Diasporic Identity

This special issue begins with an analysis of the pros and cons of freedom of the human condition achieved by West Indians' ability to have multiple identifications--to "play the field," yet sustain a strong personal, participatory national identity. Next the ties that bind Africans together are discussed, such as common blood lines, common ethno-cultural experience, common collective memory, and common African origins. The third article explores the complex relationships among diasporic identity home, and marginality in the context of Rastafari philosophy and practice, followed by an article that views the formation of the uniquely Afro-Jamaican identity of "Colón Man" through oppositional narratives in Michael Thelwell's The Harder They Come. The issue concludes with a discussion of the geopolitics of identity through the popular literature, censorship, and the Spanish Media.

Anton L. Allahar (Edited by)

Volume 2, Number 2, 2002. Contents: A.P. Maingot, National Identity, Instrumental Identifications and the Caribbean's Culture of "Play." A.L. Zavitz, A.L. Allahar, Racial Politics and Cultural Identity in Trinidad's Carnival. J.L. DeCosmo, Pariah Status, Identity, and Creativity in Babylon: Utopian Visions of "Home" in the African Diaspora. R.D. Frederick, Colón Man Version: Oppositional Narratives and Jamaican Identity in Michael Thelwell's The Harder They Come.M. Folch-Serra, The Geopolitics of Identity: Popular Literature, Censorship, and the Spanish Media. BOOK REVIEW: J. Phinney,New Perspectives on Racial Identity Development: A Theoretical and Practical Anthology Edited by Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe and Bailey W. Jackson III.