This article discusses different conceptualisations of diaspora, as bounded, unbounded and as a process, in order to help highlight the useful role diaspora can play in explorations and (de)constructions of nation-state, community and identity boundaries. There are two main ways in which diaspora has been theorised. The first theorises diaspora in relation to defined homeland-orientated ethnic groups and identities and the second theorises diaspora in relation to fluid, non-essentialised, nomadic identities. This article argues that it is necessary to look beyond such conceptualisations of diaspora as nomadic/fluid (unbounded) or homeland-centred/ ethnic-religious (bounded). This article advocates a flexible use of diaspora as process that is able to examine the dynamic negotiations of collective, strategic and politicised identities based around constructions of 'sameness' and the homeland, as well as individual identities that are malleable, hybrid and multiple. It stresses that it is within this notion of diaspora as process that geographers, with their emphasis on place, space and time, have an important role to play.
This article responds to recent calls by geographers for more critical, non-essentialist and flexible conceptualisations of diaspora by developing the notion of an 'elective diaspora'. This concept is elaborated using the case study of a specific knowledge diaspora, namely visiting researchers from the USA in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), who were funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a research agency re-established by the FRG in 1953. The analysis shows how the Humboldt programmes for transnational academic mobility and collaboration drew disproportionately on US-based academics with biographical ties to German-speaking central Europe, which has contributed to the proliferation of US-German knowledge networks in the post-war period and prompts us to reconsider existing notions of diaspora in two ways. First, we emphasise the nuances of the researchers' emotional attachment to German language and culture. We point out that this cannot only be caused by biographical ties through birth and ancestry but also by other family relations, partnerships, friendships, work/ living experiences, language skills and cultural knowledge. Second, we stress the elective nature of diasporic identities and belonging by emphasising that individuals can choose whether they wish to support diasporic networks of one or more communities and cultures they feel connected to. We suggest that this civic rather than 'ethno'-territorial understanding of diasporic networks has wider relevance for theorisations of diaspora, for studies of transnational mobility and knowledge transfer, and for university and public policies seeking to attract talent from abroad.
This paper critically reviews the use of video documentaries in the assessment of human geography field courses. It aims to contribute to recent debates about the role of visual methods for developing active and deep learning in student-centred teaching. Based on four days of group work in Crete, 30 third-year students produced individual 10-minute video documentaries on 'Mediterranean Rural Spaces'. Analysing students' experiences of video production highlights the need for innovative teaching and assessment methods and the importance of creating independent and creative students equipped with a broad set of skills for an increasingly flexible job market.
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