Blackness as a Defining Identity: Mediated Representations and the Lived Experiences of African Immigrants in Australia

Description

This book explores the lived experiences of African immigrants in Australia, and the way they are represented in the media. By delving into the group’s everyday lives, the book exposes the roles that media and social perceptions play in the production and regulation of diasporic identities. Rather than being presented as objects of mediated representations, this book positions African immigrants in Australia as empowered subjects. The book employs inclusive research methods that make African immigrants active participants in the research, rather than passive objects. This is achieved through an expanded demographic study, a snapshot survey, and by taking a closer look at the lives of Africans in Australia through digital oral histories. This approach allows the group to have a say on how they feel they are positioned in society, on what space they are offered, and on how this affects their lives. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Introduction: Why Cultural Studies? Why Stuart Hall? (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 1-13 Research into Individuals of African Heritage in Australia (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 15-24 Discourses Surrounding Africans in Australian Media and Society (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 25-33 Critiquing the Literature (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 35-54 Race and (Re)Presentation (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 55-70 The Language of Moral Panics and Invisibility (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 71-99 Surveying the Demographic (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 101-118 Oral History, Interrogating the Method (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 119-130 Hard Data: Voices of Africans in Australia (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 131-171 Conclusion: After the Dust Settles (Runyararo Sihle Chivaura)....Pages 173-181