
Possible Spaces of Somali Belonging
Vivian Gerrand(Author)
Melbourne University Press
Will be published approx. on 13. June 2016
Book
Hardback
277 pages
978-0-522-86929-3 (ISBN)
Description
What happens when Somalis find themselves in countries with which they have few obvious cultural links? In Australia, where a majority of Somalis are Australian citizens, this absence of cultural connection is only partly remedied within an official multicultural model. To understand the mechanics of contemporary belonging and the challenges faced by Western societies as they attempt to "integrate" Somali migrants, this book explores representations of Somali resettlement. How do particular representations contribute to or detract from Somali settlement and belonging in their host countries? What kinds of representations help Somalis to feel at home in their new contexts?
In the contexts of Australia and Italy-taken as case studies-Somalis are marginalised in different ways. This book considers representations as "possible spaces" that may counter reductive anti-African and anti-Muslim stereotypes that still condition public perceptions of Somali settlement. Approaching the question of belonging from a variety of disciplines, representations that embody Somali subjectivities and enable movement beyond exclusive paradigms of Italian or Australian nationhood are taken into account. Each representation is assessed for its ability to invite new forms of identification that lead to a process of "taking place".
In the contexts of Australia and Italy-taken as case studies-Somalis are marginalised in different ways. This book considers representations as "possible spaces" that may counter reductive anti-African and anti-Muslim stereotypes that still condition public perceptions of Somali settlement. Approaching the question of belonging from a variety of disciplines, representations that embody Somali subjectivities and enable movement beyond exclusive paradigms of Italian or Australian nationhood are taken into account. Each representation is assessed for its ability to invite new forms of identification that lead to a process of "taking place".
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Carlton
Australia
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
457 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-522-86929-3 (9780522869293)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Vivian Gerrand completed her PhD at the Australian Centre, Melbourne University, Australia. With interests in citizenship, literature and mobility, her interdisciplinary dissertation explored representations of Somali belonging in Australia and Italy. In 2015 she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the European University Institute.
Content
Chapter - 1: Uprootings: A History of Somalia
Chapter - 2: Somalis in the Diaspora: Comparing Settlement Trajectories
Chapter - 3: Media Framing, Representation and the Conditions of 'Taking Place' in Australia
Chapter - 4: Acts of Citizenship: Italian Publishing Houses and Their Publications
Chapter - 5: Re-groundings and Re-memberings: Belonging in Literature
Chapter - 6: Bodies in Public Space
Chapter - 7: Engrammatic Belongings? Imaging Somali Identities in Rome
Chapter - 2: Somalis in the Diaspora: Comparing Settlement Trajectories
Chapter - 3: Media Framing, Representation and the Conditions of 'Taking Place' in Australia
Chapter - 4: Acts of Citizenship: Italian Publishing Houses and Their Publications
Chapter - 5: Re-groundings and Re-memberings: Belonging in Literature
Chapter - 6: Bodies in Public Space
Chapter - 7: Engrammatic Belongings? Imaging Somali Identities in Rome