Paul Gilroy and Diasporic identity

 Paul Gilroy - blog task

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 170: Gilroy – Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can access it online here using your Greenford Google login.

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?

He has consistently argued that racial

identities are historically constructed – formed by colonialization,

slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism.

2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?

Race’ [is not] the eternal cause of racism [but is] its complex, unstable

product. I should probably emphasise at this point that neither race

nor racism are the exclusive historical property of the minorities who

are their primary victims.

3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?

Race’ [is not] the eternal cause of racism [but is] its complex, unstable

product. I should probably emphasise at this point that neither race

nor racism are the exclusive historical property of the minorities who

are their primary victims.

4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?

The classic diaspora is the position from which Gilroy develops his

concepts of diaspora. The classic diaspora considers the originating

place for those displaced as the original source of unity and permanence

for the diasporic identity. The means that the country a group have been

forced to leave will always be the place that defines the cultural or ethnic

identity for those individuals.

5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?

At the time, the dominant representation of black Britons was as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation.”

6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?

However, diasporic identities can also become trapped within a national ideology; diasporic cultural ideologies and practices exist within a national ideology based upon its social, economic and cultural integrations and as such there is a cultural difference with the diasporic identities. This difference becomes associated with minority groups and a cultural tension occurs.

7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity? E.g. digital media - offer specific examples.

Diaspora as a diaspora is transnational, communication needs to also be transnational. As such, social media is an excellent forum for diasporic groups to communicate with those they identify as part of their group. It is also a way to maintain the links to the place of origin, cultural practices and ideologies.

8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?

The experiences of slavery are irreversible and therefore have had a huge impact on the formation of  black identity.

9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?

In the example of mainstream british media, black britons see the world from a biased perspective of the british people but also see the world through their own eyes due to personal experiences they have.

10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.

In the hidden trailer the black women are represented as quite dependent and and are in a domestic setting portraying how black women are usually c carrying out unpaid domestic labour because of the racism they encounter in employment which gives them less of a chance of being selected in employment/