[UCI-Calit2] Reminder: Last CRITO Hour Monday, June 5

[Calit2]

Topic:  "Cyberspace and Citizenship: Long Distance Politics and the
Eritrean Diaspora."
 
Presenter:  Associate Professor Victoria Bernal, Chair of the
Anthropology Department at UCI
 
Time:   Monday, June 5, 2006  11:45 pizza with Noon presentation
 
Location:  Room 3008, Calit2 Building, UCI 
 
Abstract: I analyze the Eritrean Diaspora and its use of cyberspace to
theorize the ways transnationalism and new media are associated with the
rise of new
forms of community, public spheres and sites of cultural production.
Eritreans abroad use the Internet as a transnational public sphere where
they produce and debate narratives of history, culture, democracy and
identity. Through the web the diaspora has mobilized demonstrators,
amassed funds for war, debated the formulation of the constitution, and
influenced the government of Eritrea. Through their web postings,
'Internet intellectuals' interpret national crises, rearticulate values
and construct community.  Thus, the Internet is not simply about
information but is also an emotion-laden and creative space. Diasporas
online may invent new forms of citizenship, community and political
practices.
 
Bio:  Victoria Bernal's research has addressed a range of issues
relating to gender, migration, nationalism, transnationalism,
development, cyberspace, and Islam. She has carried out ethnographic
research in Eritrea, Tanzania, and the Sudan. Bernal has been the
recipient of a number of prestigious grants and fellowships from
Wenner-Gren, Fulbright, and Rockefeller Foundations among others. Her
book analyzing rural transformations and the complex interplay of
development policies, labor migration and peasant households,
Cultivating Workers: Peasants and Capitalism in a Sudanese Village was
published by Columbia University Press. Her articles and chapters have
appeared in numerous collections as well as in anthropological, African
Studies, and interdisciplinary journals. 
 
 
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