Negotiating ‘national’ and ‘international’ elements of culture in a transnational social field

This article is concerned with the experience of children whose parents are highly mobile professionals, also known as ‘Third Culture Kids’ (TCKs). Through a focus on everyday practices and local emplacement, it shows how the cities of Melbourne and Singapore influence TCKs’ individual trajectories and complex forms of identification. By observing their engagement, or lack thereof, with the local majority population, the article demonstrates how ethnicity, among other factors, influences their experience of place and position of privilege. Participants learn to negotiate ‘national’ and ‘international’ elements of culture by drawing on social distance, international networks, language skills and geographic mobility.