Transculturality in the Diaspora
Spaces - Cultures - Identities
2nd conference of INPUTS
Institut für postkoloniale und transkulturelle Studien
Bremen - November 25 - 28, 2004
The conference under review, 'Transculturality in the Diaspora, Spaces - Cultures
- Identities', was the second conference of INPUTS (Institut für postkoloniale und
transkulturelle Studien) in Bremen, and organized by Thomas Rommel (International
University Bremen) and Gisela Febel (Bremen University).
The title of the conference already underlines the interdisciplinary nature of the
field 'transculturality' which, in discussion, can lead to certain weaknesses (e.g.
the difficulty to determine and define the term), but also to numerous strengths,
both of which were evident during the conference. However, the defining characteristic
is not only that the term is used in myriad forms across different disciplines,
but also that it is mentioned within one discipline in different contexts. As a
result of the variety of definitions and approaches to this term, the conference
showed what occurs when a field is truly interdisciplinary. As concepts and theories
travel from one discipline to another they gain new meaning and provide new insights
along the way.
After a short welcoming address by both organizers and Sabine Broeck (Vice President
for International Relations, Bremen University), the key-note speaker Kachig Tölölyan
(Wesleyan) gave an overview of the various discourses. He introduced a variety of
approaches to the term 'diaspora' in different disciplines and pointed out the flexibility
and quality of the term. From a biological approach (diasporic contagion), he went
into the fields of anthropology, history, literature, linguistics, and sociology
to explain the diversity of modes and definitions. Tölöyan showed that
the term is often mistakenly identified with mobility, whereas it actually represents
a type of network system. At the end of his presentation, he focused on 'diaspora'
as a term to reflect the individual self (Am I a diaspora?) and stressed the significance
of the elements "scale" and "speed" for the development of diasporas in the future.
The opening session on Friday was presented by Frank Schulze-Engler (Frankfurt)
who immediately shed light on the mess of manifold misinterpretations of the term
'transculturality'. In his paper, 'Transgression or Transcendence? Transcultural
Imperatives in Literary Studies', he explained and emphasized the clear
distinction between transculturation (a socio-economical concept developed in the
1940s) and transculturalism. Schulze-Engler then went on to illustrate the necessity
of seeing the differences and nuances within the concept of transculturality, providing
a variety of recent theoretical approaches and literary texts. The paper demonstrated
his idea of transculturality as a mode of making cultural complexity visible in
terms of contemporary literature.
Patrick Williams (Nottingham) drew our attention to his presentation "Naturally,
I reject the term diaspora". Edward Said and Palestinian Dispossession.
Williams showed that Said distinguished between a 'narrative dispossession' (in
his famous essay about the absence of a free narrative) and a 'dialogic dispossession',
which means that the Palestinians have no one to talk to in their specific cultural
/ political situation. These ideas are also included in the illustrations and literary
works of two other Palestinian intellectuals; Naji Al-Ali and Mahmoud Darwish. The
paper brought more insight and understanding to the ongoing process of Palestinian
dispossession and examined a range of questions addressing a variety of (trans-)cultural
problems and political issues.
The rest of the day was dedicated to African diasporas, which was introduced by
sociologist Sérgio Costa (Berlin). He examined the transnational integration
of the Brasilian "Movimento Negro" into the so-called "Black Atlantic" and the correlating
positions in policies. His contribution, The Black Atlantic and National Public Spheres,
referred to Paul Gilroy and Stuart Hall's studies, which he connected to the highest
population of African descendants outside of Africa - the Afro-Brazilians. Costa
concluded with the importance of an interdisciplinary discourse in this respect
and emphasized how essential it is to include the asymmetrical power relations in
research.
The fourth paper dealt with Tales of the Africa trade, 17th - 19th century.
François Poirier (Paris) compared tales of European (French and English)
slave traders to provide insight on the cultural differences shaping the development
of democratic politics on both sides of the Channel, in the rest of Europe and on
the African continent as well.
In her talk Becoming Black: Creating identity in the African Diaspora Michelle
Wright (Macalester) traced the development of a counter-discourse on the
black subject in the West through African-American, Caribbean, Black-British, Afro-German
and Black-French discourses, looking at how these different theories engage with
gender and sexuality, and with the terms 'Nation' and 'Diaspora'.
In the last session of the day, Barbara Korte (Freiburg) invited us to watch
White Teeth for a Mixed Audience: Multicultural Primetime Television in Britain,
showing parts of the British TV-adaptation of Zadie Smith's novel 'White Teeth'.
Korte discussed the play in light of its commitment to a multiethnic society and
its strategy to popularise cultural diversity for the average British audience.
She showed that the novel offers a post-racial and post-post-colonial position by
telling a story of a society in which it has become normal for categorisations to
overlap and to blend.
After a long day listening to a number of very interesting approaches and ideas,
stimulating discussions and debates were carried on over dinner until late at night.
The last day of the conference began by taking a look at transculturality from an
anthropological perspective, starting with Patricia Alleyne-Dettmers' (Hamburg)
examination of "Ritual dancers": Recreating Transcultural Power Spaces in Carnival
as a transcultural motif. Her investigation demonstrates how the Trinidadian Carnival
at Notting Hill (London) is evolving into a major symbol of Afro-Carribbean and
Asian peoples reconstructing their fragmented histories. The migrants use the celebration
to explore and challenge personal, political and other identities by creating characters
who represent parts of the migration progress. As Alleyne-Dettmers showed, Carnival
and its accompanying dances, spread messages about how these groups use the global
city as a heterogenous political space for working out multiple oppressive conflicts
caused by colonization and re-facilitated by global processes.
The second paper turned our attention towards Mexico-City as a forum where a new
quest for identity is being undertaken through the revival of "pure" Aztec religion.
Jacques Galinier (Paris) focused on commercialization and ritualization of
this culture and described the rejection of Western influences as an urban phenomenon
within the local native community. The 'New Indian Movement' creates a new spiritual
space and spreads the spirit of a new Indian ideology. Galinier's theories in his
paper The Indian community at stake in Mexican New Age are based on the ambivalent
ways in which these new manifestations are reconciled in Mexican every-day-culture.
Dirk Klopper (Stellenbosch) took us on a journey to the Southern hemisphere,
examining Afrikaner identity in a piece of contemporary South African literature
written by Antje Krog. His presentation, 'Difference, Displacement and Translation:
Afrikaner Identity in Post-Apartheid South Africa', focused on the constitution
of the subject in 'A Change of Tongue' (2003) and the anomalous position of the
Afrikaners, a community of European descent, in South African society. Kloppers
statements made clear that recent theories (postcolonial and other related theories)
are not adequate to provide us with sufficient positions concerning an Afrikaner
identity. This is based on the fact that Afrikaners in South Africa today are not
in a secure social standing of cultural domination - neither in a colonial nor in
a postcolonial context.
The focus of the closing session moved to the field of geography. In her paper,
Destabilizing Geographies / Destabilizing Geography, Sue Ruddick (Toronto)
explored the productive destabilizations that the term "diaspora" has had on thought
in geography, as well as some of the problematic attempts to reconstitute it in
politics based on the nomadology and the "fluid-fixity of the multitude". She emphasized
the absence of diaspora in the geographical discourse but encouraged the development
of new ways of approaching the term in a geographical context.
The discussion of this last paper and the beginning of the final discussion was
marked by fireworks which, in fact, were organized for the opening of the Christmas
market right opposite the conference building on the other side of the river banks,
and which were a beautiful occasion to relax and rest a little before plunging into
Gisela Febel's compilation of key-statements that had crystallized from papers and
discussions during the conference.
Febel pointed out that we had mostly been talking about strategies and tactics to
attain a certain position on the term "transculturality". The question remained
whether it was possible to talk about transcultural indentities at all or think
about a specific form of individual performances in respect to permanent processes
of identification. Furthermore, the discussion about a possible transcultural policy
brought up the question of political empowerment and policies of exclusion and inclusion.
It was emphasized that migration, the process of modernity, and an imaginary economy
of transculturalism are correlated and that rethinking concepts of transculturality
and diaspora are essential, despite the fact that the sense of memory and history
is very important in this respect. To sum it up, two levels of transculturality
were worked out: transculturality related to an approach in a postcolonial context
and the transculturality of a new migration leading into new form of diaspora. The
evening drifted into lively discussions continued over coffee and dinner.
Many speakers who were on their first visit to a (Northern) German conference said
that the weekend was a particularly memorable experience, taking place at a beautiful
venue with a scenic view over the heart of the city of Bremen and luckily in perfect
sunny winter weather most of the time. Besides the high standard of the papers presented
and the quality of the discussions they inspired, this conference was notable for
its sociability and for its friendly atmosphere. The comparatively small number
of participants gave the conference a seminar-style feel which enabled discussion
and debate. Students, graduate students, and professors were given the chance to
meet and present their research.
The hosts and organizers of the conference were delighted that the interdisciplinary
approach was a success. First, the different topics were thoroughly discussed, analyzed,
and reflected from various angles; from the individual to the social and back again.
Secondly, it was successful in terms of increasing knowledge of the many and varied
ways in which anthropology, cultural studies, natural sciences, sociology, geography,
and literature affect each other. The second conference of INPUTS was indeed an
interdisciplinary conference, presenting a multitude of perspectives from which
to view these interelations.
Angela Hamilton
Frankfurt am Main / Bremen