Contesting Culture: Discourses of Identity in Multi-Ethnic London: 100 (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Series Number 100) - Softcover

Baumann, Gerd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 052155554X ISBN 13: 9780521555548

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1996

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This innovative study presents an account of the interaction of people from different ethnic backgrounds who live in Southall, the most densely populated multi-ethnic ghetto of London. Breaking with the tradition of studying a single ethnic community, Gerd Baumann treats Southall as a single social field in which various immigrant groups come to terms both with one another and with the dominant culture of England.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052155554X
• ISBN 13: 9780521555548
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 242