British Vietnamese Identities, Orientalism and Super-Diverse Futures?

Abstract

In this book I have explored how social structures and processes shape identity construction and sense of belonging among British-born Vietnamese men and women in London. These processes have been explored through the narrative biographical method which has led to a collection of narratives of identity work, positioning and belonging in the social world. The book has also drawn upon insights from a range of conceptual tools including theories of Orientalism, discourse, power, positionality, translocational positionality, identity and intersectionality. These have enabled a more nuanced analysis of contradictions and tensions in the ways in which Vietnamese people negotiate their sense of identity and belonging in Britain. This concluding chapter will provide an evaluation and an assessment of key themes and issues arising in the research and assess the main contributions of the study. In particular, it draws together the theoretical debates raised by the empirical data relating to discourse, agency, identity and belonging, to explore how these can be understood in relation to the management of selves and identities within a shifting and fragmented discursive landscape in multicultural Britain. Broader questions are also considered such as ‘how does a growing “super-diversity” in Britain shape processes for developing new forms of identity and belonging formation?’ and ‘how might contexts of super-diversity shape the possibilities to shape new multi-ethnic futures?’ I reflect upon the role of discourses in shaping the experience of the Vietnamese who are under-represented within the British multicultural imagination and consider whether the notion of super-diversity offers greater opportunities or constraints to negotiating new forms of identity and inclusion.