Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:
1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?
He has consistently argued that racial identities are historically constructed – formed by colonialization, slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism.
2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?
‘Race’ [is not] the eternal cause of racism [but is] its complex, unstable product. I should probably emphasise at this point that neither race nor racism are the exclusive historical property of the minorities who are their primary victims. (Gilroy, 2004)
3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?
Ethnic absolutism is a line of thinking which sees humans are part of different ethnic compartments, with race as the basis of human differentiation. Gilroy is opposed to ethnic absolutism as it is counter to his argument that racism causes race.
4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?
Gilroy’s work focuses on the concept of the African diaspora. The term diaspora is taken from the Greek ‘dispersion’ meaning ‘scattering of seeds’.
5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?
At the time, the dominant representation of black Britons was as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation.” As such, to accept the role of slavery into the cultural identities of Britain would be to challenge the negative stereotype of black Britons at the time, and reverse the “external and estranged” relationship with the nation.
6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?
Negative experiences of exclusion, exposure to regressive ideologies and marginalisation will also create an identity which is then shared within the diasporic community and perhaps from the origin country.
7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity? E.g. digital media - offer specific examples.
Social media - able to share about their culture through educating and connecting with others - specifically Instagram
8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?
Gilroy also argues the importance of slavery to modernity and capitalism. The modern world was built upon a normalised view of slavery, particularly plantation slavery.
9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?
The media will offer a range of representations for various groups. However, these are often limited from some groups more than others. The dominant representations of black males, primarily in the US, is either a rapper, criminal or gang member, or an athlete.
These representations then serve to reinforce the double consciousness of the black male, that he is not anything more than what he sees in the media.
10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.
The film clearly illustrates what the stereotypes are and the female characters challenging them. For example, it seems to be unheard of for black american women to have a talent in engineering which is a male dominated career.
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