Patterns of Living with and through Technology in America. The Romanian Diaspora

Abstract

Inscribed within the larger theorization of displacement and politics of re-location, the experience of the Romanian emigrant in America is not only original in terms of identity transformation and transition description, but also in terms of reality perception and society critique of the New World as perceived by the diasporan. The present paper is concerned with the ways in which technology under globalization auspices impacts and transforms the American psyche and society behavior as perceived by the emigrant agency. Building on the theoretical entries into globalization, communication and computer technologies, compression of time and space via virtual organizations and communities and on actual Romanian diasporic writings on the topic (Codrescu, Golopenția, Roznoveanu, Manea etc.), the study reveals a most original critique of the American realities and demonstrates that the Romanian intellectuals/writers are not outcasts, at the periphery of social stage, afraid to unsettle the order of things in the New World; quite on the contrary, they acquire a strong voice, get involved in the society they are now part of. As such, the Romanian diaspora gains the contour of a transnational community, maintaining the ties with the point of origin and actively getting involved in American issues.