Diaspora as an Ethnographic Method

Abstract

This article reflects on diaspora as an ethnographic method. Grounded in a decolonial critique of colonial methodologies (including an evaluation of transnational scholarship), it discusses how diaspora provides intellectual and practical tools for ethnography, tools grounded in the appreciation for the relational, dialogical and poetic qualities of social and cultural life and invested in decolonial approaches to knowledge and power. This article is not another call for a one-size-fits-all approach to ethnographic methods, but instead reflects on the knots of ethnographic enquiry around three outer East London youth clubs, between 2008 and 2012. In doing so, it highlights a number of debates pertinent to this special issue: how to think and do ethnography with young people in a changing migratory and racialized landscape; how to engage transformations in youth culture; and how to address digital technologies.