Introduction to the Special Issue Diaspora Connections

Abstract

Seeking critical and sound examination, analysis, and evaluation of complex ideas and theories of established past directions in the interdisciplinary fields of diaspora, postcolonial, and culture studies, this collection aims to chart intellectually meaningful pathways for future planetary survival and thriving, while throwing needed light on intricacies and nuances of established research and existing systems. Pondering the problems but also pursuing the possibilities of “diaspora connections” is a necessary and urgent endeavor today. While academics, activists, and cultural practitioners are creating numerous portals out of the human-conflict epidemic, and some see in the metaphoric and real “disease” the very artifacts and materials for hope of transformative power, the collection is driven by the realization, articulation, and intention of seeking inclusive paradigms and building enduring diaspora connections. In this spirit, I invited research papers that address, illuminate, analyze, and/or critique specific manifestations, dynamisms, or stagnancies of “diaspora connections,” as well as explore its multiple understandings and contexts. Whether focusing on recognized or emerging contours of diaspora communities shaped by and beyond concepts of race, ethnicity, colonization, and developmental logics, researched works on alignments and disjunctions, as well as new formations along postcolonial ecologies and narratives of culture, social formations and experiences were encouraged.