Configuring Ghana’s Diaspora
Deterritorialization, Disjuncture and the Digital
Reconfigurer la diaspora ghanéenne
déterritorialisation, disjonction et numérique
Search for other papers by Reginold A. Royston in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
Digital media, diaspora and deterritorialisation have provided important ways to think about contemporary global flows and social ties. Digital diasporas as a unit of study have become especially relevant for social scientists, particularly anthropologists: In this paper, the author argues that digital diasporas represent both online communities and the ICT practices of those living abroad, which seemingly actualise the potential inherent in Castell’s notion of the Network Society. Examining the material and social dimensions of these ties, however, this paper moves to critique the notion of networks as stabilised representations of diaspora/homeland connections. Drawing from the author’s ethnographic research with tech professionals in Ghana, and with diaspora-based social media users in the U.S. and the Netherlands, the analysis posits that the asymmetry of Africa’s sociotechnical infrastructures is central to understanding the enduring disjunctive nature of these flows. Through interviews and analysis, the author illustrates how these sociotechnical systems configure Ghana’s global cyberculture.
Résumé
Les médias numériques, la diaspora et la déterritorialisation ont fortement contribué à repenser les flux globaux et les liens sociaux contemporains. Les diasporas numériques en tant qu’ objet d’ étude ont pris aux yeux des chercheurs en sciences sociales, en particulier les anthropologues, une pertinence grandissante. Dans cet article, l’ auteur défend l’ idée que les diasporas numériques représentent à la fois les communautés sur le net et les pratiques de nouvelles technologies de l’ information pour ceux qui vivent à l’ étranger, ce qui rend la notion de société de réseau de M. Castells particulièrement opérante. Analysant les dimensions matérielles et sociales de ces liens, l’ article s’ oriente toutefois vers la critique de la notion des réseaux en tant que représentations établies des liens diaspora/pays d’ origine. Tirée des recherches ethnographiques de l’ auteur aux Etats-Unis et aux Pays-Bas avec des professionnels des technologies de l’ information au Ghana et avec des utilisateurs de médiaux sociaux aux Etats-Unis et aux Pays-Bas, l’ analyse pose comme postulat la centralité de l’ asymétrie des infrastructures sociotechniques en Afrique si l’ on veut comprendre la nature constamment disjonctive de ces flux. Au travers d’ entretiens et d’ analyses, l’ auteur montre comment ces systèmes sociotechniques reconfigurent la cyberculture ghanéenne mondiale.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 949 | 192 | 22 |
| Full Text Views | 87 | 7 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 127 | 14 | 0 |
Configuring Ghana’s Diaspora
Deterritorialization, Disjuncture and the Digital
Reconfigurer la diaspora ghanéenne
déterritorialisation, disjonction et numérique
Search for other papers by Reginold A. Royston in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Digital media, diaspora and deterritorialisation have provided important ways to think about contemporary global flows and social ties. Digital diasporas as a unit of study have become especially relevant for social scientists, particularly anthropologists: In this paper, the author argues that digital diasporas represent both online communities and the ICT practices of those living abroad, which seemingly actualise the potential inherent in Castell’s notion of the Network Society. Examining the material and social dimensions of these ties, however, this paper moves to critique the notion of networks as stabilised representations of diaspora/homeland connections. Drawing from the author’s ethnographic research with tech professionals in Ghana, and with diaspora-based social media users in the U.S. and the Netherlands, the analysis posits that the asymmetry of Africa’s sociotechnical infrastructures is central to understanding the enduring disjunctive nature of these flows. Through interviews and analysis, the author illustrates how these sociotechnical systems configure Ghana’s global cyberculture.
Résumé
Les médias numériques, la diaspora et la déterritorialisation ont fortement contribué à repenser les flux globaux et les liens sociaux contemporains. Les diasporas numériques en tant qu’ objet d’ étude ont pris aux yeux des chercheurs en sciences sociales, en particulier les anthropologues, une pertinence grandissante. Dans cet article, l’ auteur défend l’ idée que les diasporas numériques représentent à la fois les communautés sur le net et les pratiques de nouvelles technologies de l’ information pour ceux qui vivent à l’ étranger, ce qui rend la notion de société de réseau de M. Castells particulièrement opérante. Analysant les dimensions matérielles et sociales de ces liens, l’ article s’ oriente toutefois vers la critique de la notion des réseaux en tant que représentations établies des liens diaspora/pays d’ origine. Tirée des recherches ethnographiques de l’ auteur aux Etats-Unis et aux Pays-Bas avec des professionnels des technologies de l’ information au Ghana et avec des utilisateurs de médiaux sociaux aux Etats-Unis et aux Pays-Bas, l’ analyse pose comme postulat la centralité de l’ asymétrie des infrastructures sociotechniques en Afrique si l’ on veut comprendre la nature constamment disjonctive de ces flux. Au travers d’ entretiens et d’ analyses, l’ auteur montre comment ces systèmes sociotechniques reconfigurent la cyberculture ghanéenne mondiale.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 949 | 192 | 22 |
| Full Text Views | 87 | 7 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 127 | 14 | 0 |