Faculty of Design

Industrial Design

Claire Wu

Love and Discipline: On Shaping the Chinese-Canadian Identity

How can intergenerational dialogue in Chinese-Canadian families integrate more bicultural perspectives?

“In Chinese culture, discipline in the form of corporal punishment isn’t uncommon in households. This method, used in the early years of childhood can create resentment or obedience out of fear. A parent's strict expectations and demand for discipline intended to help their children achieve success often create friction in the rela­tionship.A parent with traditional Chinese values has strong opinions of what right, wrong, success, and failure look like. The children of these parents live in a top-down family structure and often feel as though their opinions don’t hold much weight in their parents’ eyes. Over time, this lack of communication creates a rift in the parent-child relationship, leading to resentment, and a lowered desire to talk with one another.I'm looking to remediate communication practices through dialogues reflective of intergen­erational values and bicultural experience. These objects seek to engage Chinese-Canadian immi­grant families in authentic conversations on love and discipline in order to facilitate a more empa­thetic and nuanced understanding across different generations and cultures within the same family.”