Diaspora

Originally used to describe the scattering or dispersion of Jews from Palestine in the 6th century BC, the term diaspora has evolved into a widely used reference point for understanding human migration, settlement, and transnationalism. Since the late 20th century, the term diaspora has become a common label for any ethnic population living in places other than that considered their historic homeland and also refers to [Page 735]collective practices that challenge the boundaries of the nation-state. The broad and growing interest in diasporas has helped forge diaspora studies as a distinct academic discipline; however, other disciplines, including geography, have also made important contributions to the subject.

Academic studies on diaspora center on several themes, including migration, loss, memory, settlement, and transnational experiences. Migration and settlement themes focus on the historical origins and experiences of diasporas as they develop as unique cultural and political communities outside “native soil.” These experiences of displacement and resettlement furthermore provide context for studies that examine the loss and remembering of cultural practices and meanings. Recently, the notion that diasporas are communities that characteristically suffer cultural loss has given way to the view that they form hybrid identities, mixtures of the cultures of their origin and the host countries. Furthermore, many current studies concentrate on how members of diasporas construct their own personal identities both in relation to their diaspora communities and as participants in the construction of the broader significance of their diaspora.

The theme of transnationalism has become especially important in contemporary dialogues about diasporas. The idea that diasporas involve complex interrelationships between people and places, and often across political and sociocultural boundaries, predates the concept of transnationalism. Yet, with the recent interest in transnationalism as an aspect of globalization and contemporary migration, the transnational nature of diasporas has attracted wider interest. One reason for this renewed interest is that studies on the transnational practices undertaken by members of diasporas acknowledge the symbolic as well as material interchanges among places. In particular, the treatment of transnational ties in studies concerning diasporas often include emotional and psychological dimensions that are elsewhere often neglected.

One of the remarkable details about the diaspora concept is how quickly the usage of the term has expanded to represent many different migrant and ethnic groups. The extension of the term has been associated with increasing migration and cosmopolitanism, but some have also suggested that it reflects the broadening alienation of people from meaningful political representation within existing nation-states.

In addition to the recent expansion of usage of the term in academic circles, there has been a remarkable rise in the attention of policy makers. Since 2005, several global institutions, as well as a number of countries, have published reports and policies acknowledging diasporas as significant agents of change in their countries of origin. Geographers have been among the small number of social scientists who have examined the rise of these policies, which are sometimes referred to as “diaspora strategies.” The growing and far-reaching interest in diasporas, as social phenomenon, political constituency, and analytical concept, underscores the deeply political nature of this subject.

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