Diasporic Conception of Home: Exploring Belonging and Nationalism Among TheSudanese Diaspora in Britain

Abstract

The research investigates diasporic concepts such as belonging, long-distance nationalism, and cultural identity formation and maintenance among the Sudanese diaspora in Britain. The study used semi-structured, in-depth interviews as the main method of data collection with members of the Sudanese diaspora, focusing on the 2nd and 1.5 generations within the 18-35 age group. To demonstrate a clear understanding of the participants' perspectives on home from a place of inbetweenness; the study questions their contrasting cultural identity, and navigating complex nationhood between Sudanese and British. The primary objectives of this study are to: 1. Examine how the cultural identity of the young Sudanese diaspora is shaped in multicultural settings in Britain. 2. Explore the diaspora's concept of home by examining their sense of belonging and national identity between Sudan and Britain. 3. Investigate how digital diasporic spaces influence and contribute to the diaspora’s transnational nationalism. Additionally, the Digital Diaspora space massively reshaped long-distance nationalism; immensely influencing the diaspora’s notions of long-distance participation, cultural maintenance, and new identity formation. Participants' AfroArab identity was a significant topic of discussion due to the overlap of interviews with the Black Lives Matter movement. Furthermore, the data collection occurred after the 2018-2019 revolution in Sudan, in which many participants were involved transnationally through digital diaspora spaces. The findings demonstrated distinctions between Home and Homing while illustrating a deeper interpretation of Nostalgia, Memory and Environment, as well as various aspects of Membership and Belonging.