Steven Vertovec

Since originally migrating as indentured labourers from throughout India in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hindu Indians have dominated the agricultural sector and emerged as the prominent force of political opposition in Trinidad and Tobago. Their unique cultural and religious practices - the focus of strong ethnic sentiments - have developed in relation to historical conditions in Trinidad, marked by socio-economic constraints, intra-communal controversies, and inter-ethnic tensions.

Religion, Ethnicity and Socio-economic Change

Hindu Trinidad

Sören Petermann

Miles Hewstone

Karen Schönwälder

Thomas Schmitt

Katharina Schmid

Dietlind Stolle

Jörg Hüttermann

This book analyzes how the socio-demographic and cultural diversity of societies affect the social interactions and attitudes of individuals and groups within them. Focusing on Germany, where in some cities more than one third of the population are first or second-generation immigrants, it examines how this phenomenon impacts on the ways in which urban residents interact, form friendships, and come to trust or resent each other. The authors, a distinguished team of sociologists, political scientists, social psychologists, anthropologists and geographers, present the results of their wide-ranging empirical research, which combines a 3-wave-panel survey, qualitative fieldwork, area explorations and analysis of official data. In doing so, they offer representative findings and deeper insights into how residents experience different neighbourhood contexts. Their conclusions are a significant contribution to our understanding of the implications of immigration and diversity, and of the conditions and consequences of intergroup interaction. This ground-breaking work will appeal to scholars across the Social Sciences.

Immigration and Social Interaction in German Cities

Diversity and Contact

Nando Sigona

Fran Meissner

"Over the past three decades, there has been a global sea-change in the nature of international migration. In myriad places around the world this kind of deep shift has had significant impacts on the local configurations and dynamics of diversity. Old and new immigration sites across the world have experienced rapid and increasing movements of people from more varied national, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. These movements have emerged along with a diversification of migration channels and legal statuses and, more broadly, greater societal attention towards identity politics Worldwide, in concurrent but differing ways, these migration-driven trends are deeply transforming societies in complex ways spanning social, demographic, cultural, economic and political structures. Now across a range of disciplines and literatures, such complex transformation processes and patterns are summarized by the concept of superdiversity (Vertovec 2007). As the world emerged from the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, we saw Western democracies promoting the universalisation of liberal democracy and its values (Fukuyama 1992). The consolidation of the international human rights regime, with human rights becoming the 'lingua franca of global moral thought' (Ignatieff 2001: 53), was part of this process (Douzinas 2007). That move provided the ideological scaffolding for neoliberal economic globalisation which relied on enhanced international circulation and interdependence of capitals, goods, services, and supply chains. With goods and services, also human mobility grew, and with increased material and more recently digital connectivity, new destinations and routes became appealing, available, and affordable (IOM 2021). Meanwhile, the 'end of history' and the consolidation of the post-Cold War geopolitical order didn't come peacefully and triggered a series of regional and international conflicts that in turn led to a growth of international and internal displacement globally, a trend that is now increasingly fuelled by climate change and environment degradation acting as key factor in migration dynamics (Black et al 2011). International migration is both an effect and a driver of these developments. It crucially contributes to establish and consolidate transnational networks and diasporic communities, while at the same time it is a key contributor to the diversification of host societies. In myriad settings around the world, there are people with more varied ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, and legal status characteristics than ever before - each set of characteristics intersecting differently with others as well as with age, gender, and class. As a result, "the world is much more diverse on multiple dimensions and at many levels, typified by the salience of differences and their dynamic intersections" (Jones and Dovidio 2018: 45). Contemporary immigration societies have become increasingly diverse, layered, and unequal. Indeed, 'the processes of neoliberal globalization have gradually loosened labour protections, restructured the welfare system, delocalized state borders, and led to widening inequalities' (Gonzales and Sigona 2017: 3), putting pressure on the connection between state, territory and residents, transforming traditional notions of sovereignty and citizenship, while also giving rise to a host of new non-state actors operating transnationally (Sassen 2006; Castles 2001). As evidenced by its ubiquity across the social sciences, superdiversity is one of the most prominent contemporary concepts advancing current understanding of international migration and its social implications. The numerous social scientific debates, approaches and methodologies that have been developed in light of superdiversity speak to each other but have not yet been brought together in a single volume. This handbook fills this gap in the literature, offering students, educators, researchers and practitioners a much sought-after compendium of central advances made in studying complex social transformations in light of superdiversity. The chapters take stock of some of the advances in the field and lay out the importance of engaging with complex social transformations in light of migration-driven change. In this introduction we frame the discussions that follow by first elaborating the notion of complex social transformations and its resulting complexities, then providing an overview of how we structured the book and the types of chapters you will find in the different sections of this handbook. "--

The Oxford Handbook of Superdiversity

Superdiversity explores processes of diversification and the complex, emergent social configurations that now supersede prior forms of diversity in societies around the world. Migration plays a key role in these processes, bringing changes not just in social, cultural, religious and linguistic phenomena, but also in the ways that these phenomena combine with others like gender, age, and legal status. The concept of superdiversity has been adopted by scholars across the social sciences in order to address a variety of forms, modes and outcomes of diversification. Central to this field is the relationship between social categorization and social organization, including stratification and inequality. Increasingly complex categories of social "difference" have significant impacts across scales, from entire societies to individual identities. While diversification is often met with simplifying stereotypes, threat narratives, and expressions of antagonism, superdiversity encourages a perspective on difference as comprising multiple social processes, flexible collective meanings, and overlapping personal and group identities. A superdiversity approach encourages the re-evaluation and recognition of social categories as multidimensional, unfixed, and porous as opposed to views based on hardened, one-dimensional thinking about groups. Diversification and increasing social complexity are bound to continue, if not intensify, in light of climate change. This will have profound impacts on the nature of global migration, social relations, and inequalities. Superdiversity presents a convincing case for recognizing new social formations created by changing migration patterns and calls for a re-thinking of public policy and social scientific approaches to social difference. This introduction to the multidisciplinary concept of superdiversity will be of considerable interest to students and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities and social sciences.

Migration and Social Complexity

Superdiversity

Susanne Wessendorf

In a relatively short time, many European governments have been purposefully dropping the notion ‘multicultural’ or other references to cultural diversity in their policy vocabularies. More and more politicians and public intellectuals have criticized a perceived shift towards ‘too much diversity’. This volume goes beyond the conventional approaches to the topic offering a careful examination of not only the social conditions and political questions surrounding multiculturalism but also the recent emergence of a ‘backlash’ against multicultural initiatives, programmes and infrastructures. Featuring case-study based contributions from leading experts throughout Europe and North America, this multidisciplinary work seeks to assess some of these key questions with reference to recent and current trends concerning multiculturalism, cultural diversity and integration in their respective countries, evaluating questions such as Is there is a common ‘sceptical turn’ against cultural diversity or a ‘backlash against difference’ sweeping Europe? How have public discourses impacted upon national and local diversity management and migration policies? Are the discourses and policy shifts actually reflected in everyday practices within culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse settings? The Multiculturalism Backlash provides new insights, informed reflections and comparative analyses concerning these significant processes surrounding politics, policy, public debates and the place of migrants and ethnic minorities within European societies today. Focusing on the practice and policy of multiculturalism from a comparative perspective this work will be of interest to scholars from a wide range of disciplines including migration, anthropology and sociology.

European Discourses, Policies and Practices

The Multiculturalism Backlash

Ceri Peach

The twelve million Muslims living in western and eastern (non-CIS) Europe are confronted with the combined, localised effects of xenophobia, nationalism, an historical stigma attached to Islam and a contemporary fear of the 'global Islamic threat'. In resistance, a variety of Muslim groups throughout Europe have developed a 'politics of religion and community' calling for equal treatment of Muslim minorities in the public sphere. This volume provides insights into these groups and activities, their histories, ideologies, organizations and modes of representation.

The Politics of Religion and Community

Islam in Europe

Robin Cohen

'. . . this book is a valuable resource which has collected together an important range of contributions, many of which may not be easy to track down for the individual scholar.' - Claire Dwyer, Progress in Human Geography '. . . this collection is a fine overview of contributions to an interesting and promising new research field, and it will be a good resource for professional scholars and especially for students in the field.' - Boris Slijper, Journal of International Migration and Integration This authoritative collection brings together the most significant papers by leading scholars in an increasingly important area of study. Social scientists and political analysts are becoming more and more aware of the importance of long-maintained or newly embellished links between post-migration communities and the societies from which they originate. Closely tied to this field is a renewed interest in 'diasporas' or globally dispersed groups whose collective experiences often draw on deep historical roots in more than one place.

Migration, Diasporas, and Transnationalism

Processes of social change brought about by international migration usually entail multiple kinds of diversification affecting ethnicities and identities, languages, gender balances, social statuses, skills and more. Compiled and introduced by a leading figure in the field, Migration and Diversity draws together key social scientific studies addressing varieties of migration-driven diversification. Contributions also examine state responses to, and the wider effects of, the new social, economic and political configurations that arise from migration. Combining empirical and theoretical works, this volume will be useful for undergraduate and graduate students through to professional scholars engaging in some of the most topical issues of today.

Migration and Diversity

Bhikhu Parekh

Gurharpal Singh

Professor of Transnational Anthropology Steven Vertovec

Professor Department of Politics and Asian Studies Gurharpal Singh, Dr

The Indian diaspora is one of the largest and most significant in the world today with between nine and twelve million people of Indian origin living outside South Asia. With successive waves of migration over the last two hundred years to almost every continent, it has assumed increasing self-consciousness and importance. Culture and Economy in the Indian Diaspora examines the Indian diaspora in Mauritius, South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Middle East, Trinidad, Australia, the US, Canada and the UK and addresses the core issues of demography, economy, culture and future development. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the crucial relationship between culture and economy in the diaspora over time. This book will appeal to all those interested in transnational communities, migration, ethnicity and racial studies, and South Asia.

Culture and Economy in the Indian Diaspora

Multiculturalism Backlash

In recent years the concept of ‘diversity’ has gained a leading place in academic thought, business practice and public policy worldwide. Although variously used, ‘diversity’ tends to refer to patterns of social difference in terms of certain key categories. Today the foremost categories shaping discourses and policies of diversity include race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexuality and age; further important notions include class, language, locality, lifestyle and legal status. The Routledge Handbook of Diversity Studies will examine a range of such concepts along with historical and contemporary cases concerning social and political dynamics surrounding them. With contributions by experts spanning Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, History and Geography, the Handbook will be a key resource for students, social scientists and professionals. It will represent a landmark volume within a field that has become, and will continue to be, one of the most significant global topics of concern throughout the twenty-first century.

Steven Vertovec

About

Books

Join the club