Diasporic Identity Research Articles

Diasporic Imagination and Chronotopes

Abstract The ways diasporic groups emerge and diasporic identities are constructed have recently become important research topics in sociolinguistics. However, these works have not paid sufficient attention to the spatial-temporal configurations of diasporic imaginations. In this article, I intend to shed light on the ways differing diasporic imaginations are inscribed on what kind of language-related diasporic activities are created by the diasporic subjects. To answer this question, I draw on the data of an ethnographically informed critical sociolinguistic study of diasporization among Hungarians in Catalonia that I conducted between 2018 and 2022. In the analysis, I compare the chronotopic figures appearing in the life journey narratives of Hungarians in Catalonia with the ways the ideal diasporic subject was imagined in the activities of two salient diasporic organizations. The article points to the fact that diasporic imaginations do not only contain moral guidelines on how diasporic subjects should behave, but they are also determined by the time and the space diasporic subjects inhabit.

Counterfactual History and Diasporic Identity in Philip Roth’s The Plot against America

The Plot against America, a 2004 novel by acclaimed American author Philip Roth, starts out from a counterfactual premise, i.e., that aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh defeated Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940 election, running on an isolationist platform summarised in the slogan “America first!” The novel is a masterful exploration of trauma and the perception of history viewed through the eyes of a young boy, the author’s alter ego, Philip, who is also the narrator, and who sees his family and others around him question their place in society and their identity as American Jews in a world swiftly turning against them.

Editing gender and editing life: DIY, digital artivism and new forms of pedagogy in the contemporary Portuguese society

In this article, we propose a theoretical-empirical cross-section of three basic themes: female migration, DIY practices and decolonial digital artivism. Adopting the case study typology and based on the use of a qualitative methodology, fostered by an indirect autobiographical interview, we proceed to sociologically analyse the migration trajectory of Tila Capelletto, a Brazilian activist responsible for the creation of Wiki Editoras Lx. We intend to discuss digital artivism and the DIY and DIT practices and ethos promoted by Tila and Wiki Editoras, as a formula for promoting processes of diasporic identity (re)construction, resistance, existence and social change, drawing parallels with the Global South and semi-peripheral countries such as Portugal, which are embodied in the editing of Wikipedia to combat the invisibility of women in contemporary societies.

The Curious Case of the Invention of Diasporic Identity. A Story of Jazz, Politics, Africa, and Revolution

When Malcolm X visited Africa in 1964 and gave a lecture at the University of Ghana, he introduced himself as an exiled in his own country: “I’m from America but I’m not an American”. He was not the only one in this situation; most of the jazz performers of that age understood themselves in a similar way. As exiles in their own country, they did not simply jump to the alternative of Africa as a home to return to, but viewed it as an opportunity to be seized, more universal than any paradigm allowed before, and especially more universal than the universalism of the whites. We will investigate the possibility of such an invented and open diasporic identity. We will consider it, at least for the context defined above, as an X that provides the chance of a radical change in articulation both with the emergence of free jazz and with the independence of Africa.

A Geocritical Reading of Diasporic Identity in the Prose of Leila Aboulela, Jhumpa Lahiri and Monica Ali

This paper proposes a geocritical reading of diasporic identity in the prose of Leila Aboulela, Jhumpa Lahiri and Monica Ali. It starts by looking at the experience of women joining their husbands in the West, their integration (or lack thereof) and the characters’ strategies for maintaining their faith, humor and specific cognitive mechanisms in spite of the culture shock they are facing. My hypothesis is that, instead of conforming to consecrated patterns of cultural interaction – such as assimilation into Western modernity, isolationist rebellion against it or voluntary uprootal – these characters manage to find another way of defining themselves against a new background: namely, they create mental spaces to inhabit, bringing their original homes and their adoptive ones into constant dialogue and subjecting both worlds to a combination of irony and empathy.

Outsiders within: examining Ethiopian adoptee experiences through a diasporic lens

ABSTRACT The term ‘diaspora’ continues to have purchase, as public and scholarly communities grapple with a world increasingly characterized by transnational flows of people, ideas, and capital. The concept has played a critical role in making these messy constellations of social, political, and economic ties both visible and legible. However, transnational adoptees are often positioned just outside this analytical purview, and their migrations, identity processes, and political projects are rarely examined through a ‘diasporic’ conceptual lens. Based on 20 in-depth interviews with adult Ethiopian adoptees residing in the US, this paper discusses the points of dis/connection between Ethiopian adoptees and the larger Ethiopian diaspora. We focus on how Ethiopian adoptees navigate their inclusion/exclusion as peripheral actors across social groups, as well as the active work they engage in to negotiate their diasporic identities, belongings and personal politic. This analysis draws our attention to new actors at the edges of diasporic communities, which complicates and enriches mainstream conceptions of diaspora.

Recreating diasporic identity and community: Examination of transgender and nonbinary latinx healing from family rejection.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of healing from family rejection among transgender and nonbinary Latinx individuals. Participants were asked how they navigated family dynamics related to gender identity and specific behaviors or resources that promoted their healing from experiences of family rejection. Data from 12 interviews with Latinx nonbinary and transgender adults were analyzed through a critical-constructivist grounded theory method resulting in a hierarchy composed of three clusters related to the core category (healing from family rejection leads to the recreation of diasporic identity and community as one learns to live authentically in their ethnic/racial gendered expression). These clusters included recreation of the family system, community-based cultural healing, and autonomy in trans identity and psychological well-being. Relevant contributions to research and implications for psychologists are reviewed: (a) Latinx diasporic identity formation is facilitated through the reconstruction of familial relationships and cultural healing, and (b) chosen family and supportive community networks may adopt the responsibility of ethnic-racial socialization after proximity to family of origin is lost. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Young Afghan-Canadian Women’s Negotiations of Gendered Cultural Scripts and Hybrid Cultural Identities

Abstract A hybrid identity is neither a happy nor an undesirable mixture; it involves negotiating sometimes two contrasting cultural identities of the home and host nations. Research on post-migratory negotiations of gender identity, roles, and expectations has found that partner selection and marriage are significant cultural practices in a diasporic context. In this study, the authors contribute to two sets of literatures: studies on the lived experiences of Afghan-Canadian migrant and refugee women and postcolonial debates on cultural hybridity. The authors employ in-depth feminist interviews to reveal second-generation Afghan-Canadian women’s gendered negotiations of partner-selection practices and marital ceremonies, including their resistance and conformity to these practices through the mobilization of their hybrid diasporic identities. Overall, the study design allows the authors to situate the voices of young Afghan women at the forefront.

Migrancy and Liminal Identities: A Bhabha's Perspective on We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan

This qualitative study examines Zayyan’s novel, We Are All Birds of Uganda (2021), through the postcolonial critique using Bhabha’s concept of liminality, particularly viewing the diasporic identity of South Asian Muslims in Uganda. The study employs the method of textual analysis for the interpretation of the text. The critical analysis further emphasizes the varied immigrants’ experiences, their voluntary and involuntary migrations, and their struggle for identity in the host land. Voluntary migration has depicted present-day London, and in-voluntary migration has been represented as forcible migration or expulsion of South Asians, particularly Muslims from Uganda. The story reconciles the old and new identities through the representation of a split timeframe. The findings of the study reveal the major characters’ fractured and volatile identities that become harmonious after the acceptance of various aspects of identity, and their hybrid identities become liminal. The study further reveals that despite the challenges, individuals with multi-generational diasporic identities have the potential to bring a unique perspective and rich cultural heritage to the communities they belong to. By embracing and celebrating their diverse identities, they can contribute to a more inclusive and multicultural world.

DIFFERENT GENERATIONS, DISTINCT LIFESTYLES, SAME FEELING OF HIRAETH: APOSTCOLONIAL STUDY OF KEN LIU’S “THE PAPER MENAGERIE”

The wave of immigration in recent decades has heralded new versions of colonialism. Thus, attention to the phenomenon of migration has gained a special place in literature. Among diaspora writers, one can mention Ken Liu and his “The Paper Menagerie”. In the course of this paper, at first and with the help of Edward Said’s theory of orientalism, a thorough discussion of the family’s and Americans’ attitudes toward each other and the cultural differences between them will be provided. Then, the character of the mother, as a representative of the first-generation immigrants, and the boy, as a representative of second-generation immigrants, will be under scrutiny based on Homi Bhabha and William Safran’s postcolonial ideas to delineate their path to their diasporic identities. In the final step, in the light of Eric Landowski’s theory of social relations, Jack and his mother’s distinct lifestyles in their host country will be analyzed to deduce that they chose snob and dandy lifestyles, respectively. The present paper will conclude that although different generations of immigrants have distinct lifestyles, they will consciously or unconsciously keep the connection with their homeland. Just like Jack, who undergoes an identity crisis and abandons his paper menagerie, his mother, and his Chinese heritage to assimilate into American culture. He loses both his mother and her magic, only to regain them to some extent at the end of the story, when he realizes that he, too, feels hiraeth. Although, the hiraeth that he felt was latent in his unconscious.

Partition at 75: reflections on migrant memories in the British South Asian diaspora

ABSTRACT In 2017, the 70th anniversary of the Partition of British India was widely discussed in the UK, not only within academic and cultural circles, but also in popular culture. Five years later, on the 75th anniversary of Partition, the scholarly, cultural and community interest in the events of 1947 intersected with the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of the South Asian population from Uganda, and the 70th anniversary of the Language Movement that led towards Bangladesh independence in 1971 - the 50th anniversary of which was celebrated just the year before. Based on the work of the Migrant Memory and the Postcolonial Imagination research project (Loughborough University) this article will explore the entanglement of the memories of these events within the South Asian diaspora, and how their transmission and communication shape the construction of contemporary diasporic identity and concepts of community, belonging and ‘home.’

Negotiating Minority Identities in Europe Through Cultural Preservation: Music as Heritage among the Dutch Hindustani Diaspora in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Twice-migrant and descended from the colonial labour diaspora, the Dutch Hindustanis in the Netherlands are one of the most assimilated, socially integrated and upwardly mobile minority diaspora groups in the Netherlands. The group also remains the repository of the early vestiges of Hindi film music as well as traditional music from the Northern Indian plains, thereby making it a fascinating case study for cultural preservation. This paper undertakes to take a close look at the modes and methods employed by the Dutch Hindustanis to preserve their musical heritage and argues that it has emerged as one of the primary nodes of diasporic identity formation for the group.

Conflicted Identities: Negotiating Belonging among Young People from the Lebanese Diasporas in Montreal

To elucidate the reproduction of antagonist relationships between diasporic populations, conflict transportation theories tend to focus on societal and transnational contexts. This approach often neglects the complexity of people’s lived experiences and risks essentializing diasporic identities. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among young people of the Lebanese diasporas in Montreal, this contribution reconsiders the interplay between diasporas and conflict by pondering the shifting nature of existence. It argues that everyday encounters and life trajectories play a critical role in how the diasporic youth relate to identity categories, inspiring them to continuously renegotiate and transform what being Lebanese means in their existence.

Exploring Diaspora Identities and Media Consumption among Indian Immigrants in the United States

This study delves into the experiences of Asian Indian immigrants residing in the United States and explores the intricate relationship between diasporic identities and media consumption. Grounded in the framework of cultural proximity, social identity theories, and the uses and gratifications perspective, the research investigates the viewership preferences and motivations of Asian Indian immigrants towards Indian television programming. Despite their extensive time living abroad, these immigrants actively choose ethnic programming, specifically Indian television accessible through satellite dishes, as a means to reinforce their ethnic identity, stay informed about India, and nurture a sense of connection to their cultural roots. By providing post-2014 insights into the dynamics of Asian Indian social identity, television consumption patterns, and the uses and gratifications derived from ethnic media, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how diasporic individuals actively engage with media content to fulfill their needs for cultural preservation, reaffirmation of identity, and a continued link with their country of origin. The findings have implications for media organizations aiming to cater to diverse audiences and for scholars examining the interplay between media consumption and diasporic identities within an ever-evolving media landscape.

Diaspora engagement and return migration for educational purposes in Estonia and Kazakhstan

Purpose This study examines diaspora engagement and return migration programs aimed at providing diaspora youth with an opportunity to obtain higher education in Estonia and Kazakhstan. In particular, the authors sought to identify the main motivations, benefits and challenges of the programs, as well as understand how the programs contribute to the ethnic identity formation of diaspora students.Design/methodology/approach The paper employed a qualitative multiple-case study research design. In both countries, data were collected by means of 26 semi-structured interviews with return migrant students and experts involved in implementing the programs.Findings The study findings suggest that the primary motivations for diaspora youth to return to their homelands are tuition-free higher education, financial support and repatriation prospects in both countries. In Estonia, the scholarship holders struggled with language requirements for university admissions, the cost of living insufficiently covered by the monthly stipend and limited integration opportunities. In Kazakhstan, the students had to face the Russian language barrier and socio-cultural marginalization in their everyday life. It was also found that the return migrant students in Estonia and Kazakhstan develop hybrid identities to integrate into their domestic society. They reinforce their ethnic identities and negotiate their diasporic identities to make sense of their own background and cultural heritage and acclimatize to life in the new context.Originality/value The study provides practical implications for policy implementers and policymakers in Estonia and Kazakhstan. It can also be useful for the worldwide research community interested in exploring education-oriented diaspora engagement and return migration programs and their influence on the ethnic identity of diaspora students.

Prema's Cultural Hybridity and Diasporic Identity in Seasons of Flight by Manjushree Thapa

The objective of this study is to shed light on the struggles and conflicts experienced by Nepali immigrants in the United States of America, as they encounter and attempt to appropriate western culture and lifestyle while being haunted by their native culture and tradition. The novel Seasons of Flight is a portrayal of the cultural encounters and appropriations experienced by immigrants in the United States of America. It highlights the issues of isolation, alienation, identity crisis, and accommodation that immigrants face when they try to assimilate and internalize the culture and lifestyle of the host country. The topic of identity in diasporic literature is discussed in this study, particularly in light of multiculturalism and hybrid identities. This research applies the perspective of diaspora to analyze the cultural encounters and appropriations depicted in Seasons of Flight. The research reviews the literature on diaspora theory, multiculturalism, and hybrid identity, and examines how the protagonist, Prema, undergoes trials and tribulations in her attempt to fit into the multicultural American society. The research also analyzes the conflicts between tradition and modernity portrayed in the novel, and discusses the issues of collective identity, shared belonging, religious beliefs, and commitment for unity that guide immigrants. The research finds that the cultural encounters and appropriations experienced by Nepali immigrants in the United States of America are a general plight of diasporic people. The research concludes that despite the modern amenities and aspirations offered by the multicultural American society, diasporic subjects like Prema undergo with cultural encounters and appropriations, which may lead to identity crisis and hybridity. This research highlights the importance of recognizing and respecting cultural diversity, and the need for immigrants to balance their native culture and tradition with the culture and lifestyle of the host country to overcome the challenges of cultural encounters and appropriations.

Chineseness in Sino-Malay printing: a triptych of self-criticism

ABSTRACT From late-colonial times, Chinese-Indonesian writers began formulating competing notions of belonging and diasporic identity. Two political ideologies coexisted. The first and oldest was rooted in the ideals of the 1911 Revolution and encouraged the Indies Chinese to devote themselves to the “fatherland.” This movement attempted to resinicise those culturally hybrid Peranakan families in particular. The second group perceived the Indonesian archipelago as its home and advocated for more integration into the Indies society, often in solidarity with Indigenous people. The resulting tensions manifested themselves on the pages of vernacular publications. This article juxtaposes journalism, fiction and poetry as mutually reinforcing platforms to articulate, problematise and debate Chineseness. These genres and the slightly different messages they produced reveal evolving worldviews and a lack of consensus as key Indies Chinese experiences. Periodicals started exhibiting a greater diversity of opinions by the 1930s. A similar tendency is seen in novels and short stories in which pro-China and pro-Indies factions were often criticised in roughly equal measure. These fictionalised debates offer valuable insights into society’s faults and fissures. Fiction is relevant as it grappled with otherwise elusive social taboos, such as romantic encounters between different communities. Lastly, poetry was the genre par excellence to express frustration, aided by the rhetorical devices of sarcasm and translingual creativity. Across these genres, language proves crucial to understanding society’s conflicting expressions of Chineseness. While most of the discourse took place in vernacular Malay, acculturation through profuse borrowing from Hokkien helped to forge a discourse of identification and belonging.

Performing Culinary Diaspora: Food Practices and Culinary Encounters of South Asians in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This study proposed ‘performing culinary diaspora’ to examine how South Asians use food to articulate diasporic identity in Hong Kong and foster culinary encounters with Hong Kong Chinese. Drawing on in-depth interviews and participant observations of South Asians and Hong Kong Chinese in different South Asian restaurants, grocery shops, and homes, this work examined how transnational South Asian food networks have facilitated the formation of culinary space in which South Asians prepare and consume traditional food with co-ethnics in restaurants and homes. The research also considered the culinary encounters in which South Asians utilise their culinary knowledge to initiate meaningful contacts with Hong Kong Chinese by preparing ‘authentic’ South Asian dishes in different eating places. This research argued that ethnic foodways serve as a space of both social frictions and interactions. By focusing on culinary practices, this study demonstrated how the South Asian diaspora is felt, embodied, and perceived by the host society. It contributes to intercultural studies by revealing how South Asians in Hong Kong use their traditional food culture to create a sense of place, initiating cultural encounters, and promoting social inclusion in Hong Kong.

British but not a Briton: Anglophilia and Black British Identity Formation in E. R. Braithwaite

Abstract: This essay re-examines Anglophilia, a quintessential conservative colonial affect, to illustrate how emotional structures that function as modes of psychic colonialism can concurrently produce unanticipated effects. E. R. Braithwaite's best-selling autobiographical novel, To Sir, With Love (1959), is a Windrush account of a Black, middle-class, Caribbean immigrant's life in Britain that, largely due to its explicit Anglophilia, has not garnered much critical attention within a conventional postcolonial framework. I use affect studies to read this text's Anglophilic affiliations as a complicated process of Black diasporic identity formation that questions the simultaneity of race and national belonging. British identity in the mid-twentieth century was understood in highly emotive, racialized terms—such as "civilized," "Christian," or "advanced"—that stood in for explicit references to whiteness. This structure had the effect of appearing to separate Britishness from whiteness in discourses about race and nationality, thus creating a space within which Braithwaite could imagine the possibility of being a Black Briton. Braithwaite's text reveals Anglophilia to be a complex affective structure that, while being invested in ideas of morality, nation, and civilization, can also unexpectedly destabilize prevalent social norms (while reinforcing others) as it participates in the process of denaturalizing automatic assumptions of racial superiority.

Cultural Hybridization and Political Upheaval in Khan's City of Spies

Throughout history, political instability has been a persistent issue for diasporic communities, exacerbating the challenges they already face. The present research endeavours to examine the impact of political turmoil on diasporic communities, with a particular focus on its role in shaping cultural identity, hybridity, and conflicting loyalties. The present research employs a qualitative analysis to amalgamate a substantial corpus of literature and deduces that diasporas are significantly impacted by political instability and violence, resulting in adverse outcomes such as relocation, trauma, and cultural identity loss. This study delves into the complexity of diasporic identity and the notion of hybridity, frequently linked to diaspora communities. Empirical evidence suggests that diasporic communities frequently experience a sense of estrangement and encounter competing allegiances due to their inability to fully assimilate their cultural heritage into their novel surroundings. Research has demonstrated the significance of comprehending diasporic identities and the obstacles that individuals encounter, particularly within the framework of contemporary political instability.The research findings highlight the need for policymakers and stakeholders to take into account the distinctive perspectives and experiences of diasporas, particularly in light of current political unrest. In order to comprehend and help diaspora groups, it also emphasizes the need for additional research on diaspora identity, cultural hybridity, and competing loyalties.