Migrant literature

Migrant literature, sometimes written by migrants themselves, tells stories of immigration.

Settings

Although any experience of migration would qualify an author to be classed under migrant literature, the main focus of recent research has been on the principal channels of mass-migration in the twentieth century. These include: European migration to North America^[1][2] or Australia;^[3] Arab migration to America after the collapse of the Ottoman empire;^[4] African and Asian migration from former colonies into Europe;^[5] situations of ethnic cleansing;^[6][7] guest worker programs;^[8][9] and exile situations such as that of German dissidents during the Nazi period.^[10][11]

Migrant literature and postcolonial literature show some considerable overlap.^[12]

Themes

Migrant literature focuses on the social contexts in the migrants' country of origin which prompt them to leave, on the experience of migration itself, on the mixed reception which they may receive in the country of arrival, on experiences of racism and hostility, and on the sense of rootlessness and the search for identity which can result from displacement and cultural diversity.

Relationship to post-colonial literature

Colonialism often creates a setting which results in the migration of large numbers of people, either within the colonies or from them to the "imperial centre" (Britain, Turkey, France, Japan, Italy, etc.). However, not all migration takes place in a colonial setting, and not all postcolonial literature deals with migration. A question of current debate is the extent to which postcolonial theory also speaks to migration literature of non-colonial settings. The presence in central Europe of Gastarbeiter communities, for example, is not a result of colonialism.

Categories

A number of categories have been developed for discussing migrant literature. Some of these are the standard categories of post-colonial theory, while others have been worked out precisely to cope with non-colonial settings.

Displacement

Displacement is a key term in post-colonial theory which applies to all migrant situations. It refers both to physical displacement and a sense of being socially or culturally "out of place".^[13]

Renaissance

As worded by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, "the drive to sustain some Arab cultural identity among the immigrant communities in North America" was reinforced from the beginning when educated immigrants launched Arabic-language newspapers and literary societies in both the New York and Boston areas to encourage poetry and writing, with the aim of keeping alive and enriching the Arabic cultural heritage."^[14] The Mahjar was started by Arabic-speaking writers who had emigrated to the Americas from Ottoman-ruled Lebanon, Syria and Palestine at the turn of the 20th century. Writers of the Mahjar movement were stimulated by their personal encounter with the Western world and participated in the renewal of Arabic literature. Lebanese-American writer Kahlil Gibran is considered to have been the most influential of the "Mahjari poets".^[15]

Guest and host communities

Picking up on the term Gastarbeiter and using it affirmatively, Rafik Schami and Franco Boindi used the terminology of guest in 1981 and host to express some of the dynamics of migrant situations. The term describes the frustrations from many migrant authors about the lack of acceptance, poor working conditions, racism and difficulties with integration.^[16]

Emigrant versus immigrant perspectives

It is possible to distinguish the "emigrant perspective" of the migrant whose main focus is backwards to the country of origin from the "immigrant perspective" of the migrant who is reconciled with the prospect of permanent residence in the country of arrival.^[17]

Primary and secondary migration

In relation to work migration, it is common for one member of a family, typically the father, to travel in search of work, the rest of the family following later. In the context of migration and family ties, "secondary migration" refers to the emigration of relatives to join the primary migrant.^[18]

First and second generation migrants

First generation migrants are those who, as adults, themselves made the move from one country to another. Second generation migrants are the children of migrants, who were either very young at the time of migration or were born in the country of arrival. The perspectives across generations can differ enormously.^[19]

Between cultures

In literature of second generation migrants, a location "between" two cultures, sometimes called an "interstitial" space, is often mentioned as a way of expressing a sense of belonging in neither the guest nor the host community.^[20] Those whose experience has been more positive may reject the notion of "between" and feel that they live, rather, in the cultural overlap, not a void but a place of relatable richness.

Hybridity

Hybridity in post-colonial theory refers to the migrant's culturally mixed identity as the contrasting force of assimilation and the search for roots forces a middle way.^[21]

Bilingual theory

Bilingualism is an essential component of hybridity. Results of socio-linguistic research are therefore of importance to work on migrant literature.

See also

• Creolization
• Migration Letters
• Return migration

References

1. Lucassen, Leo; Foner, Nancy (2002). "Old and New Migrants in the Twentieth Century: A European Perspective [with Response]". Journal of American Ethnic History. 21 (4): 85–119. ISSN 0278-5927. JSTOR 27501205.
2. Van Mol, Christof; de Valk, Helga (2016), Garcés-Mascareñas, Blanca; Penninx, Rinus (eds.), "Migration and Immigrants in Europe: A Historical and Demographic Perspective", Integration Processes and Policies in Europe: Contexts, Levels and Actors, IMISCOE Research Series, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 31–55, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-21674-4_3, hdl:20.500.11755/e9d148cf-c5b8-4916-8722-62892d7c4a27, ISBN 978-3-319-21674-4
3. "A brief history of immigration to Australia". SBS News. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
4. "Syro-Lebanese Migration (1880-Present): "Push" and "Pull" Factors". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
5. "Migration from the Colonies to Western Europe since 1800". EGO(http://www.ieg-ego.eu) (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-11.
6. "The Mutual Genocide of Indian Partition". The New Yorker. 2015-06-22. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
7. AP, Monica Sarkar, CNN Photos and video by Getty Images and. "India, Pakistan's independence: Story behind one of history's greatest mass migrations". CNN. Retrieved 2021-11-30. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. Schmid, Carol (1983). "Gastarbeiter in West Germany and Switzerland: An Assessment of Host Society-Immigrant Relations". Population Research and Policy Review. 2 (3): 233–252. ISSN 0167-5923. JSTOR 40229653.
9. Castles, Stephen (1986). "The Guest-Worker in Western Europe - An Obituary". The International Migration Review. 20 (4): 761–778. doi:10.2307/2545735. ISSN 0197-9183. JSTOR 2545735.
10. "New Berlin museum to tell stories of exiled Germans | DW | 17.08.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
11. "The years of exile and the postwar period (1933–1947) - Willy Brandt and the unification of Europe - CVCE Website". www.cvce.eu. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
12. Fennell, Laura. "Across Borders: Migrancy, Bilingualism, and the Reconfiguration of Postcolonialism in Junot Díaz's Fiction". Retrieved 2021-12-10.
13. Gallien, Claire (2018-11-02). "Forcing displacement: The postcolonial interventions of refugee literature and arts". Journal of Postcolonial Writing. 54 (6): 735–750. doi:10.1080/17449855.2018.1551268. ISSN 1744-9855.
14. Levinson, David; Ember, Elvin (1997). American immigrant cultures: builders of a nation. Simon & Schuster Macmillan. p. 864. ISBN 978-0-02-897213-8.
15. Poets, Academy of American. "A Brief Guide to the Mahjar". Poets.org. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
16. "Guest Worker Literature". www.yorku.ca. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
17. Terminology first proposed in Graeme Dunphy, "Migrant, Emigrant, Immigrant: Recent Developments in Turkish-Dutch Literature", Neophilologus, 85 (2001) 1-23.
18. Lamb, Michael E.; Bougher, Lori D. (2009-04-01). "How Does Migration Affect Mothers' and Fathers' Roles Within their Families? Reflections on some Recent Research". Sex Roles. 60 (7): 611–614. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9600-1. ISSN 1573-2762.
19. (Alternatively, in other context related to migration, the expression "secondary migration" is also used to refer to the migration of an immigrant from their country of residence that is not their country of birth to yet another country. Sometimes it is also used to refer to the internal migration of an immigrant, that is, the migration of an immigrant to another state within the country of residence.)
20. "Label and Literature: Borders and Spaces in Postcolonial Migrant Literature in Australia" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-12-22.
21. Moslund, Sten Pultz (2010). Migration literature and hybridity : the different speeds of transcultural change. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-28271-1. OCLC 682614147.