Diasporic Citizenship under Debate Law, Body, and Soul

摘要

In this paper I explore the nexus of slavery, diaspora, and citizenship through the close examination of the complex negotiations of "diasporic citizenship" in Ghana. Over the past 25 years, Ghana has been a major site for diasporic homecoming, both in terms of tourism and repatriation. This movement has been accompanied by multiple demands and promises of citizenship. I discuss three dimensions of citizenship that speak to the problematics of inclusion and exclusion in the rhetoric and practice of diasporic homecoming. First, there is citizenship as an affective claim to belonging; second, there is citizenship as a legal status (and obligation); and third, there is the renegotiation of citizenship through genetic ancestry. Articulated in terms ofsoul,dual citizenship, andembodied link, these citizenship claims and practices transcend and challenge the strict limits of the nation-state, thereby pointing toward the "crisis of citizenship" as a larger problem.