Term Diaspora Research Articles

Between (de-)mobilization, polarization, and transnational repression: the Egyptian diaspora in the wake of the January 25 uprising

ABSTRACT More than a decade has passed since the Egyptian Uprising of 2011 resulted in the ouster of long-time president Hosni Mubarak. This large-scale protest episode mobilized not only tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters of various stripes in Egypt, but also inspired activism amongst Egyptians living abroad. These events, in combination with the turbulent post-revolutionary years that followed, affected deeply and were formative for many Egyptian diasporans. This article explores how these events influenced members of the diaspora both in terms of their intra-diasporic relationships as well as their transnational engagement with Egypt under the reign of the new president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Drawing on both primary and secondary sources, including semi-structured interviews with diaspora members and activists, it paints a complex picture of increased polarization – very much along the political fault lines found in Egypt – and overall lower, but still notable, levels of both national and transnational political engagement.

From “Exile” to “Diaspora”: The Shift in Self-Identification among Refugee Latvians, 1944–2023

The 175,000- Latvians who fled their northeastern European homeland in the final year of World War II (1944–45) eventually resettled in some four continents and twenty different host societies. Their tasks were many, ranging from “freeing” Latvia among the politically minded to building a new life in their host societies. For some ten years after the war, their official status remained uncertain, as did the terms they used to describe themselves. Eventually, the agreed upon frame of reference became trimda (Eng. exile). It was the rare social, cultural, and polit-ical activity that was not discussed within the exile framework, and an impressive cultural superstructure was built upon it from the 1950s to the 1980s. This framework, however, became anachronistic after 1991 and the collapse of the USSR. Western Latvians could no longer claim to be in exile, but relatively few of them showed a willingness to return to the old homeland. Two decades of discussion about identity eventually led the new Latvian government and social-science researchers in Latvia to propose the term diaspora for all Latvians living outside the country’s borders. This term has been generally accepted, even by the still living World War II refugees and their descendants, who now refer to themselves as the vecā trimda (Eng. old exile) component of the diaspora.

Diasporic crises make Iqbal an alien both home and abroad in Adib Khan’s Seasonal Adjustments

This paper attempts to portray the psychological crises of a Bengali diaspora, Iqbal Ahmed Chuadhary settled in Australia around two decades portrayed in the Seasonal Adjustments written by a Bangladeshi award-winning writer Adib Khan. A long term diasporic feeling makes Iqbal unable even to integrate and to assimilate his own native culture and religion at his native land. As a Bengali migrant, Iqbal has to encounter the changes because of different cultural environment both home and abroad. As a result, he has to undergo a psychological trauma due to his failure to cope up with any culture neither his native culture nor the foreign culture. This research study intends to focus on how the long term diaspora makes changes in the attitude to the native culture and creates a cultural gap in the mind of a Bengali expatriate. To validate the theoretical concept ‘Hybridity’ and ‘Third Space’ by Homi. K. Bhabha , a complete textual analysis is required.

Home and Counter-home in André Aciman’s Out of Egypt

This paper attempts to examine the interrelationship between self-identity, home and (Jewish) diaspora as portrayed by André Aciman in Out of Egypt: A Memoir (1994). Further, the paper shows why such concepts are easily expressed in the genre of life-writing, especially the memoir, and finally concludes that Aciman’s Diaspora, which is communal, Jewish and historical, instead of unmooring his anchors, steeps him in his Jewry. In other words, his identity is exclusively Jewish and Jewry is diasporic in essence and that might make Aciman multi-lingual and multi-national but unchangingly Jewish and diasporic. This conclusion, thus, throws light on the essentially clannish nature of Aciman’s experience related in his memoir, in spite of the narrative’s representation of diaspora in postmodernist terms.

Rethinking Diaspora in the American Hindu Landscape: The Translocal Śaktiscape of the Hindu Goddess in Pontiac, Michigan

Abstract: The omnipresence of the diaspora frame in naming forms of Hinduism that arise and perdure outside of India often functions to erase the uniqueness and creativity that mark many Hindu and Hindu-influenced spaces, communities, and practices worldwide. This article aims to interrogate and unsettle the ubiquitous deployment of the term diaspora, drawing on the author’s experience with one particular Hindu community. The article suggests a need for more nuanced and layered frames of analysis in thinking about not just this community, but also a broad range of Hindu practices and institutions that exist worldwide. Many Hindu institutions and forms of practice that emerge outside of India are not just iterative but also deeply creative, existing in dynamic tension with both Indian Hindu traditions and the non-Indian worlds in which they are suspended. This article calls us to push our understanding of the complexities and diversities of diaspora Hinduism by invoking more layered and complex frames of analysis and interpretation beyond the diaspora frame.

Conceptual Analysis of the Term Diaspora through the Prism of the Contribution to the Economic Development of the Countries of Origin

The process of diaspora formation is usually conditioned by migration processes and the creation of migrant communities abroad is one of the effects of migration that bring with it a series of advantages for the countries of origin. Diaspora represents an active power, involved in almost all fields of activity of a society, therefore, in the specialized literature, the term itself is treated differently, depending on the field of study that addresses it. However, how can diaspora be defined, how can its size be assessed, how is this term different from migration, how the interest in the study of diaspora has evolved and what are the economic ramifications of diaspora actions for the countries of origin, are just some of the aspects that we propose to address during the research.

Light in the contemporary churches of the Ukrainian diaspora

Nowadays, the Ukrainian church building has not yet succeeded in establishing its own modern image/type of church, different from the conventional one. One of the significant reasons for this situation is the long break in the design and construction of churches in Ukraine during the 20th century. The Ukrainian diaspora has accumulated considerable experience in the construction of modern churches, which ensures the continuity of the tradition of the church building. The purpose of the research is to explore the still invaluable experience of designing church buildings and the architectural and artistic organisation of their interior in Ukrainian diaspora churches, which is an important foundation for solving the problem of developing the image/appearance of a modern church. The research used general scientific and special methods. Attention is devoted to the research of current issues of developing a light composition in the sacred space of modern diaspora churches. The research analyses several projects by architects of the Ukrainian diaspora in the field of sacred architecture. The research identifies the specific features of the establishment and development of church architecture in the Ukrainian diaspora in terms of the debate over the conventional and modern forms of church buildings and the spatial organisation of the light composition of their sacred space. The research outlines the influence of the local architectural tradition of the church building in North America – Protestant and Catholic churches – and the modernist design culture of the period of functionalism and neo-modernism in architecture on the architectonics of Ukrainian churches in the diaspora and the organisation of the light environment of their interior space. For the first time, the features and regularities of the organisation of the light environment of the most famous Greek Catholic churches of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada and the United States, built in the second half of the 20th century, are explored. The influence of natural light on the architectonics of churches and the specific features of visual perception of their internal object environment and on the development of the appropriate mood imbued with mysticism and sacred atmosphere of the interiors of churches is determined. The experience of diaspora architects is explored and analysed, which has not been understudied but will be essential for use in the practice of Ukrainian architects in designing modern churches while preserving national identity and church-building traditions

Peran Diaspora Di Masa Pandemi Covid-19

This paper tries to understand the phenomenon of the role of the diaspora in the Covid-19 pandemic. With the current pandemic outbreak, humans are always challenged to carry out various forms of adaptation that allow themselves to remain active and productive from within the home. The term diaspora is often used to denote different phenomena depending on the interests and focus of the study. “Diaspora” are immigrants, namely people who leave their homeland to go to another region or country in search of a better life, rather than in their own region or country. A number of migration and diaspora studies conclude that international migration that occurs in the era of globalization can not only expand the distribution of diaspora, but can also strengthen their existence. Another existence of the diaspora is related to their role in realizing a symbiosis that is beneficial for both the destination country and the country of origin. The Indonesian diaspora has the potential to be empowered for national defense. In this analysis using descriptive qualitative analysis method, using data collection techniques on the study of literature. The diaspora is not only a large global community but an extraordinary movement and idealism. Some parties use the term transnational communities to refer to the experiences of citizens who are doing contemporary migration or who have chosen to move from their country of origin but who still maintain a relationship or relationship with the land where they were born.

Comparing Diaspora Policies of Turkey and Azerbaijan: “Are Common Diaspora Policies Possible?”

The term diaspora is used to describe social groups that have migrated from their homeland, and preserved and maintained their home country’s culture. In the 1990s, with the acceleration of communication, transportation, and the ease of displacement, migration movements in the world increased and modern diasporas developed transnational relations in their country of residence. Modern diasporas have attracted sending states’ attention over time and have led states to develop various policies for institution building, political participation, lobbying, and civil and social rights. This article reveals the similarities and differences in Turkey and Azerbaijan’s diaspora policies from a historical perspective and examines the kinds of activities and policies these two states currently have in the context of the Turkish world. The possibility of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (Turkey) and the State Committee on Work with Diaspora (Azerbaijan) developing common diaspora policies is also discussed. The study’s data is collected using the document analysis method, which includes a literature review and an examination of reports from the public institutions mentioned, in order to discuss the possibility of the two countries to producing a common diaspora policy.

What are the different ways in which we can understand gendered diasporic identities?

Gender studies has facilitated the exploration of Aids and Migration among other social problems, and has enabled a more sensible understanding of the discrimination practices that exist around them. This paper will discuss the aspects in which gender studies have contributed to assess issues regarding migration from the gendered diaspora perspective. This sociological construction of diaspora encompasses the many different reasons why migrants decide to leave their country, bounded by national, racial or ethnic background, which enroll in a strong political motivation. Although in this essay, the theoretical discussion will embrace male gendered diasporas as well, critics of the term have questioned how gendered diasporas have been traditionally understood of men. The first part of the discussion will be guided by the question: what is a gendered diaspora identity? The essay will emphasise the gendered category of analysis. I will argue how gendered identities are constructed under the circumstances of dominance and oppression that result from displacement. First, the deconstruction of the social category of gendered diaspora will be assessed, through an examination of Ella Shohat ́s agreement of identity. The essay will then examine the term diaspora and its ambivalences and criticisms. The second part of the discussion will consider three separate cases of how gendered diasporic identities are being understood, including: the cultural representations of Cuban Americans, the Sikh diaspora and Armenian women in Los Angeles.

Relation Between Indian Diaspora and Bollywood Cinema in The Context of Globalization

Diaspora are those human groups who have history and experiences of migration and the attendant anxiety of displacement, homelessness and a wish to return to homeland.The term diaspora is derived from the Greek composite verb dia(through) and Speirein( infinitive) literally meaning ‘to scatter’ or ‘ to spread’ or ‘ to disperse’. Before exploring the inter relationship between Cinema and Indian diaspora, it should be known that how effectively it works on the life of diasporic people. Actually Cinema or Bollywood is unique confluence of literature and art. Bollywood as a globally successful phenomenon can be attributed to the alignment of the film industry towards the Indian diaspora and a wider audience outside India. As we know literature always is the cumulative image of the temper of people. Those who bestow with creative imagination talent will be able to depict the social realities in literature .On the other hand cinema is a very effective medium of communication and due to advanced technologies it's accessibility to the audience all over the world from the place of production itself has increased tremendously. Films on diaspora contain facts about everyday life of people in diaspora and hence give knowledge about them.

Exploring ‘Temporality’ in the Short Story ‘Turquoise’ by Aamer Hussein: An Application of the Genette’s Model of Narratology

The present Study is primarily concerned with applying Genette‘s schemata developed in his famous ‘Narrative Discourse’ and theory of cultural hybridity of Homi Bhabha to the study of Aamer Hussain’s Short Story ‘Turquoise’. This study analyzes the temporal shifts in the short story. Since diaspora is prevailing as an important theme in the short story, this study is also concerned with the analysis of cultural hybridity. The research is concerned with the Genette's narratology,' in order to bring out the intricacies of the temporal patterns of the short story. Furthermore, it deals with the analysis of cultural hybridity as the ideology of a new elite a “postmodern” cosmopolitanism. This study makes the case that hybridity helps us comprehend the dynamics of the global culture. Focalized through a double perspective, ‘Turquoise’ reveals Aamer Hussain’s expertise in handling narrative temporality and providing a comprehensive study of Diaspora in terms of cultural hybridity.

Conceptualising the term diaspora: the theoretical-methodological aspects

The following article characterizes the principal approaches and definitions of the term ‘Diaspora’. Diaspora appears on the basis of ethnic groups that reside outside of their “titular” states. It is characterized by a multiple identity; ethno-cultural ties to both its country of residence and to the country of origin; the presence of social institutes that provide the maintenance, development, and functioning of the Diaspora. Diaspora organizations (cultural associations, church parishes) are such institutes. The Diaspora is institutionalized through the collective activity of its members. Only those groups that deliberately maintain their ties and strengthen their relations with the motherland are considered Diasporas and members of Diasporas. The diaspora is a complex and heterogeneous phenomenon. Beside the activists that make up its “face”, it also consists of passive “mute” members that provide its mass character. The diaspora is a sum of representatives of different generations, whose relation to the country of origin may vary (citizenship, possession of language, knowledge of culture, traditions, social activity, length of participation, etc.). The diaspora consists of both those that continuously reside in, have the citizenship of the country of destination, and of those that are staying there temporarily (labor migrants, students). This diversity is the source of the Diaspora’s renewal and development. Modern science counts numerous typings of modern Diasporas. The use of various criteria gave rich material for characterizing and classifying Diasporas, for the creation of a more complete picture of their existence and functioning.

Heterogenising the Indian Hindu Diaspora in Thailand

Abstract The Indian diaspora is a diverse community of migrants who live dispersed around the globe. This includes the situation of Indian emigration to Thailand, which has been ongoing for hundreds of years. Several scholars in Indian Diaspora Studies have previously contributed to an understanding of the different social groups of the heterogenous Indian diaspora in terms of ethnicities, religions, periods of migration, and social and political consciousness. However, Indian Diaspora Studies in Thailand undertaken by Thai scholars over the past decade have only focused on the Siamese Brahmin and the Thai-Indian Sikh and Muslim diaspora in Thailand, and have tended to view Hindu immigrants to Thailand as a homogeneous group. Their contribution is constrained by considering migrants only through the lens of ethnicity, and dualistically conceptualising ethnic boundaries between Indianness and Thainess as a result. This paper, in conversation with previous scholarship, applies the notion of heterogeneity to understand the complexity of the Indian Hindu diaspora in contemporary Thai societies. This article, based on case studies in the Chiang Mai province, asserts that the Thai-Indian Hindu diaspora consists of heterogeneous groups that utilise multi-ethnic-religious identities as cultural strategies to establish their self-identification. Therefore, the Indian Hindu diaspora in Thai society is associated with the (re)formation and recombination of traditional and modern diasporic types of consciousness, reflecting the complexity of the Indian Hindu diaspora in Thailand today.

Sociological analysis of the Diaspora on the example of the Armenian people

The article notes that diasporas have a significant impact on the world community, contribute to the strengthening of migration processes, unite representatives of ethnic groups in the territory of a "foreign" country, influence the policy of the state of residence, as well as the processes taking place in the historical homeland. The author states that the Armenian Diaspora has a large number of representatives in different countries of the world. Some aspects of the influence of the Diaspora in terms of preserving the cultural values of Armenians, identity, in spreading traditions, influencing the development of the diaspora, as well as in supporting the Diaspora as a whole are investigated. In this regard, the sociological analysis of the diaspora requires consideration of the social institutions of the diaspora. The sociological data obtained by the author in the course of research activities are presented. The author points out that representatives of the Armenian diaspora are characterized by such signs as mass residence on the territory of a foreign state other than the country of ethnic origin. In addition, it is especially important for Armenians to preserve their identity, culture, traditions, and language. Some of the reasons contributing to the migration of Armenians are also noted here: various socio-historical factors, as well as the policy of genocide, which left a big scar on the history of Armenia, the traces of which have not yet healed.

Polish Immigrants in the Social and Cultural Landscape of Reykjavik

The presence of immigrants has the potential to produce significant changes in the social and cultural fabric of a city, although they may equally well remain essentially invisible. In the present article I discuss the presence of Polish immigrants in the urban space of Reykjavik. Since the first decade of the 21st century, Poles have been the largest non-native nationality in the island, this being the fourth such case in the world – aside from Norway, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The numerical dominance of Poles among immigrants to Iceland is such that immigrant, or foreigner, is frequently considered as synonymous to Pole. Does this predominance of Poles among immigrants translate to their visibility in the urban space? In what ways do they mark their presence? In the article I analyze the presence and activity of Poles in the spheres of culture, local politics, business and sports. I describe Polish organisations and associations, and events held by the Polish diaspora. Some of those are focused on cultivating the culture of the country of origin and on integration within the group, thus being typical Oddiseyan associations; the purpose of others is to facilitate the adaptation of Poles to the host society, and to promote Polish culture within the host society– thus they are reminiscent of Rubiconic associations, to refer to Daniel Joly’s wellknown classification. In the article I consider the question: which among the Polish initiatives have gained visibility among the hosts and have the potential to become relatively permanent fixtures of the cultural map of Reykjavik. Is the potential of the Polish diaspora in terms of organisation and culture sufficient to reach a wide audience of Icelanders and foreigners of other nationalities, and to gain their interest?

“I’m a Little Black Boy and I Don’t Know My Place”: Phil Lynott and the Black Atlantic

ABSTRACT This essay uses Paul Gilroy’s The Black Atlantic to examine Phil Lynott, of ’70s Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. Lynott’s “mixed” lineage (half Caribbean black, half Irish) relates to Gilroy’s black diaspora in terms of parentage and popular music the latter being central to Gilroy’s argument about the articulation of black experience of trauma and dislocation in creative and other forms. Discussion of gender in popular music intersects with discourses that highlight “excessive” masculinity in nonwhite subjects. The essay considers alternative approaches to masculinity: gender performativity, homosocial interaction, and punk, while employing Black Atlantic concepts of antiphony and rhythmic complexity to investigate the band’s music.

Voices of Africa: Podcastas a New Form of Oral History

At the beginning of the 21st century, the digital revolution has become global. Digitalization has overcome the boundaries of the field of information technology and began to provoke the metamorphosis of sociocultural reality. Gradually, society itself and, as a consequence, social sciences are changing. African studies, despite the fact that digital transformations in the region have been slow, is no exception. New plots and sources started to appear; new practices and methods began to develop and apply. This article is devoted to the evolution of the oral tradition of the Africans and representatives of the global African diaspora in terms of the “digital turn”. It emphasizes the importance of oral history as one of the main directions in the study of the history and culture of Africa, introduces and analyzes the terms of “orature” and “cyberture”. The author focuses on the transformation of the form and content of African narratives in the post-colonial era. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that it is the first time an African podcast is considered as an oral historical digital source. The article provides a brief overview of podcasts created by people from Sub-Saharan and Southern Africa in the 2010s, describes the prerequisites for creating these projects, their thematic field, and analyzes their features. Particular emphasis is placed on issues of representations and interpretations of the cultural and historical experience of Africans and members of the African diaspora. The main dilemmas of placing podcasts into the context of oral history are articulated at the end of the article. The author also concludes that African podcasts are in line with the metamodern discourse.

Diaspora and development: the case of Mauritius

ABSTRACT This paper explores the different prospects offered by diasporic connections towards development in the island of Mauritius. Mauritius maintains strong diasporic connections with the homelands of the “ancestral” diasporas of its multi-ethnic population. The contribution and assistance of these countries towards the development of Mauritius at multiple levels has been significant and is still ongoing. However, the connection between the Mauritian diaspora and Mauritius as a homeland is so far less solid. The paper explores the two dimensions of diaspora in terms of their contribution to development, arguing that Mauritius needs to do more towards reaching out to its diaspora.

The Hadrami Diaspora: A "diaspora for others" in the Indian Ocean

The term diaspora has, over the past two decades, become ubiquitous both in the vernacular and in academia, to the point that it appears to have lost its acuity as an analytical concept, often meaning little more than a group of migrants. In an attempt to reinvigorate the concept, this article invokes the notion of the “diaspora for others”: a diaspora that has a coherence across space and time, linking the various localisations of a diaspora, and the homeland. The case study is the Hadrami diaspora, and by tracing the links between members of the diaspora, this article demonstrates how the diaspora, although marked by internal differences, nevertheless displays an overall cohesion that grants it a stable and distinct identity as a spatially dispersed community, thus recalling the original sense of the term diaspora.