Translocational Belonging, Identity and Generation: Questions and Problems in Migration and Ethnic Studies

I will consider some central ways in which belonging and identity have been understood in the context
of transnational migration. The paper critiques a number of approaches that relate to the identity
formation and social location of migrants and their descendants. The paper also discusses the notion
of intersectionality as a heuristic device. It develops an approach that understands transnational
belonging as a complex process relating to social processes and outcomes of differentiation, and in
terms of the intersectionality of social locations. The paper argues that we could usefully displace the
identity problematic with a focus on ‘translocational positionality’.