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The Subject in the Plot: National Boundaries and the “History” of the Black Atlantic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Herman L. Bennett
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Abstract:

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As a new field and analytical category, the African diaspora promises to remap the histories of Africans and their dispersed descendants. In what ways has the promise of diaspora been confounded by a preceding intellectual legacy? By focusing on the nation-state and its genesis in nineteenth-century German Romantic thought and that of its critics, this article questions the unproblematic relationship that now exists between history and the African diaspora. Specifically, the audior suggests that the nation continues to inform the very meaning of diaspora despite the intentions of some scholars to challenge the conventional framework (history: the narrative of the nation). By drawing on a vast body of literature from various disciplines, this heuristic article explores, among other themes, specific reading and writing strategies that inform the work of scholars on the African diaspora.

Résumé:

Résumé:

En tant que nouveau domaine et nouvelle catégorie d'analyse, la diaspora africaine promet de re-tracer les histoires des Africains et de leurs descendants dispersés. De quelles façons la promesse de la diaspora a-t-elle été sapée par un héritage intellectuel antérieur? En nous concentrant sur l'état-nation et sa genèse dans la pensée allemande romantique du dix-neuvième siècle et celle de ses critiques, cet article remet en question la relation non problématique qui existe aujourd'hui entre l'histoire et la diaspora africaine. Plus spécifiquement, l'auteur suggère que la nation continue d'informer la signification même de la diaspora malgré les intentions de certains chercheurs de remettre en cause les données conventionnelles (histoire = récit de la nation). En se basant sur un vaste corps de littérature issu de disciplines diverses, cet article heuristique explore, entre autres thèmes, des stratégies de lecture et d'écriture spécifiques qui informent le travail des chercheurs sur la diaspora africaine.

Type
Special Issue on the Diaspora
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 43 , Issue 1: Africa's Diaspora: A Special Issue , April 2000 , pp. 101 - 124
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2000

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