Contesting Culture: Discourses of Identity in Multi-ethnic London: 100 (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

Baumann, Gerd

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521554829 ISBN 13: 9780521554824

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1996

This innovative 1996 study presents an account of the interaction of people from different ethnic backgrounds who live in Southall, the most densely populated, multi-ethnic ghetto in the London area. Breaking with the tradition of studying a single ethnic community, Gerhard Baumann treats Southall as a social field, in which various immigrant groups come to terms with one another and with the dominant, if distant, host culture. The people of Southall affirm ethnic distinctiveness in some contexts, but they are also engaged in rethinking their identities and in debating the meaning of their cultural heritage. This book is at once a vivid ethnographic account of an aspect of contemporary British life, and a challenge to the conventional discourse of community studies.

Review:

"...provides an important...view of identity formation, stressing its instrumental function over other aspects of identity production and negotiation." Kathleen Hall, Religious Studies Review

"...this book provides one of the better starting points for discussions of ethnicity in contemporary Europe." David Beriss, H-Net Reviews

Book Description:

In this 1996 book, Gerhard Baumann examines the area of Southall, the most densely populated, multi-ethnic ghetto in the London area. This vivid ethnographic account analyses various immigrant groups as they come to terms with one another, and engage in rethinking their identities as well as the meaning of their cultural heritage.