Written for LI806: Global Information Infrastructure, October 4, 2008.
Introduction:
One of the effects of economic globalization has been a massive increase in global migration. The combination of increased labor market inequalities resulting from global economic restructuring, increasingly open borders due to democratization and regional/international cooperation, changing demographic trends, and increasing technological innovation has led to an unprecedented acceleration in transnational migration (Martin, 2001). According to the International Organisation for Migration (2005, 2006), the number of international migrants leapt from 76 million in 1960, to 176 million in 2000 and to 191 million in 2006.
This bibliography addresses the role of information communication technologies (ICTs) in the lives of transnational migrants, specifically with regard to the use of the internet to foster cohesion among diasporic communities. The articles listed address issues of the construction of cultural and national identity and the use of the internet for political organization, as well as provide some basic research into the actual internet practices of diasporic communities.
Bibliography:
Adeniyi, A.G. (2007). Nigerian diaspora and the virtual construction of identity. Paper prepared for the Institute of Communications Studies (ICS) post-graduate conference, University of Leeds. Retrieved 2008-06-24 from http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~icsfsp/papers_files/files/Abiodun_Adeni....
1. Authority of the Author
Abiodun Adeniyi is a PhD candidate and teaching assistant at the Institute of Comunication Studies at the University of Leeds. Before entering academia, Adeniyi was a distinguished political reporter for Nigeria's The Guardian newspaper.
2. Relevance
This article examines identity construction amongst Nigerian diasporic communities. The author discusses the issues of political resistance, the relationship of the diaspora to the homeland, and how this is affected by the information divide between developed host nations and the less-developed homeland.
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
The Nigerian situation is a good example of how the GII has created a framework for political and cultural opposition. As a deterritorialized forum for discussion, the internet provides a space to organize free from the confines of the state.
4. Coverage
The author examines how the internet became a platform for political dissent and agitation following the cancellation of the 1993 Nigerian presidential election and the political crackdowns and mass flight that followed. He describes the creation via the internet of a new diasporic Nigerian culture in opposition to the homeland.
5. Point of View/Bias
As a politically-active Nigerian immigrant himself, Mr. Adeniyi gives an inside perspective to the issues of identity and culture that have arisen in these communities. As an insider, though, he cannot be considered an impartial observer.
Benítez J. L. (2006). Transnational dimensions of the digital divide among Salvadoran immigrants in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Global Networks: A Journal of Transnational Affairs, 6(2): 181-199.
1. Authority of the Author
José Benítez is the director of the Social Communications program at the Universidad Centroamericana 'José Simeón Cañas' in El Salvador. This article came out of a portion of his dissertation research on media use among Salvadoran immigrants.
2. Relevance
Benítez's article addresses issues of the digital divide in transnational communication and internet use. He discusses the phenomenon of the digital divide in the Salvadorean transmigrant community in terms of income level, gender, ethnicity, education, language, generation and geographical location, as well as "the social distribution of knowledge, power and network capacity in the information society" (p. 185).
This article also provides a good look at the actual uses of internet technology among the Salvadoran migrant population, including maintaining transnational family networks, connecting with Salvadoran media, and reinforcing local ethnic and sociocultural networks.
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
It is important to investigate and understand the significant barriers to entry into the GII. Equitability of access is one of the most important issues in ensuring that the benefits of the information society accrue to more than just the global elite.
4. Coverage
This study is based around 67 in-depth ethnographic interviews with Salvadorean immigrants in the DC area as well as participant observation during 12 weeks of field work between June and August 2004.
5. Point of View/Bias
As a Salvadoran graduate student studying in the United States, Benítez was both an outsider and an insider in the community he was researching. "I shared with Salvadoran immigrants elements of nationality, language and familiarity with their socio-cultural practices," he writes. "At the same time, I was not part of the immigrant community because I neither lived in the metropolitan area nor had immigrant status in the United States" (p. 185). This dialectic status affords him both a certain degree of theoretical objectivity as well as the ability to effectively work in and relate to the community.
Georgiou, M. (2003, May). Diasporic Communities On-Line: A Bottom-Up Experience of Transnationalism. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, San Diego, CA. Retrieved 2008-06-24 from http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/EMTEL/Minorities/papers/hommesmigration....
1. Authority of the Author
Maya Georgiou is currently Senior Lecturer in International Communications and Director of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Leeds. She has published numerous articles and books relating to transnationalism and communication. At the time of this article Ms. Georgiou was a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the London School of Economics investigating transnational media cultures and diasporic uses of communication technologies across the EU.
2. Relevance
This article examines how the growth of transnational internet communities among diasporic groups can contribute to changes in their sense of collective identity. In particular, she discusses how these communities, by being situated outside of traditional societal structures, can lead to a rethinking and exploration of ethnic identities; and how the transnational and decentralized nature of these communities is changing the relationship within these communities to the concept of the homeland.
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
The rise of the GII and the transnational forums it enables are leading to changes in conceptions of ethnicity and culture among diasporic groups. In this article Dr. Georgiou provides a framework for exploring some of these changes.
4. Coverage
Dr. Georgiou uses 3 case studies in her analysis: New Vision, an Ethiopian web site serving UK refugee communities; the global Kurdish on-line presence; and the Hellenic Resources Network (HR-Net), a global Greek information clearinghouse. She also discusses her work with Cypriot diasporic communities.
5. Point of View/Bias
This paper is primarily an optimistic look at the possibilities inherent in transnational internet communities. As such, the examples given and discussed tend towards the successful and progressive. Dr. Georgiou does acknowledge this, noting that "there are regressive projects of closure within diasporic on-line communication, that many people within diasporas are excluded by the information society, [and] that social boundaries on and off-line are still present and sometimes more restrictive than ever" (p. 4).
Ignacio, E. N. (2005). Building diaspora: Filipino cultural community formation on the Internet. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
1. Authority of the Authors
Emily Ignacio is a Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington, Tacoma. This book was adapted from her PhD dissertation at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
2. Relevance
This book is a study of Filipino diaspora identity development via a internet newsgroup. Dr. Ignacio analyzes interactions and posts on the forum to provide a window into the process of cultural identity negotiation within the Filipino diasporic community. Special attention is given to participants' discussions regarding race and gender, as well as the complex issues surrounding the notion of "authenticity." This book represents one of the few major data-driven explorations of online cultural identity and provides an interesting view of the process of cultural construction.
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
In a globalized society of mass migration, ethnicity and racial tensions become increasingly problematic. Dr. Ignacio does a good job at examining the impact of racism and issues of identity for ethnic minorities in America as they relate to the diasporic identity.
4. Coverage
This study examined posts on the soc.culture.filipino newspgroup from April 1995 through the start of 1997. (When looking at this study it should also be remembered that the individuals that had access to the internet in 1995 and 1997 represent a select, elite population and may not necessarily be representative of the larger Filipino diaspora or diasporic communities in general.)
5. Point of View/Bias
As a Filipino-Canadian who grew up in the United States, Dr. Ignacio approached her research as a tool for exploring her own cultural identity and the forces that shaped it. She was both a participant-observer researcher in the newsgroup as well as a Filipina looking for cultural identity.
She is also open about her own agenda – a desire for a cultural community divorced from identity politics:
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"Diasporic Filipinos cannot form a community by using the old formula of dichotomizing two cultures or, in general, relying on old category concepts for definitional purposes . . . That is, it is easier for us to see (1) which ideologies and ideas work with one another to further oppression, which could tell us (2) how to dislocate that articulation, so that we can best resist oppression" (p. 112).
Kanat, K. (2005). Ethnic media and politics: The case of the use of the Internet by Uyghur diaspora. First Monday, 10(7). Retrieved 2008-06-24 from http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue10_7/Kanat/index.html.
1. Authority of the Author
Kilic Kanat is a PhD student in the Political Science department at Syracuse University. He is a Turkish national.
2. Relevance
Kanat's article discusses the use of the internet as a political vehicle for the Uyghur independence movement. The Uyghur are a Turkish people from central Asia. East Turkistan, their homeland, is controlled by the Chinese and the Uyghur have a long history of conflict with the Chinese government. One interesting aspect to the Uyghur situation is the degree to which the Chinese government perceives their online organization as a threat, going so far as to name one prominent website, the Eastern Turkistan Information Center, as a terrorist organization and its founder Abdujelil Karakash as one of the countries most wanted terrorists.
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
The case of the Uyghur exemplifies the conflicts that arise due to misalignments between nations (here, the Uyghur people) and states (China). One of the implications of the decentralized communications infrastructure of the GII is that nations that are suppressed and disempowered in their homelands now have a platform for organization that is beyond the control of the oppressor state (at least for diasporic members of the group – internal restrictions to internet content are another issue).
4. Coverage
Kanat's article covers the history of Uyghur online networks from the mid 1990's to the present. It discusses general commonalities among Uyghur web sites and discusses several sites in particular. He then discusses the role of the internet in creating a Uyghur political and cultural identity
5. Point of View/Bias
As with many of the articles here, the author is not a politically neutral observer and seems to identify with the Uyghur perspective in their struggle against the Chinese. Also, the Chinese government's labeling of pro-Uyghur websites as terrorist organizations highlights how perspective informs the perception of political ideas and action.
Pournara M. (2005, November 4). Young diaspora Greeks and ethnic identity. Kathimerini English Edition. Retrieved 2008-06-24 from http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=82194.
1. Authority of the Author
Margarita Pournara is the arts and culture editor for Kathimerini, a major Greek daily newspaper. This article appeared in the Kathimerini English Edition, which is distributed inside the International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus.
2. Relevance
This article discusses a website (Hellenext – http://www.hellenext.org) that puts leading figures in the Greek-American community in contact with fourth- and fifth-generation Greek American young people. This project is a good example of the use of the internet by immigrant communities to help maintain cultural identity in younger generations.
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
Cultural homogenization is one of the major dangers in the globalization of information. By privileging certain types of information, the spread of the knowledge society leads to the loss of other cultural traditions. In order to counteract this trend, societies must seek ways to actively promote their individual cultural heritages. Fortunately, the same technologies that have fostered the globalization of information can also be leveraged for cultural preservation.
4. Coverage
This article presents an overview of the Hellenext project. At the time of the article, Hellenext had held two events in which 500 people participated and had contact with 6,000 Greek-American students through the website.
5. Point of View/Bias
This article was directed towards a English-reading audience in Greece. It is primarily an informative article, with little subjective opinion or analysis.
Tynes, R. (2007). Nation-building and the diaspora on Leonenet: A case of Sierra Leone in cyberspace. New Media Society 9(3): 497-518.
1. Authority of the Author
Robert Tynes, a former journalist, is now a doctoral student in political science at the University at Albany/SUNY and a faculty member of the Language and Thinking Affairs Workshop at Bard College. His research focuses on West African cyberculture, conflict, and political systems.
2. Relevance
This interesting article discusses a Sierra Leonean diasporic listserv, Leonenet, that arose after the disintegration of the country into civil war in 1991. Tynes argues that Leonenet represented a "virtual nation" that maintained the country's identity. Leonenet, he states, "was a diasporic communicative space where Sierra Leone's state-related symbols were generated and then held in conceptual escrow, waiting for the institutional structure to return" (p. 497).
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
The global information society creates a dialectic between the nation-state and its deterritorialized virtual representation(s). In this extreme case, Tynes argues, the virtual representation has in fact become more "real" in terms of maintaining national identity than the state itself.
4. Coverage
Tynes used content analysis, ethnographic observation, and interviews with cultural informants. His analysis covers the postings on the Leonenet listserv from December 2000 through May 2003.
5. Point of View/Bias
While Tynes's thesis is interesting, it seems possible that he is overstating the importance of Leonenet in support of his theoretical model. While there is definitely nation-building and maintenance present in his examples, it is difficult to see a concrete influence that this discussion had on the state itself. Given the lack of information infrastructure in the state of Sierra Leone itself, participation in the listserv is almost entirely diasporic. As such, there is likely a disconnect between the listserv's political discussions and the "on-the-ground" actors involved in rebuilding of the state. More analysis of the virtual nation's concrete influence would be useful in supporting his model in its fullest manifestation.
van den Bos, M. & Nell, L. (2006). Territorial bounds to virtual space: transnational online and offline networks of Iranian and Turkish-Kurdish immigrants in the Netherlands. Global Networks: A Journal of Transnational Affairs, 6(2): 201-220.
1. Authority of the Authors
Dr. Matthijs van den Bos is a researcher at the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES) at the University of Amsterdam. His research explores Dutch-Iranian transnational networks and Sufism. Liza Nell is a current PhD student at IMES, where she has been involved in several projects analyzing immigrant networks.
2. Relevance
This article investigates the concept of deterritorialization in immigrant online networks. As we have seen in many of the other articles discussed in here, the idea of deterritorialization plays an important role in many conceptions of virtual communities. Van den Bos and Nell set out to examine the extent to which territoriality channels the online activities of two immigrant groups in the Netherlands: Iranian and Turkish-Kurdish immigrants. They analyze these group's internet communities and behavior to determine the degree to which these online networks reflect offline community networks and how state boundaries affect their transnational ties.
Their findings indicate that much of these communities' online activities are in fact territorially bounded – i.e. that Dutch-Iranian websites are used by Dutch-Iranians and link to other Dutch websites, and that Kurdish immigrants demonstrated regionally specific patterns of web browsing. "Transnational networks and new media," they conclude, "need not broaden or dissolve geographical identity or connectivity, but may reinforce it" (p. 202).
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
As much as the GII allows for decontextualized, transnational exchange of information, we need to remember that human beings are situated in places, and that these places and all their accompanying factors (offline networks, language, culture, etc.) will constrain and shape people's information networks and behavior.
4. Coverage
This analysis was done based on the data collected for two separate, unrelated research projects. The first was an analysis of 72 Dutch-Iranian websites accessed in 2003 and 2004, and the second was a series of interviews conducted in 2004 with 21 Turkish-Kurdish immigrants in the Netherlands about their online activities.
5. Point of View/Bias
Probably the biggest limitation to this analysis is the degree to which it too is territorially bound – i.e. the degree to which these findings can be extended beyond immigrant communities in the Netherlands.
One of the major issues that could have been further addressed is the issue of language - how much was transnational reach of these communities limited by the fact that they were in part in Dutch? It would be interesting to see a similar analysis done in England or the United States, where, given the global reach of English, language would be less of an issue.
Wilding, R. (2006). 'Virtual' intimacies? Families communicating across transnational contexts. Global Networks: A Journal of Transnational Affairs, 6(2): 125-142.
1. Authority of the Author
Dr. Raelene Wilding teaches at the School of Social and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia. Her research centers on transnationalism and family networks – particularly transnational care-giving.
2. Relevance
In this paper Dr. Wilding examines the use of ICTs among immigrants and refugees in Australia to communicate with family members remaining in their countries of origin. Her study demonstrates that while ICTs contribute to the frequency and closeness of familial communications, they do not significantly transform the nature and purpose of the communication. "Although cyberspace and virtual communications provide a useful addition to family practices, they do not displace them" she argues, rather they "are used primarily to enable and supplement the continuation of existing family practices" (p. 138).
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
There is a tendency in our discussion of the GII towards the utopian/dystopian. Dr. Wilding's paper serves as a caution in this regard, reminding us that the use of any technology is situated within human relationships and traditions, and that the decisions people make using these technologies are made in these social and cultural contexts. "Seeking out a distinctively new 'Cyberia'." she warns, "is likely to lead us to overlook strong continuities with the past, which persist in spite of the ways in which ICTs have transformed social relations and cultural knowledge" (p. 139).
4. Coverage
Dr. Wilding's analysis is based on data collected as part of an investigation into transnational care-giving relationships. The study was based on ethnographic interviews with migrants in Australia and their parents in Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, New Zealand and Iran carried out between 2000 and 2003.
5. Point of View/Bias
While this article is intended as a cautionary note to researchers, it is well grounded in Dr. Wilding's research. While all qualitative research is of course open to questions of interpretation, there is nothing in the paper that indicates any specific bias.
Wong L. (2003). Belonging and diaspora: The Chinese and the Internet. First Monday, 8(4). Retrieved 2008-06-24 from http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_4/wong/index.html.
1. Authority of the Author
Loong Wong is a senior lecturer in the School of E-Business and Management at the University of Canberra. He has published widely on Southeast Asian politics and civil society, migrant communities in Australia, as well as e-commerce and management practices. At the time of this article he was a lecturer at the University of Newcastle (Australia).
2. Relevance
Dr. Wong's article investigates the negotiation of national identity in Chinese diasporic networks. He contrasts the postmodern ideal of a multiplicity of evolving identities with the tendency towards the creation of a reductive, essentialist Chinese identity. While the internet has the potential to be a "revolutionary and liberating tool to open up channels of information exchange and new political space," he argues, diasporic identities are still situated within an political and ideological context and can be "manipulated, distilled and service the interests of particular segments" of global society.
3. Contribution to Our Understanding of the GII
This article is demonstrative of the dialectic between individuation and homogenization that exists in all negotiations of cultural identity. It is easy to get carried away in the ideal of the internet as a space where people are free to openly experiment and forge their own conceptions of culture and identity, but in doing so we may fail to acknowledge historical and material realities impacting on communities and identities. "There is a need to critically engage in the debates surrounding culture, cyber-identities, diasporic identities and long-distance nationalism," Dr. Wong argues, to avoid "being captive of a homogenising, transnational elite discourse sponsored by global capitalism."
4. Coverage
Dr. Wong bases his analysis primarily on Chinese diasporic internet communities in the United States and Australia.
5. Point of View/Bias
This article is not intended as a objective study of Chinese diasporic communities, rather it is primarily a critique of postmodern views of diaspora, particularly with regards to issues of cultural identity.
Conclusion:
In a world that is becoming increasingly transnational, the ability to communicate and interact at distance becomes crucial. This is especially true for transnational migrants, who find themselves separated from their nations, their cultures, and their communities. The GII can help foster cultural cohesion and provide a platform for cultural debate and political action in these diasporic communities.
Divorced from their cultural context (deterritorialized), migrants must reshape their identities in relation to their culture. In Georgiou (2003), Ignacio (2005), and Wong's (2003) explorations of how identity, culture and ethnicity are negotiated within transnational communities, we see the complex interplay between individuation and collectivism and between authenticity and change at work in these processes.
Many diasporic populations also face oppression and disempowerment, in their homelands or their new homes. The deterritorialized nature of the GII provides a forum for these groups to interact free from the control of state actors. Adeniyi (2007) and Kanat (2005) provide examples of the use of the internet for political opposition and organization. Tynes (2007) provides an extreme case of both the political organization and cultural maintenance possibilities of online communities with the case of Sierra Leone, where, he argues, the online community in some ways becomes the nation in the absence of the state.
Despite the undeniable power of the GII to transform the experience of migrants, we must remember that it is situated within a larger context of history and external influences, and that virtual society does not always reflect the utopian open society we like to theorize about. In Wong (2003) we see the same issues of nationalism and exclusion in online cultural negotiation as we see offline. In van den Bos and Nell (2006), we see that geographical identity remains an issue even in virtual worlds. Wilding (2006) reminds us that the internet for many isn't a "brave new world in which 'reality' is transcended by a visionary future," it's just a tool to help them do the tasks that make up their lives. Finally, Benítez (2006), reminds us that not all migrants have equal access to the GII and that equitability of access remains one of the most important issues in ensuring that the benefits of the information society do not simply reinforce existing sociopolitical power dynamics.
Additional References:
International Organisation for Migration. (2005) World Migration Report. Retrieved 2008-06-29 from http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/....
International Organisation for Migration. (2006) Global Estimates and Trends. Retrieved 2008-06-29 from http://www.iom.int/jahia/page254.html.
Martin, S. F. (2001) Global migration trends and asylum. New issues in refugee research working paper no. 41. Retrieved 2008-06-29 from http://www.jha.ac/articles/u041.htm.
