DiaspoRes - Diaspora as a Resource
DiaspoRes - Diaspora as a Resource:
Comparative Studies at the Hamburg Institut für Ethnologie
In the last two decades, the notion of “diaspora” has been placed firmly on the social science research agenda. At the Hamburg Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology (Institut für Ethnologie), diaspora has also become a major area of research and teaching since the middle of the 1990ies, resulting in a series of MA- and PhD theses, as well as in books, articles and related projects. At the same time, comparative and theory-oriented seminars on diaspora have been a continuous element in our teaching schedule.
Since 2006, a new and distinctive focus has been added to our projects, proposing a comparative investigation of diaspora success and focusing on different aspects of diaspora as a resource (DiaspoRes). Diasporas are defined here as networks of transnational communities dispersed from one place of origin to various host societies, maintaining common institutions despite a history of dispersal. Throughout history as well as in the present, diasporas have been providing significant contributions to sending and receiving countries despite their sometimes precarious positions in different societies. In comparison, certain diasporas seem to be particularly successful, standing out as economic or cultural elites.
Within the framework of DiaspoRes, concepts and strategies of diaspora success will be investigated through comparative case studies, expanding theoretical concepts of social, economic and symbolic capital as well as theories of successful middlemen minorities and ethnic entrepreneurship. Current and future research projects within DiaspoRes include individual case studies in Hamburg and other cities, as well as a major comparative project with international collaboration. Theoretical and methodological issues of diaspora research will be the focus of an international conference in 2010 and a summer school for international graduate students scheduled for 2011. A concluding conference presenting all research results is planned for 2012.