The Paradox(es) of Diasporic Identity, Race and Belonging

This book explores how questions about home and belonging have been framed in the discourses on race, migration, and social relationships. It does this with the aim of envisioning alternative modes of living and reimagining our political communities in ways that question the legacy of colonization and constructed identities which detract from our sense of obligation to each other and the planet. The book questions problematic categories of difference to transform human relations beyond the materialism of our global political economy. Questions addressed in the volume include: In what ways are combative colonial identities of difference manufactured within our national and global spaces of encounter? How can we expel the racialized and tribalized political identities that seek to purify and deny the complexities and sacredness of being human? How do we embrace the notion that everyone we encounter is a mirror reflecting our fears of suffering and our desires for happiness?

The book is set in the context of re-emerging ultra-nationalists and anti-migrant politicians on the national and international stage, advancing various strands of extreme-right and protectionist ideology couched as redemptive-welfarist strategies. The adverse impacts of these strategies seem to be reifying a possessive idea of citizenship and identity, engendering a national fantasy that portrays communities as homogenous entities inhabiting enclosed borders. This is essentially a compendium of conversations across the intersection of the racial, national, ethnic, spiritual, and sexual boundaries in which we live.

Benjamin Maiangwa is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Prior to joining Lakehead University, he was Teaching Fellow in International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies in the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA), Durham University, UK. He was also instructor at the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology (MITT). Maiangwa's research focuses broadly on the intersection of politics, culture, and society. His publications and outreach activities use storytelling, action research, and critical ethnography to explore notions of contested belonging, home, mobility, and people's experiences of conflict and peace.