Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #361

by Kevin Kenny

What does diaspora mean? Until quite recently, the word had a specific and restricted meaning, referring principally to the dispersal and exile of the Jews. But since the 1960s, the term diaspora has proliferated to a remarkable extent, to the point where it is now applied to migrants of almost every kind.

This Very Short Introduction explains where the concept of diaspora came from, how its meaning changed over time, why its usage has expanded so dramatically in recent years, and how it can both clarify and distort the nature of migration. Kevin Kenny highlights the strength of diaspora as a mode of explanation, focusing on three key elements--movement, connectivity, and return--and illustrating his argument with examples drawn from Jewish, Armenian, African, Irish, and Asian diasporas. He shows that diaspora is not simply a synonym for the movement of people. Its explanatory power is greatest when people believe that their departure was forced rather than voluntary. Thus diaspora would not really explain most of the Irish migration to America, but it does shed light on the migration compelled by the Great Famine. Kenny also describes how migrants and their descendants develop diasporic cultures abroad--regardless of the form their migration takes--based on their connections with a homeland, real or imagined, and with people of common origin in other parts of the world. Finally, most conceptions of diaspora feature the dream of a return to a homeland, even when this yearning does not involve an actual physical relocation.

About the Series:

Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2013

About the author

Kevin Kenny is Professor of History and Glucksman Professor in Irish Studies at New York University. He received his Ph.D. in American History from Columbia University in 1994, where his dissertation won the Bancroft Award. He taught at the University of Texas from 1994 to 1999 and at Boston College from 1999 to 2018. His first book, Making Sense of the Molly Maguires (Oxford University Press, 1998) examines how traditions of Irish rural protest were transplanted into industrial America. His second book, The American Irish: A History (Longman, 2000), offers a general survey of the field. A third book, Peaceable Kingdom Lost (Oxford University Press, 2009) analyzes the unraveling of William Penn’s utopian vision of harmonious co-existence between Native Americans and European colonists. Professor Kenny’s latest book, Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press 2013), examines the origins, meaning, and utility of a central concept in the study of migration, with particular reference to Jewish, African, Irish, and Asian history. He is also editor of Ireland and the British Empire (Oxford University Press, 2004) and he has published articles on immigration in the Journal of American History and the Journal of American Ethnic History among other venues. His latest book, The Problem of Immigration in a Slaveholding Republic: Policing Mobility in the Nineteenth-Century United States (Oxford University Press, 2023), explains how slavery shaped immigration policy as it moved from the local to the national level in the period from the American Revolution through the end of Reconstruction.

Reviews

[Simon Wiebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine hilfreiche kurze Einführung in das Themenfeld „Diaspora“. Für mich persönlich waren die Ausführungen zu der Bedeutung des Begriffes am hilfreichsten (K1 „What is Diaspora?“). Kenny greift am Anfang die Kontroversen zu dem Begriff auf (zB nationalistische Vereinnahmung und Homogenisierung einer Gruppe), spricht sich für ein reflektierteres und kritischeres Nutzen des Wortes aus und versucht zwischen Migration und Diaspora zu unterscheiden.

Auch die ähnlichen Phänomene in Diaspora-Gruppen wie eine „Babylon-Erfahrung“, eine darauffolgende Kulturentwicklung in der Diaspors inklusive Liedgut und Erinnerungskultur fand ich gut zusammengefasst (K3 „Connections“).

Die weiteren Kapitel fand ich interessant, aber waren für mich nicht von so starker Relevanz.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these very short introductions...I read this for my global history field, and it was a very pleasant experience. Quick read, lots of fascinating things to think about. What sort of migration counts as a diaspora? How can we productively use the concept of diaspora in thinking about global history? Do diaspora (is that the plural? Or diasporas? Diaspori?) weaken the power of nation-states, or can they paradoxically strengthen nation-states?

[Danial Yazdani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written, succinct explanation of such a monumental and all-consuming concept. Kevin Kenny wrote from a well informed outsider perspective, balancing his knowledge in the field with personal opinion to digest the concept of diaspora into a more palatable one. He writes, “but for all those who seek to discover where they come from, and to understand what they have become, diaspora will retain a powerful attraction”. I could not agree more. And that is why the text lost a star, as a I felt Kenny didn’t dig deep enough to explain the dual poignancy and vibrancy of global diasporas and how they function. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read.

[Ahmad hosseini · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book examines where the concept of diaspora came from, how its meaning changes over time, why its usage has expanded so dramatically in recent years, how it enables certain forms of political and cultural expression, and how it can both obscure and clarify the nature and human migration.

[M A V I · Rating 4 out of 5]

من این کتاب رو به فارسی و با ترجمه‌ی پیمان حقیقت طلب از انتشارات دیاران خوندم. به نظر من تو عصر حاضر که انقدر با مهاجرت و پناهندگی چه توسط خودمون و چه به واسطه ی اطرافیانمون در ارتباط هستیم، خوندن چنین کتابی می تونه دیدگاه خوبی به ما بده.
ما ایرانی ها طی سالها میزبان مهاجرین و پناهندگان افغانستانی بودیم و خودمون هم به خاطر تحولات سیاسی یا مسائل اقتصادی چه بعد از انقلاب 57 و چه تو سالهای پس از اون شاهد موج هایی از مهاجرت ایرانی ها هستیم که البته شاید نشه به طور دقیق اسم دیاسپورا رو روی این مهاجرت ها گذاشت، اما در هر صورت مهاجرت کردن و مهاجر پذیری مفاهیم پررنگی تو زندگی ایرانی ها هستند.
این کتاب خلاصه ی ساده و روانی از مهاجرت‌ها به ویژه مهاجرت‌های اجباری در طول تاریخ ارائه می کنه.
فصل پنجم کتاب که مفصل تر به دیاسپورای یهودی‍ی ها و شکل گیری کشور اسرائیل پرداخته بود برای من جالب تر بود.

[Oren Yirmiya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it's a bit redundant to criticize a "short introduction" for being basic, but I found the text underwhelming and quite outdated. While it offers some interesting historical surveys of different diasporas, it doesn't seem particularly interested in what the term means culturally and intellectually. The focus on the modern nation-state as a frame of analysis also felt inadequate, especially as it clearly led the book to underrepresent Armenian and Palestinian diasporas.

As someone working in Jewish studies, I found the focus on Judaism, biblical Israelites, and Zionism both flat and overemphasized. One can understand how the author arrived at this emphasis, but given that the term "diaspora" is now applied to so many different groups, and, as the author himself argues, means something quite different today than it did in the ancient world, a more reflexive approach to this focus would have been preferable.

I also didn't understand the author's comments on Irish cultural memory. It feels like he has a very different estimation of historical events than one would find among the community itself. Acknowledging this divergence would have been helpful, as his framing now makes me suspicious about his writing as a whole. I wonder whether this is representative of how other diasporas discussed in the book would characterize themselves.

[Erdogan Cesmeli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A narrow perspective on the concept of Diaspora

The author provides few “selective” examples from history to explain what “diaspora”means. It does an ok job.
Unfortunately, the content fails to treat the examples homogeneously. Armenians for example, moved within the territory of the country they are citizen of. So their move should be treated as “Internally Displaced People”, right? Also, the content misses to cover major examples. For example, why were Native Americans or Aborigines not even discussed?
Finally, the content does not creatively discuss the modern era “immigration” and the resulting new version of “diaspora”.

[Avesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly enlightening (albeit heavy) read. Kenny covers the origins of diaspora, and also discusses migration from various regions, such as from Eastern Asia, Israel, Europe, Armenia, Ireland, and so on. My main issues were how Kenny skipped/neglected certain aspects of diaspora - he discusses the forced diaspora of the Armenians in great depth, but fails to discuss attempted forced migrations during the Islamic conquest of Persia under the Rashidun Caliphate. He also has his final chapter on the future of diaspora... but fails to discuss it, or cast any particular predictions on what we may see over the coming decades/centuries/etc. Great read though, incredibly fascinating.

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very short introduction is a mostly thoughtful essay on the concept of diaspora, the forcible scattering of an ethnically-related people to many difference geographic destinations. The author explores the Jewish diaspora, the paradigm for all others, and then covers the Armenian, African, and Irish diasporas. The book looses its way a bit in the fifth chapter, on international migrations in Asia and secondary migrations - such as ethnic Chinese residents forced out of Malaysia - but as the author acknowledges, these migrations really aren’t diasporas in any way that allows the term to retain a distinct meaning. A migrations, they are interesting in themselves.

[Alireza Naderi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 would be more fair. This book delivers what it promises, i.e. giving a short introduction to the concept of diaspora. I picked it up, however, hoping to gain a better insight into my own condition, only to find it essentially a (decent) case study of Jewish, African, Irish, Chinese, Indian, and to a lesser extent Armenian diasporas. Still, I learned some interesting stuff about the Rastafari movement, and also the anti-Asian sentiments in European ex-colonies during the decolonization era that led to big waves of "repeat migrants" and refugees.

[Olivia Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has made me want to know more about African American Diaspora!

[Claire G · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars

An extremely informative read. If you're interested in learning about diasporas/global migration, this is a great place to start.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the title suggests, it succinctly explains diaspora as a concept. More importantly, it serves as a good starting point for further readings on migration, diaspora, and identity. I liked how it was critical of the popular usage of the phrase "diaspora" to indicate the number of migrants of one ethnicity or nationality living in a place, while remaining open to various interpretations of what diaspora means and how it can be applied to understand migration.

[Renee-lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read and primer on a dynamic and, for me, personal topic. It's a rich, dense, and complex book despite only being 109 pages do don't expect to breeze through it. Good list of suggests reading at the end.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview of an intriguing subject.

Chapter 1: What is diaspora?
Chapter 2: Migration
Chapter 3: Connections
Chapter 4: Return
Chapter 5: A global concept
Chapter 6: The future of diaspora

[unperspicacious · Rating 4 out of 5]

Competent and very readable.