Suchergebnisse

It has become a theoretical truism that diaspora encompasses both mobility and settlement, change and continuity, roots and routes. Nevertheless, sociological accounts of diaspora identities have been largely focused on diaspora identities as part of a process of placemaking and claims-staking in the place of arrival. Such accounts have largely downplayed questions of origin, continuity and connection, and of the role of history and structure in shaping diasporic cultures 'on the ground'. Focusing on the annual Boishakhi Mela in East London, this article explores some of the tensions and ambiguities of diaspora spaces and cultural practices. It empirically examines the encounter between 'authentic' and 'commodified' cultures and the contested faultlines around gender, generation and religion that are played out in this public spectacle.

The paper explores the discourses surrounding the 'riots' of 2001 as a reflection of contemporary understandings of raced/ethnic, gendered and generational identities, and changing discourses about race and ethnicity in Britain. The paper examines these themes in relation to current academic theorizations of culture, identity and difference. Finally, the paper explores the implementation of these understandings in current government policy papers and practices around 'community cohesion' and 'citizenship'. It argues that each of these arenas employs very static and bounded notions of 'community', 'culture' and 'identity' which deny the complex formations of lived identities and obscures ongoing relations of power and disadvantage. This has clear implications for the future of multicultural policy, citizenship education and social justice.