Rethinking the African Diaspora - Rethinking Africa

May 12, 2008

By S. Abrahams

The characteristics of our contemporary era of globalization and transnationalism are to a considerable extent constituted by the fact of mobility: mobility of information, of resources, and crucially, of people. Diaspora refers, in the words of the celebrated diaspora scholar Robin Cohen, to “communities settled outside their natal (or imagined natal) territories, acknowledg[ing] that 'the old country’ – a notion often buried deep in language, religion, custom or folklore - always has some claim on their loyalty and emotions”¹ (Cohen 1997:ix). The African diaspora is a determining aspect of Africa's history, as well as of its present situation, and is a fundamental part of the way in which Africans have seen themselves, culturally, economically as well as in a range of other ways.

This University Teach In provides contemporary perspectives on the African Diaspora from internationally acclaimed scholars who are engaged in cutting edge research in rethinking Africa by rethinking the African diaspora.

2008 African Diaspora Flyer

_Reference:

_{1. Cohen, Robin 1997. Global Diasporas: An Introduction. UCL Press.}