Etninio tapatumo pokytis : Gervėčių krašto lietuviai
ENThe paper analyzes the ethnic identity change that took place in the Lithuanian community of the Gervėčiai district now in Belarus. The empirical data consist of thirty-five semi-structured interviews and data collected through participatory observation during a field study carried out in 2014 in Lithuania and Belarus. Ethnic identity change is defined as a change in one of the three components of ethnic identity: self-identification, external cultural characteristics, and relationship with others. Following this model, the paper examines ethnic identity change of Lithuanians in the Gervėčiai district; reconstructs the local conception of being Lithuanian; examines identity change at the community level; and discusses the influence of the ethnic context on ethnic identity.
