Identity, Space and the Media: Thinking through Diaspora

This paper proposes a spatial approach to identity and mediation as, it is argued, this approach provides a framework for grasping and analysing the complex and changing formation of identity in current times and in an interconnected world. More specifically, it looks at the significance of mobility, immediate and mediated intersections and juxtapositions of difference as necessary elements of the analysis of current formations of identity. The paper proposes a multi-spatial analysis and looks at the spatial matrix of diasporic belonging in developing the discussion. The case of diaspora is chosen as an exemplary case of cultural formation within an interconnected world. As it is argued, diaspora captures human mobility and (re-)settlement not as opposites, not as cause and effect, but rather as co-existing elements of a world connected through flows and networks. Diaspora also presents an exceptional case of intense mediation, as communication networks and information exchange develop across various locations and they follow different directions with consequences for identity and community.