Identity And Marginality

Decades of conflict and war have forced millions of men, women and children to flee from their homes and seek refuge in other parts of the country or in foreign lands - Afghanistan is one such country. This book is a study of the displaced Afghan migrant population in India, in particular the persecuted Sikhs and Hindus who are religious minorities in Afghanistan and make up a majority of Afghan migrants in India. It explores the relationship between acculturation and identity development. By focusing on the interactions between the Afghan immigrant population and the Indian society, the author analyses how the community negotiates identity and marginality in a country that does not recognize them as refugees. The author explains how the Afghan migrant population manages and negotiates various identities, bestowed upon them by the societies in their home and host countries in their day to day existence in India. An important study of acculturation and adaptation issues of migrant groups in the setting of a developing country, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of refugee and migration studies, ethnography of (ethnic) identity, and Middle East and South Asian Studies.

This work deals with the identification and integration process of immigrants in Australia and the role that religion plays in this process. Viktor Zander investigates the immigrant community of Slavic Baptists in Victoria and analyzes the relationship between ethnic and religious identities as well as their social dynamics. "Identity" and "marginality" are addressed as crucial issues for Slavic immigrants and their Australian-born children. The work is based on the author’s field-research in the Slavic Baptist community in Victoria. Key Features Second volume in relaunch of the series "Religion and Society" (RS)

Indonesia's policy since independence has been to foster the national language. In some regions, local languages are still political rallying points, but their significance has diminished, and the rapid spread of Indonesian as the national language of political and religious authority has been described as the 'miracle of the developing world'. Among the Weyewa, on the island of Sumba, this shift has displaced a once vibrant tradition of ritual poetic speech, which until recently was an important source of authority, tradition, and identity. But it has also given rise to new and hybrid forms of poetic expression. This first study to analyse language change in relation to political marginality argues that political coercion or cognitive process of 'style reduction' may partially explain what has happened, but equally important in language shift is the role of linguistic ideologies.

Masquerade, both literal and metaphorical, is now a central concept on many disciplines. This timely volume explores and revisits the role of disguise in constructing, expressing and representing marginalised identities, and in undermining easy distinctions between 'true' identity and artifice. The book is interdisciplinary in approach, spanning a diverse range of cultures and narrative voices. It provides provocative and nuanced ways of thinking about masquerade as a tool for construction, and a tool for critique. The essays interrogate such themes as: *mask and carnival *fetish fashion *stigma of illegitimacy *femininity as masquerade *lesbian masks *cross-dressing in Jewish folk theatre *the mask in seventeenth and eighteenth century London and nineteenth century France *the voice as mask.

Marginality and Crisis: Globalization and Identity in Contemporary Africa extends the scope and understanding of the effects of globalization and its forces on Africa. With each chapter written by specialists who recognize that the future of Africa is entwined with that of the rest of the world, this volume explains with fresh vigor the new thinking on the historical specificity, value, opportunity, and shortcomings of globalization for a continent many regard as marginalized and in crisis. In the face of much pessimism, several questions have engaged the attention of this young generation of African scholars: Where is Africa in relation to globalization? Where are the things that make Africa Africa (such as economy, politics, culture, identity, and human relations) headed? Are Africa's communities helpless against global forces or empowered by new avenues of access? How do scholars and policymakers engage the problems of globalization vis-^-vis Africa's ethnic, linguistic, and other identities? What are the economic and political trajectories in various countries and localities? An invaluable source for scholars, students, and the general reader, the essays in this book have confidently and clearly explored and explained the crises that have engulfed the continent in the age of globalization. Unlike other works that have dwelt only on the continent's victimhood, this volume identifies key areas in which Africa can become more proactive and outward-looking in response to the forces and values that take the globe as their reference points.

Intersectional Media: Representations of Marginalized Identities analyzes media depictions of a variety of intersecting identities. Through a study examining how components of identity such as race, class, ethnicity, age, ability, class, and sexuality mesh and form a unique worldview, contributors to this collection frame their understanding of media intersectionality as complex and multi-layered studies of identity. Rather than focusing on any one component of marginalized identity, this book broadens the scope of inquiry and encourages audiences to recognize the complexity of media analysis when a combination of marginalized identities is depicted. Contributors demonstrate their understanding of how different components of identity combine and create new, original components of identity, paving the way for new studies of both media and identity. Scholars of media studies, identity studies, cultural studies, minority studies, gender studies, race studies, and sociology will find this book particularly useful.

How do people think about their identities? How do they express themselves individually and as part of collective groups, social movements, organizations, neighborhoods, or nations? Identity has important consequences for how we organize our lives, wield social power, and produce and reproduce privilege and marginality. In this lively and engaging book, Wayne H. Brekhus explores the sociology of identity and its social consequences through three conceptual themes: authenticity, multidimensionality, and mobility. Drawing on vivid examples from ethnography, current events, and everyday life, he offers an approach to identity that goes beyond the individual and demonstrates how social groups privilege, flag, and shape identities. Offering an insightful overview of the sociological approaches to understanding social identity in a multicultural, globalized world, The Sociology of Identity will be a welcome resource for students and scholars of identity, and anyone interested in the social and cultural character of the self.