The Diasporic Condition - by Ghassan Hage Hardcover

About the Book

"In his new book, Ghassan Hage bridges the gap between research on migration and anthropological tradition, illustrating that transnationality and its attendant cultural consequences are not necessarily at odds with classic theory. Though his research subject is anything but classical on its face, Hage engages with the diasporic Lebanese community as a shared lifeworld, defining a common cultural milieu that transcends spatial and temporal distance-a collective mode of being here termed the "diasporic condition." Seeking to encompass an unusually complicated transnational terrain, Hage's longterm ethnographic engagement takes us from Mehj and Jalleh in Lebanon to Europe, Australia, South America, and North America, analyzing how Lebanese migrants and their families have succeeded (or not) in establishing themselves in their new homes, even as they remain socially, economically, politically, and affectively related to Lebanon and to each other. At the heart of this research lies a critical anthropological question: in what way does the study of a particular socio-cultural phenomenon expand our knowledge of modes of existing in the world? As Hage establishes what he terms the "lenticular condition" to describe how the diasporic Lebanese community inhabits a multiplicity of intersecting realities, he breaks down the boundaries between "us" and "them," "here" and "there," showing that this lenticular mode of existence increasingly defines everyone's everyday life"--

Book Synopsis

Bridging the gap between migration studies and the anthropological tradition, Ghassan Hage illustrates that transnationality and its attendant cultural consequences are not necessarily at odds with classic theory.

In The Diasporic Condition, Ghassan Hage engages with the diasporic Lebanese community as a shared lifeworld, defining a common cultural milieu that transcends spatial and temporal distance--a collective mode of being here termed the "diasporic condition." Encompassing a complicated transnational terrain, Hage's long-term ethnography takes us from Mehj and Jalleh in Lebanon to Europe, Australia, South America, and North America, analyzing how Lebanese migrants and their families have established themselves in their new homes while remaining socially, economically, and politically related to Lebanon and to each other.

At the heart of The Diasporic Condition lies a critical anthropological question: How does the study of a particular sociocultural phenomenon expand our knowledge of modes of existing in the world? As Hage establishes what he terms the "lenticular condition," he breaks down the boundaries between "us" and "them," "here" and "there," showing that this convergent mode of existence increasingly defines everyone's everyday life.

Review Quotes

"The Diasporic Condition is a beautifully crafted book. Thoroughly enjoyable and evocative--not to mention incredibly resonant for Lebanese diasporic subjects and students of Lebanon--this thought-provoking book is sure to whet the intellectual appetite of a wide readership."-- "Mashriq & Mahjar"

"This sophisticated, captivating ethnography demonstrates how anthropological understanding can be applied to a diasporic mode of living and how the mobile subject contributes to expanding analyses of culture, belonging, and place. . . . Highly recommended."-- "Choice"

"With his typical creative brilliance, Hage probes the diverse and divergent angles through which Lebanon appears in migratory memories and movement, and, in the process, upends our understanding of the politics of ancestry and inheritance in diasporic worlds."-- "Elizabeth A. Povinelli, author of The Inheritance"

"With this book, Hage carefully journeys us through the complex experiences of the Lebanese diasporic condition. Living in an internationalized space of viability, the Lebanese are shown to occupy a multiplicity of entangled and flickering realities--always engaged and always aware that, in the end, they are stuck with each other. The journey is exquisite, painful, exhilarating, saddening, inspiring, and deeply human. The Diasporic Condition is a must-read for both the Lebanese and the non-Lebanese."-- "Suad Joseph, University of California, Davis"

About the Author

Ghassan Hage is professor of anthropology and social theory at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He is the author of several books, including White Nation, Against Paranoid Nationalism, After-Politics, and Is Racism an Environmental Threat?