Religion and Transnational Citizenship in the African Diaspora: Akan London

Description

This book focuses on Akan-speaking Ghanaians in London and explores in detail the experience of African migrants living in Britain, investigating how they construct their British citizenship through their membership of the church. Building on extensive ethnographic research in London and Ghana, the author explores the relationship between religion and citizenship, the emergence of transnational subjectivities, and the making of diaspora aesthetics among African migrants. Starting from the understanding that citizenship is dialogical, a status mediated by a subject’s multiple and intersecting identities, the author highlights the limitations of existing conceptualisations of migrant citizenship. Anchored in a case study of the British/Ghanaian Methodist Church as a transnational religious organisation and cultural polity, the book explores diasporic religious subjectivities as both cosmopolitan and transnational, while being configured in emotionally and morally significant ways by the Methodist Church, as well as family, ethnicity, and nation. Interdisciplinary by nature, this book will be of interest to a wide range of researchers and scholars across the social sciences and humanities working in the fields of anthropology, religion, sociology, postcolonial studies, and African studies, and additionally policy makers interested in diaspora and migration studies. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction: The New African Diaspora – Ethnicity, Religion, and Citizenship in the Gateway City Prologue: Sunday in North London Doing Research in Haringey: Gentrification, Regeneration, and Associationism Tropes and Topoi: The Making of Akan London Methodology and Positionality: Familiarity, Familiality, and the Predicament of Positionality Book Outline Notes References 1 Haringey: Associational Life and Black Leadership in a North London Borough Introduction Haringey: A Snapshot of the Borough Africans in Haringey A History of Haringey: From Industrial Hub to Post-Industrial Forgotten Inner City Shopping City, the Battle for Wood Green and Broadwater Farm: Haringey in the 1970s and 1980s Leisure, Associational Life, and Active Citizenship in Haringey Haringey in Recent Years: Associationism and the Voluntary Sector (The London Peace Alliance and Africans in the Borough) Conclusion Notes References 2 Migrant Spaces and Transnational Networks Between London and Ghana Prologue: The GNLA. A Ghanaian Association in North London Introduction: Migrant Spaces Associational Life, Transnationalism, and Citizenship GNLA: Love, Virtue, and Care in North London Migration Models in North London: Work, Well-Being and Virtuous Citizenship Kweku’s Network: Church and Family Networks Between London and Ghana Conclusion Notes References 3 “Virtuous Citizenship”: Ethnicity and Encapsulation Among Akan-Speaking Ghanaian Methodists in London Introduction Addressing Active Citizenship in Britain: Towards a Feminist and Aristotelian Synthesis Ghanaians Methodists in London and the Construction of Virtuous Citizenship Empathy (.tema), Christian Ideology, and the Virtuous Citizen The Virtuous and Virtual Life of an Overstayer Encapsulation, Suspicion, and Trust Methodism, Multiculturalism, and Citizenship Conclusion: Virtual Citizens, Virtuous Citizens Notes References 4 Agape Love: Gender, Class, and Transnational Subjectivities in a Methodist Women’s Fellowship Introduction: Auntie Abena’s Funeral “The Ladies’ Club”: The Emergence of Professional Women in the Ghanaian Methodist Church Susanna Wesley Mission Auxiliary (SUWMA-UK Branch) Distinction and “Bling” Culture Commemorating the Mother of Methodism Upsetting Conventions: SUWMA-UK, the British Methodist Church and the Role of African Migrants in Britain Conclusion Notes References 5 “Showing-Off Aesthetics”: Looking Good, Making Relations, and “Being in the World” in the London Akan Diaspora Introduction Showing Off and Dressing Up: Clothes and Visibility in Akan Migrants’ Events Photographs and Video-Making in the Diaspora: Showing Off and Reaching Out The Competitive and Relational Nature of Akan Obituaries Conclusion Notes References 6 Intimacy, Citizenship, and Transnational Family Lives Between London and Ghana Prologue: Christmas in Kumasi Transnational Family Networks and Citizenship Between London and Kumasi Transnationalism, Migration, and Intimate Citizenship Remotely Intimate: Aspirations, Entrustment, and Citizenship in Transnational Ghanaian Families Kweku’s Family: Migration, Relations, and the Morality of Kinship Business and Transnational Families: Strains and Necessities Nana’s Story: Reimagining Citizenship in Transnational Families Conclusion Notes References Conclusion: Everyday Practices of Citizenship and the Struggle for Recognition and Distinction in Akan London Note References Index