Diaspora

Abstract

Diaspora within anthropology and related disciplines has become a common way to think about identity and community formation that occurs through the process of migration and the ongoing linkages (both material and affective) between a real or imagined “homeland” and the various locations of resettlement. The concept of diaspora has allowed scholars to move beyond traditional approaches to migration, which have focused mainly on economic push–pull factors and assimilation processes. Anthropologists and other scholars have shown that migrants do not simply assimilate into host societies; rather, they produce new cultural formations in diaspora. This entry introduces some of the major themes in ethnographies of diaspora (primarily within Western contexts), such as identity, hybridity, nostalgia, and nationalism. Newer approaches—which consider sending country initiatives aimed at diasporas, the impacts of temporary migration structures, and non‐Western locations of settlement—are also covered. Finally, it briefly explores the role of anthropologists as diasporic subjects.