Imazighen of France; articulations of an indigenous diaspora

TY - JOUR

T1 - Imazighen of France; articulations of an indigenous diaspora

AU - Harris, Jonathan

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council: [grant number 1362220]. The author would like to thank Prof Sarah Radcliffe for her support and guidance in preparing this manuscript, and the members of the Amazigh diaspora for their patient and generous participation in this research. Publisher Copyright: © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2020/7/4

Y1 - 2020/7/4

N2 - Indigenous diasporas are an emerging social and political phenomenon, and conceptually offer a productive avenue for critical research in the study of ethnicity and migration. The politics of Indigenous peoples in diaspora have not received enough scholarly attention, and this article seeks to respond by examining how indigeneity is articulated by the many Amazigh (non-Arab North African) cultural associations of France. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s articulation theory, this article contributes a nuanced approach to the relational concept of indigeneity, exploring four key ways in which disparate subjectivities are articulated with indigeneity in the discourse and practices of the diasporic Amazigh movement. Firstly, diaspora Imazighen articulate with the Global Indigenous Movement. Secondly, they position themselves and their homeland populations as colonised people. Thirdly, they perform cultural authenticity within their project of cultural and linguistic revitalisation. Lastly, they practice a village territoriality that articulates with indigeneity by privileging rurality and pre-colonial political institutions. These diaspora articulations are argued to produce a pro-indigenous, anti-essentialist discourse, which highlights the relational nature of indigeneity.

AB - Indigenous diasporas are an emerging social and political phenomenon, and conceptually offer a productive avenue for critical research in the study of ethnicity and migration. The politics of Indigenous peoples in diaspora have not received enough scholarly attention, and this article seeks to respond by examining how indigeneity is articulated by the many Amazigh (non-Arab North African) cultural associations of France. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s articulation theory, this article contributes a nuanced approach to the relational concept of indigeneity, exploring four key ways in which disparate subjectivities are articulated with indigeneity in the discourse and practices of the diasporic Amazigh movement. Firstly, diaspora Imazighen articulate with the Global Indigenous Movement. Secondly, they position themselves and their homeland populations as colonised people. Thirdly, they perform cultural authenticity within their project of cultural and linguistic revitalisation. Lastly, they practice a village territoriality that articulates with indigeneity by privileging rurality and pre-colonial political institutions. These diaspora articulations are argued to produce a pro-indigenous, anti-essentialist discourse, which highlights the relational nature of indigeneity.

KW - Amazigh

KW - articulation

KW - Diaspora

KW - Geopolitics

KW - Indigeneity

KW - Territoriality

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087777798&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/1369183X.2020.1788382

DO - 10.1080/1369183X.2020.1788382

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85087777798

SN - 1369-183X

SP - 1

EP - 16

JO - JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES

JF - JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES

ER -