1st Global Conference Diasporas: Exploring Critical Issues

Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom 

This inter- and multi-disciplinary project seeks to explore the contemporary experience of Diasporas - communities who conceive of themselves as a national, ethnic, linguistic or other form of cultural and political construction of collective membership living outside of their 'home lands.' In particular, key issues to be addressed include:

• What are the defining characteristics of Diasporas and what distinguishes one from the other?
• What role does 'home' and 'host' cultures play in developing relationships between communities in a global environment?
• How new is the concept of Diasporas; does it capture new global realities or designate old phenomena in a new way?

The project will also assess the larger context of major world transformations, for example, new forms of migration and the massive movements of people across the globe, as well as the impact and contribution of globalisation on tensions, conflicts and the sense of acceptance, rootedness and membership. Looking to encourage innovative trans-disciplinary dialogues, we warmly welcome papers from all disciplines, professions and vocations which struggle to understand what it means for people today to have diasporic experiences and a multiplicity of social, political and cultural memberships.

Full Conference Description