Challenging the Theory of Diaspora from the Field

This paper argues that the theoretical categories, descriptive and analytical frameworks applied to the phenomenon of Diasporas have become overused, overtheorized, yet at the same time uncontested and taken for granted in the scholarly discussion. In most cases, the classical Diaspora theoretical framework focuses on ethnic representations, the reasons and conditions of dispersal, traumatic pasts and connections with the homeland. It also concentrates on integration issues in host societies, but not on where and how these people lived before actual migration to their current place of residence and, most importantly, what cultural baggage (symbolic or otherwise) they continue to bring with them from their countries of (re-)migration to a concrete local community