Paul Gilroy - Post colonial

 Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 170: Gilroy – Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can access it online here using your Greenford Google login.

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?

Historically constructed – formed by colonialization, slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism.

2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?

Gilroy is saying that racism isn’t caused by race, racism causes race. Racism is not caused by the clash of two or more races – racism is not a natural phenomenon.

3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?

Ethnic absolutism is a line of thinking which sees humans are part of different ethnic compartments, with race as the basis of human differentiation. Gilroy is opposed to ethnic absolutism as it is counter to his argument that racism causes race.

4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?

He considers a transatlantic diasporic identity, where groups across the Atlantic share cultural practices – a “single, complex unit” of black cultural practitioners as a result of a shared history of oppression and

slavery.

5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?

At the time, the dominant representation of black Britons was as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation.” As such, to accept the role of slavery into the cultural identities of Britain would be to challenge the negative stereotype of black Britons at the time, and reverse the “external and estranged” relationship with the nation.

6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?

Diaspora challenges national ideologies, through the commitment and loyalty to the origin nation or place.

7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity?

.Digital media- use of social media to communicate and understand 

.Communities of people from same background and experienced same events have parties and meetings

8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?

Gilroy also argues the importance of slavery to modernity and capitalism. The modern world was built upon a normalised view of slavery, particularly plantation slavery. Slavery was only rejected when it was revealed as incompatible with enlightened rationality and capitalist production. Gilroy argues that the figure of the black slave of ‘the Negro’ provided enlightened thinkers and philosophers an insight into concepts of property rights, consciousness and art.

9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?

Double consciousness provides more ways of understanding the world, but it places a great strain on black Americans as they consistently feel they are looking at themselves through the eyes of others; there

is a ‘two-ness’ within the identity of the black American which is unreconciled.

10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.

Black women is presented as intelligent and successful which goes against patriarchal stereotypes.