Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary. Aesthetics, Affects, Archives

Introduction

Migration is almost always framed as the result of exceptional circumstances, as in the 2015 refugee crisis for instance. This impacts the reception of narratives produced by those living in the diaspora. Works by Black and ethnic minority artists are overwhelmingly associated with labels that set them apart from the unmarked norm.

Frameworks and Models

These frameworks favour generational models such as:

1. The Windrush generation in Britain
2. So-called guest worker literature in Germany
3. Ethnic and area studies designations in the US

Such formulas reinforce an understanding of migration as perpetually new.

Project Overview

By turning to what we call Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary, this project asks what happens if we instead apply a ‘normalising’ perspective to the study of contemporary diasporic art. Extending PI Haschemi Yekani’s pathbreaking work on entangled tonalities in the rise of the British novel, TODO mobilises three conceptual terms: aesthetics, affects, and archives.

Disruption of National Canon Formation

This, firstly, disrupts models of national canon formation and considers (queer) diasporic artistic practice and aesthetics as entangled with post-World War II global histories of:

• The decline of empire
• Neo-imperialism
• The more recent rise of the New Right

Affective Dimensions of Diasporic Texts

Secondly, drawing on innovative methods from autotheory and queer diasporic critique, TODO stipulates that “ordinary” diasporic texts promote an affective bearing that exceeds the binary of:

• Romanticising the homeland of once
• Neoliberal ideals of assimilation and integration

Contributions to Historiography and Archives

Thirdly, the analysed texts complicate official historiographies and contribute to an archive of the lived experiences of migrants and their children across generations, exposing the continuity of racism.

Reimagining Community

Artistic practice can acknowledge negative affects and contribute to a reimagination of community that goes beyond national and heteronormative constraints. Thus, the project underlines the relevance of Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary to challenge racism and foster new modes of belonging.