Theories of Diaspora

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This course examines conceptual and theoretical approaches to the notion of diaspora and the creation of diasporic communities as a result of voluntary and involuntary migrations, exploring the ways in which diaspora intersects not only with political, social, and cultural dynamics and articulations of globalization, but also with other concepts (race, nation, citizenship, exile, ethnicity, multiculturalism, transnationalism, and cosmopolitanism), esp. the experience of displacement and the relationship between diaspora and the homeland (as real or imaginary places). While this course underscores the African Diasporic experience, students engage with the ideas presented in the course from the perspective of their individual research focus.