New Perspectives in Diasporic Experience

This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2014. Taking a transcultural and interdisciplinary approach to Diaspora studies, New Perspectives in Diasporic Experience offers a wide range of new and challenging perspectives on Diaspora and confirms the relevance of this field to the discussion of contemporary forms of identity construction, movement, settlement, membership and collective identification. This volume investigates constructions of diasporic identity from a variety of temporal and spatial contexts. They explore encounters between diasporic communities and host societies, and examine how diasporic experiences can contribute to perpetuating or challenging normalised perceptions of the Other. The authors discuss how visual and literary representations become an integral part of diasporic experiences and identities. Other themes examined include communities’ attempts to reverse the negative effects of Diaspora and maintain cultural continuity, as well as generational differences and dialogue within the Diaspora, and the power that individuals have to negotiate marginal identities in diasporic settings.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Connie Rapoo, Maria Luisa Coelho and Zahira Sarwar Part 1: Narratives of Migration and Encounters in Host Societies A Glance at Identity (Trans/Con) Formation among Latino/Hispanic Communities in North America Carlos Parra Factors Influencing Migration of Ghanaian Youth to the Diasporas Mavis Dako-Gyeke The Impact of Exiled Brazilians upon Sao Paulo Youth Culture in the 1970s and 80s Cynthia Machado Campos Diaspora Hermeneutics: Mennonite Refugee Narratives between the World Wars John Eicher Part 2: Literary Diasporas Diaspora Trajectories in African Theatre Connie Rapoo Communities of Constraint: Zadie Smith's White Teeth Samantha Reive The African American Diaspora in Toni Morrison's Beloved: The Patchwork Quilt Motif and a Fragmented People Doreen Bauschke Border-Crossing and Displacement: The Diasporic Identities in Karen Tei Yamashita's Tropic of Orange Yung-yu Huang Competing Borders: Exploring Public Policy and Literature in the Construction of Indo-Canadian Diasporic Identity Melanie R. Wattenbarger Part 3: Visual(ising) Diaspora Belly Dancers and Burqas: Muslim Women in Mainstream Media Zahira Sarwar Visual Diasporas in the Feminine: The Case of Aurore de Sousa Maria Luisa Coelho Setting the Record Straight: South Asian Diasporic Invisibility in the Sandwich Islands Seri I. Luangphinith Part 4: New Diasporas/Diasporas in the Margin Social Ties, Bukharian Jewish Diaspora and Entrepreneurship: Narratives from Entrepreneurs Maria Elo and Paivi Jokela Irish Women Managing the Transmission of National Identity to Their Children in England Meabh Ni Maolalaidh What Is New about the New South Asian Diaspora in Great Britain? Inter-Generational and Inter-Cultural Conflicts and Negotiations Iulia Rascanu 'We Know What He Means' - Oh, Really?: Queering Queer Diaspora Mashrur Shahid Hossain

About the Author :
"Connie Rapoo teaches theatre and performance studies in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Botswana. She has published in the areas of African theatre and ritual performance, popular culture, and constructions of Africa in the transnational imaginary. Maria Luisa Coelho is a research member of CeHum, Universidade do Minho (Portugal) and teaches contemporary art and theory at the University of Reading (UK). She has a PhD in Comparative Literature, which focuses on artistic and literary representations of the feminine by Portuguese and English women. Zahira Sarwar is a Master’s candidate and graduate teaching assistant at the Pauline Jewitt Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies at Carleton University. Her research focuses on anti-Orientalist feminisms and the ways in which power operates within constructions of race, gender, religion and other modes of marginalization. "