On Notions of (In)Visibility and Diaspora Space

Autor(en)

Hanna Stepanik

Abstrakt

In social sciences, new patterns of migration and the related living realities have mostly been looked at from the perspective of ‘integration’ and, more recently, ‘development’. Less attention has been paid to popular cultural practices, which this article considers to be crucial in the constitution of so-called ‘diasporic spaces’. By exploring the practice of Batuku – presumably the oldest musical style on the Cape Verde islands – in the postcolonial setting of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML), I want to open up debates regarding assumed dichotomies such as ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’. Batuku can be considered a ‘community- related’ practice and is generally practiced by (working class) women (the Batukaderas) at what is generally referred to as the ‘periphery’ of Lisbon; rendering it ‘invisible’ to many discussions of ‘popular culture’. In this article, I will stress the need to apply an intersectional approach when analysing notions of (in)visibility and argue that Batukaderas experience a threefold exclusion or ‘invisibility’ (based on classed, racialised and gendered experiences). Moreover, this article aims at arguing that what is deemed ‘invisible’ is often either romanticised and/or silenced as an ‘Other’, and that Batukaderas challenge these romanticisations and silences through their practice.

Organisation(en)

Journal

Stichproben: Wiener Zeitschrift für kritische Afrikastudien

Band

19

Seiten

75-100

ISSN

1992-8610

Publikationsdatum

07-2019

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

605004 Kulturwissenschaft, 602001 Afrikanistik

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/6cbf0955-0572-4246-85f9-589d86afe977