Potluck and Discussion
Global Diasporas

Saturday, September 18, 1999
5:30-8:30 p.m.

Come enjoy good food, conversation, and discussion in our first event of the season. Come for
just the potluck or stay for the discussion.. Meet the new faculty hired for the Cultural Studies in Global Context Sesquicentennial Cluster-Anne McClintock, Rob Nixon, and Kenneth M. George-and other new cultural studies faculty and students. Hear about our upcoming conference, Global Diasporas: Communities of Exile and Migration, October 29-31, 1999 and other plans for the year.

Where: Susan Friedman's House

Bring: Bring a dish or beverage to share. Bring colleagues, friends, students, or anyone interested in Border and Transcultural Studies. Pass the Word!

Discussion: Global diasporas are proliferating in the increasingly transnational landscapes of the late 20th century. Refugee populations, exiles, and migrants around the globe are seeking safety, freedom, work, or a better life, as the gap between destitute and privileged migration widens. But are these diasporas so new? What is the history of different diasporas among different peoples? What do we mean by the term diaspora? Who invokes it and for what purposes? As a jumping off point for discussion, James Clifford's "Diasporas" (from Routes ) and the brief intro to Cohen's Global Diasporas will be available in 7188 Helen White, 1018 Van Hise, 8432 Social Science, and the Humanities Institute. We encourage you to read this material, but it is NOT necessary to do so to participate fully in the discussion. Rob Nixon and Kristin Pitt will initiate discussion with a few remarks.