Whilst the vast majority of recent research on identity and ethnicity
amongst South Asians in Britain has focused upon younger people, this
book deals with Bengali elders, the first generation of migrants from
Sylhet, in Bangladesh. The book describes how many of these elders
face the processes of ageing, sickness and finally death, in a country
where they did not expect to stay and where they do not necessarily
feel they belong. The ways in which they talk about and deal with
this, and in particular, their ambivalence towards Britain and
Bangladesh lies at the heart of the book. Centrally, the book is based
around the men and womens life stories. In her analysis of these,
Gardner shows how narratives play an important role in the formation
of both collective and individual identity and are key domains for the
articulation of gender and age. Underlying the stories that people
tell, and sometimes hidden within their gaps and silences, are often
other issues and concerns. Using particular idioms and narrative
devices, the elders talk about the contradictions and disjunctions of
transmigration, their relationship with and sometimes resistance to,
the British State, and what they often present as the breakdown of
traditional ways. In addition to this, the book shows that histories,
stories and identity are not just narrated through words, but also
through the body - an area rarely theorized in studies of migration.
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The Life Course and Life Histories of Bengali Elders in London
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781000181869
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Taylor & Francis
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter