Situated Politics of Belonging

This collection of essays examines the racialized and gendered effects of contemporary politics of belonging, issues which lie at the heart of contemporary political and social lives. It encompasses critical questions of identity and citizenship, inclusion and exclusion, emotional attachments, violent conflicts and local/global relationships. The range - geographically, thematically and theoretically - covered by the chapters reflects current concerns in the world today. A timely contribution to the ongoing debates in the field, it will be a valuable companion to scholars working in the areas of multiculturalism, globalisation and culture, race and ethnic studies, gender studies and studies of post-partition societies.

Nira Yuval-Davis is Director of the Research Centre on Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) at The University of East London. Kalpana Kannabiran is the recipient of the inaugural Amartya Sen Award for Social Scientists, 2012, for her work in Law. She is a sociologist and legal researcher and is currently Director, Council for Social Development, Hyderabad, an autonomous research institute supported by the Indian Council for Social Science Research. She was awarded the VKRV Rao Prize for Social Science Research in the field of Social Aspects of Law by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) in 2003. She was part of the founding faculty of National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law where she taught sociology and law for a decade (1999–2009) and is a founder member of Asmita Resource Centre for Women where she has coordinated research and legal outreach for women. Kannabiran has been the general secretary of the Indian Association for Women’s Studies (1998–2000) and is active in the International Sociological Association. She was a member of the Expert Group on the Equal Opportunity Commission, Government of India (2007–2008) and member of the Expert Group on Legal Education Reform in Kerala, Government of Kerala. She has been an activist in the women’s movement since the late 1970s. I studied Social Science and Law in Germany, and extended my interdisciplinary and feminist knowledge in a unique British MA program (Gender and Ethnic Studies) with Prof. Nira Yuval-Davis (University of Greenwich, MA/ 2004; University of East London, Ph.D./2008). In 2009, I was offered a Postdoc position based at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam), the Netherlands. My current research concentrates on the ′Modes of intersectional complexity and "New" Citizen′s inclusion in the Netherlands, Britain and Germany since 1970′.