Final Activity Report Summary - AFRICAN MIGRATION (Home, exile and multiple belongings in African migration narratives in Europe)
The object of this study is the experience of people of African origins in Europe as reflected in migratory and diasporic narratives. This research stems from the consideration that, although Africa has always been crucial to the very notion of Europe, debates on European identity rarely acknowledge the reciprocal embeddedness of the histories of the two neighbouring continents.
The consolidation of the EU now calls for a critical understanding of this problematic relationship and, especially in the light of growing diasporic communities in all member states, for a transnational exploration of the African presence in Europe and its contribution to the cultural heritage of the continent.
This study has addressed these issues by looking comparatively at old and new literary spaces in Western and Southern Europe and by interrogating the concept of Afro-European literature(s) as a new discursive category and the feasibility of a discourse on Afro-European identity. Using a multidisciplinary approach and drawing upon studies in anthropology, sociology and psychology, the study carried out a comparative analysis of prose texts in English, Italian, Spanish and French produced by authors of African origins (first and second generation immigrants) currently based in European countries. It investigated the experience of expatriation in different contexts, the recreation of home in exile, the perception of the host country, the process of adjustment to the host culture, the intersections of race and gender in the construction of identity in new locations, and the transcultural and transnational dimensions of African migration.
The corpus of texts produced by authors of African origins in Europe is characterised in the first place by plurality: plurality of the languages used (mother tongues in some cases and second languages in others), of the authors' African heritages, and of their European locations (many authors have lived in more than one European country), all this adding to the specificities of individual experience. Moreover, Afrosporic literatures have developed in different European countries at different times: the long and already canonised tradition of Black writing in former imperial nations such as Britain or France contrasts with the much more recent and more isolated voices in countries of recent immigration such as Italy or Spain. These literatures have also followed very different patterns: target readership, editorial policies and marketing strategies vary widely from country to country. From the analysis of extra-textual elements and of the institutional frameworks accompanying these literary developments, I have come to observe that Afrosporic texts are inserted in different discoursive frames which are deeply entangled with immigration and integration policies and which strongly affect the degree of international recognition of these texts and their inclusion in the national canon.
On the other hand, comparative readings of singular works have revealed a consistent number of commonalities in the way expatriation is experienced and in the way Europe is perceived by minority groups. In spite of the heterogeneity of contexts and situations, migratory narratives reveal common concerns among immigrants and suggest that the alienation experienced by minorities in countries of recent immigration is not very dissimilar from the one experienced by minorities in countries with a long tradition of multiculturalism. Therefore, a comparative perspective both at a diachronic and a synchronic level is paramount to the understanding of new literary configurations across linguistic and national boundaries. The analysis of differences and parallels across countries has revealed that a theoretical discourse on Afro-European identity is not only feasible but highly productive.
This research has contributed to creating new fields of expertise, extending the scope of cultural and literary studies to relevant societal issues, and promoting a new area of research by opening a new perspective of analysis and inscribing the study of African diasporic literature within the larger field of European Studies.
The consolidation of the EU now calls for a critical understanding of this problematic relationship and, especially in the light of growing diasporic communities in all member states, for a transnational exploration of the African presence in Europe and its contribution to the cultural heritage of the continent.
This study has addressed these issues by looking comparatively at old and new literary spaces in Western and Southern Europe and by interrogating the concept of Afro-European literature(s) as a new discursive category and the feasibility of a discourse on Afro-European identity. Using a multidisciplinary approach and drawing upon studies in anthropology, sociology and psychology, the study carried out a comparative analysis of prose texts in English, Italian, Spanish and French produced by authors of African origins (first and second generation immigrants) currently based in European countries. It investigated the experience of expatriation in different contexts, the recreation of home in exile, the perception of the host country, the process of adjustment to the host culture, the intersections of race and gender in the construction of identity in new locations, and the transcultural and transnational dimensions of African migration.
The corpus of texts produced by authors of African origins in Europe is characterised in the first place by plurality: plurality of the languages used (mother tongues in some cases and second languages in others), of the authors' African heritages, and of their European locations (many authors have lived in more than one European country), all this adding to the specificities of individual experience. Moreover, Afrosporic literatures have developed in different European countries at different times: the long and already canonised tradition of Black writing in former imperial nations such as Britain or France contrasts with the much more recent and more isolated voices in countries of recent immigration such as Italy or Spain. These literatures have also followed very different patterns: target readership, editorial policies and marketing strategies vary widely from country to country. From the analysis of extra-textual elements and of the institutional frameworks accompanying these literary developments, I have come to observe that Afrosporic texts are inserted in different discoursive frames which are deeply entangled with immigration and integration policies and which strongly affect the degree of international recognition of these texts and their inclusion in the national canon.
On the other hand, comparative readings of singular works have revealed a consistent number of commonalities in the way expatriation is experienced and in the way Europe is perceived by minority groups. In spite of the heterogeneity of contexts and situations, migratory narratives reveal common concerns among immigrants and suggest that the alienation experienced by minorities in countries of recent immigration is not very dissimilar from the one experienced by minorities in countries with a long tradition of multiculturalism. Therefore, a comparative perspective both at a diachronic and a synchronic level is paramount to the understanding of new literary configurations across linguistic and national boundaries. The analysis of differences and parallels across countries has revealed that a theoretical discourse on Afro-European identity is not only feasible but highly productive.
This research has contributed to creating new fields of expertise, extending the scope of cultural and literary studies to relevant societal issues, and promoting a new area of research by opening a new perspective of analysis and inscribing the study of African diasporic literature within the larger field of European Studies.