This work investigates the impacts of changing education systems on Third Culture Kids (TCKs). Particularly, how Classical Literature influences the education, growth, behaviour, and personality development in the nomadic lifestyle of TCKs using self-reports (Podsakoff et al., 2012; Richardson, 1990) and previously established survey data (Chu, 2022; Podsakoff et al., 2012; Ittel et al., 2012) through an autoethnographic method. While plenty of research exists on the positive attributes of TCKs – including flexibility, adaptability and open-mindedness – around the world (Hartman, 2022), this study will also focus on the negative impacts – feelings of isolation, depression and loss of identity – of a peripatetic childhood by looking at existing literature and surveys (Chu, 2022), while closely examining the stability provided by the Classics in Literature. For the purpose of this work, Classical Literature refers to the vast number of written texts (poetry or prose) in various languages that have withstood the test of time and their messages remain impactful even today. We see that although TCKs are indeed adaptable, approachable, and flexible as previous research suggests (Tarique et al., 2013; Hartman, 2022), TCKs also have to contend with negative traits like loss of identity, feeling of displacement and cultural duality during their growing years (Pollock et al., 2010). In this work we show that Classical Literature provides a Touchstone and a stable benchmark for the TCKs.

Authors:
Sanjukta Chakraborty, Amity University, India
Dhritiman Chakraborty, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Vineeta Prasad, Amity University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Chakraborty, a Post-Graduate of Birmingham City University, is pursuing her PhD in English Literature from Amity University. After a Creative Writing course from Oxford University, she has published works on literature with Dr. Chakraborty.

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