1st Edition

Diaspora and Identity Perspectives on South Asian Diaspora

Edited By Ajaya Sahoo, Gabriel Sheffer Copyright 2014
    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book investigates the identity issues of South Asians in the diaspora. It engages the theoretical and methodological debates concerning processes of culture and identity in the contemporary context of globalisation and transnationalism. It analyses the South Asian diaspora - a perfect route to a deeper understanding of contemporary socio-cultural transformations and the way in  which information and communication technology functions as both a catalyst and indicator of such transformations. The book will be of interest to scholars of diaspora studies, cultural studies, international migration studies, and ethnic and racial studies.

    This book is a collection of papers from the journal South Asian Diaspora.

    1. Introduction – Issues of Identity in the South Asian Diaspora  2. Diasporic Subjectivity as an Ethical Position  3. Another world of experience? Transnational contexts and the experiences of South Asian Americans  4. Revisiting the UK Muslim diasporic public sphere at a time of terror: from local (benign) invisible spaces to seditious conspiratorial spaces and the 'failure of multiculturalism' discourse  5. 'My language, my people': language and ethnic identity among British born South Asians  6. The Sikh gurdwara in Finland: negotiating, maintaining and transmitting immigrants' identities  7. Communal networks and gender: placing identities among South Asians in Kenya  8. Trajectory of social mobility: Asian Indian children coming of age in New York City  9. The power of technology: a qualitative analysis of how South Asian youth use technology to maintain cross-gender relationships  10. Place of subcaste (jati) identity in the discourse on caste: examination of caste in the diaspora

    Biography

    Ajaya Kumar Sahoo is currently an Assistant Professor & Director of the Centre for Study of Indian Diaspora, University of Hyderabad. His areas of research interests comprise international migration, South Asian diaspora, transnationalism, religion, and ageing. He is the Editor of South Asian Diaspora and Reviews Editor of Journal of Intercultural Studies.

    Gabriel Sheffer is Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. His research interests are in the field of diaspora and transnationalism, diaspora-homeland relations, and ethnic politics. He has authored numerous publications on topics related to his research interests. He is the editor of Modern Diasporas in International Politics (Croom Helm/St. Martin's Press, a pioneering text in the political study of diasporas).

    "True to their claim of engaging readers to the theoretical and methodological issues concerning culture and identity in contemporary context, the selection of articles provide readers glimpses from everyday lived socio-cultural experience to theoretical debates. The first two chapters of the book mainly focused on theoretical issues that may be a little overwhelming for non-researchers, while chapters three to ten provide a wide spectrum of diasporic experiences from South Asia, America, Britain, Finland to Kenya."
    Kaarthiyainy Supramaniam, newbooks.asia