West African Migrations Transnational and Global Pathways in a New Century

by Okome, Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké; Vaughan, Olufemi

• ISBN13: 9780230338678
• ISBN10: 0230338674
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-01-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Drawing on the interdisciplinary research projects of scholars from various social science and humanities disciplines, this book explores how African migration to Western countries after the neo-liberal economic reforms of the 1980s transformed West African states and their new transnational populations in Western countries. Collectively, their contributions offer an analysis of how the interplay of social, political, economic, and cultural forces have shaped the nature and form of transnationalization.

Author Biography

Mojbol Olfnke Okome is a professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College CUNY. Olufemi Vaughan is Geoffrey Canada Professor of Africana Studies and History. Bowdoin College

Table of Contents

'West African Migrationscomplicates past 'isms' and present 'scapes' of our global era by humanizing the homeland or the diaspora as a space of constantly shifting conjunctures, monologues, and disjunctures—ultimately conditioned by the trans-migrant's state of mind. In this timely volume, Africa and the West locate a neutral nexus for a long overdue dialogue. A must read for scholars and general readers seeking new meanings for our liminal existence within and without increasingly artificial borders.'—Niyi Afolabi, associate professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin and co-editor ofTrans-Atlantic Migration: The Paradoxes of Exile

'West African Migrationsis an important and timely contribution to our understanding of the new processes of identity formation and migration in the age of neo-liberal globalization. The contributions in this volume present crucial insights into the complex experiences of African migrants in the Western world as well as the changes they are enacting in their new host countries. It is a must read.'—James Genova, associate professor and program coordinator for History, The Ohio State University-Marion

'In this timely contribution to the growing body of migration studies in Africa, Okome and Vaughan have brought together a range of contributions that is both rigorous and insightful. A highly recommended book!'—Insa Nolte, Centre of West African Studies, University of Birmingham, UK