If you click here, you can (figuratively) hold in your hands the last magazine issue of Among Worlds! In case you missed it, AW is moving from a quarterly digital magazine to our new website home, here at amongworlds.com!
And what better way to celebrate our last issue than by wading into controversy? In this March 2023 issue, we’ve chosen to look more closely at the terminology used by and about third culture kids (TCKs), particularly as those terms relate to a broader category called cross-cultural kids (CCKs). CCK is a term that TCK researcher Ruth Van Reken came up with as she wrestled with why the feelings and identity issues of “traditional” TCKs seemed to resonate with others who had experienced significant crossing of cultures but had not, for example, moved to another country. In these articles and stories, we learn why TCKs are considered a subgroup of CCKs, which also includes bi- and multiracial children, international adoptees, children of refugees, and more.
We’re fortunate to have Ruth Van Reken herself kick off this issue with the story of “How CCK Came To Be.” Ruth’s piece explains the tension between definitions that feel exclusionary to some and those that open the “umbrella” so wide that terms are rendered effectively meaningless. Consider this piece one of our two anchor pieces in this issue, the other being Tanya Crossman’s “Cross-Cultural Intersectionality.” These two pieces help frame the issues for us, while the other contributors show us what those issues look like in their own stories about crossing cultures.
As Among Worlds transitions to our new website home, we hope you will join the conversation here! Among Worlds is the longest-running publication for TCKs, and that publication is just changing format. We’re excited to feature new stories, articles, poetry, photography, art, book and film reviews, and more by TCKs on a regular basis. In addition to new posts, like Iona McHaney Marcellino’s “The Loneliness of Being Unknown,” you’ll also find all of our past magazine content here, searchable by topic. As always, we welcome your submissions: check out our submission guidelines and details here!
Finally, be sure to join us on Instagram: amongworlds.
We look forward to hearing from you in our new space!
Rachel Hicks
Editor, Among Worlds
