Hegemony and transnational practices of Nigerian-Yorubas in Toronto

Adeyanju, Charles

Irinkerindo: A Journal of African Migration

Journal Article

2003

2

Sociology and Anthropology

This paper discusses transnational practices of Nigerian-Yoruba immigrants in Toronto. It is argued that Yoruba transnational practices stem from their 'lived experience' of exclusionary practices & their material positions in Canadian society, & their pre-existing conception of 'ethnicity' as 'real' in postcolonial Nigerian society. Using the Gramscian notion of hegemony, it is pointed out that the reaffirmation & reconfiguration of unequal social Show moreThis paper discusses transnational practices of Nigerian-Yoruba immigrants in Toronto. It is argued that Yoruba transnational practices stem from their 'lived experience' of exclusionary practices & their material positions in Canadian society, & their pre-existing conception of 'ethnicity' as 'real' in postcolonial Nigerian society. Using the Gramscian notion of hegemony, it is pointed out that the reaffirmation & reconfiguration of unequal social relations within the Yoruba transnational social fields has some materiality in the sense that it taps into what Gramsci calls 'feeling passion' -- the moment where Yoruba individuals' understandings of their social position emotionally & normatively resonate with their lived experiential consciousness/common sense. Further, the paper argues that diverse discourses & ideologies focusing on 'ethnicity'/ 'race' are articulated by the dominant members of both host & home societies to 'naturalize' & 'normalize' the existing unequal social relations. A grassroots approach for the displacement of continued racial, gender, & class inequalities adumbrated by the existing transnational activities is necessary. 1 Figure, 68 References. Adapted from the source document. Show less