Africans and the Exiled Life: Migration, Culture, and Globalization

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Since their early beginning in Africa as foragers, hunters and gatherers, humans have been on the move. In modern times, their movements have been compelled by geographical, economic, political, cultural, social and personal reasons. However, beginning in the second-half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century their reasons for and pattern of migration have been largely influenced by globalization. Globalization, by its very nature, cuts across virtually every aspect of the human life and human society. And especially in the United States, African immigrants are subject to the undercurrents of globalization particularly in the areas of culture, religion, interpersonal relationships, and the assimilation and acculturation process. Relying on the vast theoretical and practical experience of academics and public intellectuals across three continents, this book succinctly interrogates some of the pull/push factors of migration, the challenges of globalizing forces, and the daily reality of relocation. The everyday reality and experiences of blacks in the diaspora (Latin America, Caribbean, and Europe) are also part of the discourse and the subject matters are approached from different perspectives and paradigms. Africans and the Exiled Life, therefore, is a compelling and rich addition to the ongoing global debate and understanding of migration and exile.

Reviews

After all is said and done, the history of the late 20th and early 21st century cannot be fully understood and accounted for without problematizing and addressing the phenomenon of migration within countries, within continents, and across regions of the world. Migration has been an integral part of human history from time immemorial, but the era of neoliberal globalization has escalated the desire and process to a very high level owing to among other things, the problem of uneven development and institutional capacity. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, the editors and authors of this book provide an elaborate analysis of various theoretical perspectives, contextual and mediating explanatory factors to explain the issue of migration within and out of the African continent. The book greatly educates the reader by being deliberately nuanced in analysis in order to avoid the problem of broad and misleading generalizations that ignore mediating/contextual factors and social and historical specificities. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in having a focused understanding of how Africa fits into the extensive literature on contemporary migration. -- Samuel Zalanga, Bethel University
This book is an assemblage of disparate voices on African migration. The contributors remarkably respond to our search for better understanding of the link between contemporary globalization and the conditions of the global common. -- Victor Adetula, The Nordic Africa Institute

Author Bio

Sabella Ogbobode Abidde is associate professor of political science at Alabama State University. Brenda Ingrid Gill is associate professor of sociology at Alabama State University.