SYNTHESIS

AS THE WORLD EXPANDS AND BECOMES INCREASINGLY INTERCONNECTED, WE FIND OURSELVES IN A CONSTANT STATE OF CONVERGENCE—A PROCESS THAT OFTEN GOES UNEXAMINED. WITH MASS MIGRATIONS, INTERCULTURAL MARRIAGES, AND GLOBAL EXCHANGES, IDENTITIES ARE FORCED INTO NEGOTIATION. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, ONE IDENTITY OVERRIDES THE OTHER, RATHER THAN FORMING A TRUE SYNTHESIS.

THIS BRUTALITY OF CONVERGENCE—WHETHER SUBTLE OR OVERT—SUGGESTS THAT WE HAVE NOT YET LEARNED HOW TO NAVIGATE MULTIPLICITY EFFECTIVELY. WE TREAT DIFFERENCE AS A COMPETITION RATHER THAN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INTEGRATION.

CODE-SWITCH SEEKS TO MAKE A CASE FOR A SYNTHESIS OF IDENTITY—NOT A LOSS OF INDIVIDUALITY, BUT AN EVOLVED FORM OF NAVIGATION. ONE THAT ENABLES FLUIDITY BETWEEN DIFFERENT CULTURAL, SOCIAL, AND PHILOSOPHICAL POINTS OF REFERENCE, ALLOWING INDIVIDUALS TO DRAW FROM THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF BOTH WITHOUT FORCING AN EITHER/OR CHOICE.