Diasporic Identity

This special issue begins with an analysis of the pros and cons of freedom of the human condition achieved by West Indians' ability to have multiple identifications--to "e;play the field,"e; yet sustain a strong personal, participatory national identity. Next the ties that bind Africans together are discussed, such as common blood lines, common ethno-cultural experience, common collective memory, and common African origins. The third article explores the complex relationships among diasporic identity home, and marginality in the context of Rastafari philosophy and practice, followed by an article that views the formation of the uniquely Afro-Jamaican identity of "e;Colon Man"e; through oppositional narratives in Michael Thelwell's The Harder They Come. The issue concludes with a discussion of the geopolitics of identity through the popular literature, censorship, and the Spanish Media.