Feeling at home in the “Chocolate City” : an exploration of place-making practices and structures of belonging amongst Africans in Guangzhou
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Inter-Asia Cultural Studies
Publication Date
2014
Volume
15
Issue
2
First Page
235
Last Page
257
Publisher
Routledge
Keywords
“Africans in Guangzhou”, “place-making”, belonging, transnational, migration
Abstract
Over the last two decades, the shifts brought about by the emergence of Asia as a key player in global capitalism have led to countless Africans opting for Asian destinations as part of their trade and migration strategies. The implications of the constant ebb and flow of African entrepreneurs in Southern China and the transnational trajectories, connections, and practices they enable have been relatively understudied. This article focuses on place-making practices and structures of belonging surrounding those Africans living in (and circulating through) Guangzhou. Drawing on my fieldwork, I locate possibilities for place-making and belonging within transnational multiethnic microcommunities and highlight practices that have emerged from the assembling of transnational and translocal flows in residential clusters, community organisations, and religious congregations. I contend that the presence and intermingling of diverse transient subjects (both African and Chinese) nurtures “alternative imaginations” of self, place, home, and belonging that alter extant notions of national and cultural identity, ethnicity, and race in twenty-first century Asia.
DOI
10.1080/14649373.2014.911513
Print ISSN
14649373
E-ISSN
14698447
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2014 Taylor & Francis. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Castillo, R. (2014). Feeling at home in the “Chocolate City” : an exploration of place-making practices and structures of belonging amongst Africans in Guangzhou. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 15(2), 235-257. doi: 10.1080/14649373.2014.911513