OSP: Paul Gilroy - Diasporic identity

Paul Gilroy - blog task

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?

• Gilroy suggests that racial identities are "historically constructed" through colonisation, slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism.

2)What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?

•   Gilroy suggests that racial differences and racial identities are a consequence of racial oppression 
• Racial disruption is said to be caused due to historical disputes that segregated people from one another 

3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?

• Ethnic absolutism is when people separate eachother based on their ethnicity
• Gilroy is opposed to the idea of Ethnic Absolutism as he suggests that society shouldn't segregate one another into isolated groups- he suggests that everyone is to live equally amongst eachother and that "racism causes race"

4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?

• Gilroy views diasporic identity as the body of a large culture
•  He believes it cant be reversed as the identity dates back to the days of historical oppression and slavery

5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?

• Gilroy suggested that the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s was  "external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation" 
• This implies that Gilroy feels that black Britons felt out of place, at the time, and had nowhere 'to be themselves'

6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?

• negative effects include: 
• bad experiences of exclusion
• exposure to regressive ideologies 
• marginalisation: create an identity that spreads within the diasporic community that creates further isolation 

7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity? E.g. digital media - offer specific examples.

• Diasporic communities use the digital age to connect to their cultural identity through social media ( snapchat, facebook, Instagram etc..)
• They can also connect through family tree websites such as "ancestry.com" to explore their personal family history 

8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?

• He suggests that it shouldn't be forgotten 
• He also suggests that the world cant go back to the way it was before slavery due to various socio-political changes

9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?

• Due to the negative representation of Black people as them being aggressive and violent, usually a perception of a white person, black people would feel the idea of "double consciousness" and thus feel as if they are this stereotypical representation.

10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.

• 'Hidden Figures' challenges 'double consciouness'  and the stereotypes of black women through the portrayal of intelligent, independent and strong characters as opposed to the low income and low education stereotypes of black women