1st Edition
Landscape, Race and Memory Material Ecologies of Citizenship
Memory is seldom explored through the experience of geographically mobile, racialized populations. Whilst the relationships between the political value of landscape and national memory have previously been written through, there has been little mention of postcolonial, 'diasporic' racialized citizens. Using both visual and material culture, this book examines the value of 'landscape and memory' for postcolonial migrants living in Britain. It uses memory to examine how postcolonial citizenship in Britain is experienced - through remembered citizenships of 'other' geographies abroad. By reflecting on the cultural landscapes of British Asian women, the book reveals social-historical narratives about migration, citizenship and belonging. New spaces of memory are presented as mobile and as politically charged with meaning as the more formal spaces of memorialization. The book offers a refiguring of race memory as being critical to English heritage and postcolonial politics and makes an important contribution to the writings on memory, race and landscape.
Biography
Dr Divya Praful Tolia-Kelly is Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Durham, UK
'This book will be inspiring to anyone interested in moving beyond the limits of conventional approaches to researching the experience of diaspora. Divya Tolia-Kelly shows how attention to visual and sensory memories and representations can enable new routes to understanding the identities and experiences of women migrants.' Sarah Pink, Loughborough University, UK 'Tolia-Kelly provides a critical and insightful analysis of the complexities of landscape and material culture, illuminating postcolonial Englishness through the lives of South Asian women in London. Landscape, Race and Memory is a landmark study in cultural geography.' David Matless, University of Nottingham, UK 'This outstanding monograph on British Asian women is a must-read for those interested in postcolonial politics, identity, visual culture, landscape, embodiment, and gender. Tolia-Kelly deftly develops through the notion of 'material ecologies' an exciting new way to think about belonging and citizenship. This book's appeal will stretch well beyond geography.' Robyn Longhurst, The University of Waikato, New Zealand 'Tolia-Kelly's emphasis on the multiple and varied connections to place and landscape that shape belonging, identity, and citizenship drew from oral histories, interviews on the visual and material cultures of the home, and in the creation of paintings. Landscape, Race and Memory, therefore, is a much needed contribution to the South Asian diaspora and is also an important contribution to anyone interested in new research designs on migration, identity, and memory work.' Space and Society - Environment and Planning D
