Diaspora

Conceptualizing Diaspora

Since the 1990s, the concept of diaspora has gained importance in disciplines such as ethnic studies, cultural studies, anthropology, area studies, and human geography. It has become a keyword in media and communication studies mainly through influential writings by authors in the field of cultural (media) studies and postcolonial studies, including Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, and Homi Bhabha. The concept was further developed and disseminated in media and communication studies throughout the 1990s and early 2000s as a result of empirical studies on media in [Page 377]diaspora communities by authors such as Myria Georgiou, Marie Gillespie, Christine Ogan, and Daniel Dayan. The concept has also been criticized for its overuse and risk for essentialism. Related to these criticisms is that, in many cases, diaspora is used as a synonym for demographic realities (e.g., cross-border migration) or hard-to-define concepts that evoke particular political discourses and policies (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious and cultural minorities, ethnic groups, exile communities, or marginalized groups).

To tackle these challenges, critical researchers in media and diaspora studies have followed two strategies. The first is to embrace the social diversity and multipolarity that exists within groups of people labeled as diasporas by acknowledging and studying their multiple trajectories and axes of belonging. This implies incorporating intersecting identities into the diasporic framework by recognizing that questions of race and ethnicity interconnect with other social categories and constructs such as gender and class. The second is to think of diaspora not primarily as a strictly demarcated community or demographic unit, but rather as a set of diasporic practices through which people engage with or (re)produce ties between multiple places of belonging, particularly between a place of residence and a “homeland.”

Developments in Media and Diaspora Research

Due to its linkage with cultural studies, the concept of diaspora has mainly found resonance in research on media-related practices and experiences. However, the attention to diaspora cuts across different areas of media and communication research.