Issues of cultural hybridity, diaspora and identity are central to debates on ethnicity and race and, over the past decade, have framed many theoretical debates in sociology, cultural studies and literary studies. However, these ideas are all too often considered at a purely theoretical level. In this book Yasmin Hussain uses these ideas to explore cultural production by British South Asian women including Monica Ali, Meera Syal and Gurinder Chadha. Hussain provides a sociological analysis of the contexts and experiences of the British South Asian community, discussing key concerns that emerge within the work of this new generation of women writers and which express more widespread debates within the community. In particular these authors address issues of individual and group identity and the ways in which these are affected by ethnicity and gender. Hussain argues that in exploring the different dimensions of their cultural heritage, the authors she surveys have created changes within the meaning of the diasporic identity, articulating a challenge to the notion of 'Asianness' as a homogenous and simple category. In her examination of the process through which a hybridized diasporic culture has come into being, she offers an important contribution to some of the key questions in recent sociological and cultural theory.

In 2001, Britain saw another summer of rioting in its cities, with violent uprisings in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford. This book explores the reasons for those riots and explains why they mark a new departure in Britain's racial politics. Riots involving racial factors are nothing new in Britain. Historically violent uprisings could be blamed on heavy policing of predominantly minority communities, but the riots of 2001 were more complex. With elements of 1950s-style race riots and echoes of the 1980s riots which saw South Asians confronting the police as the adversary, the spread of unrest in 2001 was also clearly linked to poverty, unemployment and the involvement of the political far-right. Linking original empirical research conducted amongst the Pakistani community in Bradford with a sophisticated conceptual analysis, this book will be required reading for courses on race and ethnicity, social movements and policing public order.

Although South Asian women are one of the most socially excluded groups in the UK, their numbers at university have increased rapidly in recent years. This report seeks to understand why they are entering university in larger numbers and the impact of this on their lives."The role of higher education in providing opportunities for South Asian women" explores the experiences of Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani women at university. It considers the role of families in shaping choices about local universities and which A-levels and degree subjects to study; vbTab]how community expectations about marriage interact with plans for university; the financial strategies of South Asian women students for funding their education; experiences of racism and Islamophobia inside and outside education and the diversity of the experiences of education among South Asian women, in terms of class, ethnicity and religion.The report is aimed at policy communities and academics with an interest in education, ethnicity and gender. It contains new findings relevant to diversity, equality and widening participation in universities.