REVIEW: ‘Not From Round Here – Racial Framing and the Paradox of Choice’

The author identifies a significant gap in research on race and belonging specific to these islands, noting a scarcity of papers addressing this complex subject. The primary reason for this is the embodiment perspective, with few academics positioned to engage this subjectivity (Durr, 2021; Njaka, 2021; Njaka, 2022). The author's willingness to engage with this topic marks the work as novel and worthy of regard.

The work explores belonging and identity through the lens of race, highlighting feelings of stratified differentiation and the search for clear categorisation, often leading to misalignment. Autoethnography bridges the divide between the embodied author and the reader (Bryan, Dadzie, & Scafe, 1985), allowing reflections on encounters with non-minorities securely positioned in national identity discourses. The author argues that being British is not optional due to the reductionist liminality of aesthetics, disrupting notions of belonging.

The paper reframes debates on who belongs and who is excluded, offering a rare perspective from those on the margins of belonging.

This is a peer-review of an article titled "Not From Round Here – Racial Framing and the Paradox of Choice" to appear in
National Identities, published by Taylor and Francis.