Ethnic and national identity of Ukrainian migrants (based on the works of Marina Lewycka)

Abstract

The subject of this article is the work of Marina Lewycka, an English-language writer of Ukrainian descent, whose writing explores the complex dynamics involved in shaping an individual’s ethnolinguistic and national identity in the context of the emigration experience. The aim of the analysis is to determine how bilingualism, intercultural experience, and the artistic interpretation of migration create a specific form of “hybrid” or multiple identity that combines Ukrainian cultural foundations with an English mindset. Her works reflect the conflict between generations of emigrants: the older generation preserves the memory of Ukraine as a sacred space of the past, while the younger generation is fully integrated into British society. Through this contrast, the article’s author demonstrates that identity is not a static state but a process of constant negotiation between the “Us” and “Tnem.” The findings indicate that Lewycka’s phenomenon is significant not only for the study of contemporary migrant literature but also for understanding broader processes of cultural globalization, in which new types of national consciousness emerge. Her texts become a laboratory for rethinking identity in a world where the boundaries between nations and cultures are increasingly fluid.