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“Door of No Return” in Ouidah, Benin.
“The concept of 'reverse diaspora' challenges the assumption that the diaspora only exists 'in diaspora' and, consequently, dissolves upon return. Actually, a return often leads to 're-diasporization' rather than to 'de-diasporization'.”
Congratulations to Dr. Antje Ziethen, Assistant Professor of French, for receiving a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for her research project titled “Reverse Diaspora: The ‘Brazilians’ in West Africa”.
About the research project:
My project sheds light on a significant and yet mostly unknown chapter in transatlantic history through the lens of literature. I study three African novels that address the relocation of several thousand Africans and African descendants from Brazil (called the Aguda) to West Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries. These returnee communities of formerly enslaved people established a successful settlement system in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo, wielding considerable economic and political power. The novels, I argue, show that return mobilities from the Americas are important because the diaspora contributes to shaping communities and histories on the African continent. The “Brazilian” returnees introduced new forms of architecture and technologies in West Africa while being agents of sociopolitical change. Togo’s first president Sylvanus Olympio was of Afro-Brazilian descent, for example. The authors also highlight that relations with the local population were generally problematic because the Aguda established ethnic enclaves to protect their “Brazilianness”. They were perceived, and perceived themselves, as an elite group thanks to their Western manners, a formal education, and economic success.
My analysis mobilizes the concept of “reverse diaspora”, originally used in the European context and which describes a continued diasporic existence even after the return to the homeland. It enables me to discuss complex returnee identities, the notion of home, and the construction of race. The concept challenges the assumption that the diaspora only exists “in diaspora” and, consequently, dissolves upon return. Actually, a return often leads to “re-diasporization” rather than to “de-diasporization”. I also identify particular writing techniques that convey the experience of return migration, including narration, language, genre, and intertextuality. The study expands the analytical purchase of reverse diaspora for scholars in Area Studies, Literary Studies, and Postcolonial Studies, while addressing its current shortcomings regarding race, colonialism, and social mobility. In addition to reinvigorating the field of African Literature by connecting it to Latin American Studies, this project yields new insights on the Black Atlantic through a focus on the cultural influence of South America in West Africa.
My research project has two components: a peer-reviewed article and a public-facing digital installation to promote different forms of dissemination. The installation creates opportunities for the public at large to engage with the project through digital cultural objects. I use a storytelling tool that combines multimedia content, including maps, photos, historical documents from my archival research in Brazil, and excerpts from interviews with the authors. It will also feature short readings of the novels to show how the authors transpose history to literature. The objective is to initiate conversations on important issues addressed by the selected authors and to present alternative narratives about African cultures.
