Transnational perspective in ethnology : from 'ethnic' to 'diasporic' communities

Abstract

This chapter promotes transnational perspective in ethnological research on labour migrants and refugees, and discusses the potential theoretical benefits of the notion of diaspora in an effort to think beyond ethnicity as the main ground of group formation. Using the adjective diasporic instead of the noun diaspora is suggested, as it hints at manifold processes of identity formation and social activities. It keeps the research interest open towards a wide range of experiences of what is often presented as "living away from home", or, from a transnational perspective, as having yet another home(land) – whether actual, remembered, or imagined – as a potential or actual frame of emotional, social or political reference.