Connecting Histories

The study of ethnicity, diaspora, and identity is one of the most expanding and exciting areas of contemporary historical research and publication in the UK today. There is an increasing body of literature being published on this subject, which was previously seen as the domain of the social sciences. Connecting Histories is an important addition to that trend as, whilst utilising sociological and anthropological theories, it is a historical and comparative assessment of ethnic identities and memories. It investigates how African-Caribbean and Jewish individuals and 'communities' remember their experiences, by examining 'life histories' and 'autobiographical acts', including autobiography, oral history, and travel writing. Its main focus is to assess how mythologies affect collective memory and influence personal identities. Key themes of exploration include the memories of migration and myths of the Mother Country and Promised Land, the re-remembering of racist riots in early twentieth century Britain, and reflections on community and diasporic identities. Its value and originality lies in juxtaposing two communities who have many parallels in historical experience, identity, and memory but who have rarely been compared to each other.