerkšič, a.k.a. Agnes Lacroix

Abstract

Migration is an important life transition that creates opportunities for both learning and the (re)construction of identity. In this article, we discuss the migration experiences of great aunt Neža Gerkšič, a.k.a. Agnes Lacroix, as a field of learning being interpreted through the theory of biographical learning. Biographical learning is treated as a process occurring in everyday life and the (re)construction of identity, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. The study, following the phenomenological paradigm of qualitative research, was developed on the basis of an autobiographical record that includes the entire course of Neža's life and all her migrations. By analyzing the autobiographical record, we show how, in the first half of the twentieth century, this active subject of migration acquired knowledge and (re)constructed her identity through various strategies.