The right of Radha Sarma Hegde to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2016 by Polity Press

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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-0310-0

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hegde, Radha Sarma, 1953-
Title: Mediating migration / Radha S. Hegde. Description: Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity, [2015] | Series: Global media and communication | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015022617| ISBN 9780745646329 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 0745646328 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780745646336 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 0745646336 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Mass media and immigrants. | Mass media and social
integration. | Mass media and culture. | Immigrants--Social networks. |
Immigrants--Cultural assimilation. | Emigration and immigration--Social
aspects. | Emigration and immigration--Technological innovations.
Classification: LCC P94.5.I48 H44 2015 | DDC 302.23086/91--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015022617

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Acknowledgements

This book has emerged from my long-standing scholarly interest in the politics and narratives of migration. Writing the book has itself been a journey of sorts, on which I have been sustained and supported by many. The chapters all grew and developed from conversations with colleagues and friends, lectures in classes, discussions with students, and presentations delivered at various academic institutions.

For some years now, I have been teaching on the subjects of migration, media, and globalization. These courses have served as a testing ground for many of the ideas presented in this book. I wish to acknowledge my graduate and undergraduate students at New York University who have been intellectually curious, responsive, and involved with my work.

Each of the chapters was shaped over the course of an academic and social journey. I am deeply appreciative of the scholars who have engaged and invited me to present my work when it was still evolving and in formation. These interactions have been crucial to the completion of this book. Many of the ideas in the introduction were shaped in two keynote addresses that I delivered, the first at a conference arranged by the Academy of Finland, and the next at the Nordic Network for Media and Migration, University of Helsinki. My thanks to Karina Horsti, Minna Aslama, and Petteri Pietikäinen. The ideas for chapter 2 were inspired by my meetings with young undocumented activists in New York City. I presented the arguments of this chapter in a panel at the International Communication Association conference along with Karina Horsti, Mirca Madianou, Tanja Thomas, and Elke Grittmann, to all of whom I extend my thanks. Parts of chapter 3 were presented at St. Louis University at Madrid and also at the University of Western Washington. My thanks to Brian Goss, Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre, Angharad Valdivia, Cameron McCarthy, and Natalie Fenton for their engagement with the ideas and arguments presented in that chapter. Parts of chapter 4 have also been presented at Freie Universität Berlin, where I deeply value the collegiality of Margreth Lünenborg and Elfriede Fürsich. Chapter 5 took shape in presentations at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, at the Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference in Paris, and at the Diasporic Foodways Conference at the University of Toronto. My thanks to Ajaya Sahoo and the referees for valuable editorial input on a version of this chapter that was published in the Journal of South Asian Diaspora. Chapter 6 on music, technology, and the diaspora has benefited greatly from discussions that followed presentations at Cambridge University, Yale University, the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Hyderabad. For these opportunities and conversations, I wish to thank Mirca Madianou, Inderpal Grewal, Susan Ossman, Usha Raman, Vinod Pavarala, Aparna Rayaprol, and Amit Kumar Mishra. My thanks to Cynthia Carter and Lisa McLaughlin of Feminist Media Studies for their constant support. A very special thanks to Shani Orgad and Linda Steiner for their input, timely comments, and extremely helpful suggestions. To Linda, a special thanks for instant advice on sentences that go astray. I am also grateful to the activists, food bloggers, and musicians who generously gave me of their time and whose narratives I have incorporated into the book.

The intellectual space, support, and stimulation I have received at New York University, and especially from my colleagues in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, have been invaluable. For his rich intellectual mentorship and support, I owe my deep gratitude to Arjun Appadurai, my colleague, whose scholarship has been truly inspirational to my intellectual pursuits, and in particular to this book on migration. Arjun, thank you very much for all the stimulating conversations and for being most generous with your time. To Arvind Rajagopal, my deeply felt thanks for his sustained intellectual support, insightful conversations, and friendship. Over the years, I have learnt much from my friend and colleague Allen Feldman, and I am deeply grateful for the conversations we have had on many of the ideas presented here. To my colleagues Helen Nissenbaum and Deborah Borisoff, I would like to express my profound gratitude for their friendship and unswerving support of this project right from the very beginning. Checking in with Helen about (impossible) writing goals and logging our daily word counts has been crucial to the completion of this book. Debbie, thank you for your timely and dependable academic mentoring and keeping me centered with humor and friendship. To Marita Sturken and Lisa Gitelman – thank you for your collegiality and enabling various academic processes that helped me along the way.

There are several others who have helped shape this book through its growth and development. To Robert Wosnitzer, I wish to express my deep thanks for the many conversations and engaged discussions we have had along the way. Jacqueline Rohel and Laura Norén – thank you for your help and thoughtful suggestions, especially on the topic of food and food blogs. To my students, Uma Anand, Anya Kandel, Rahma Mian, Jonathan Zalman, Miriam Halsey, and Chris Nolan – thanks for the conversations, research help, and/or collectively alerting me to just about everything that was being written about migration anywhere in the world. Daniel Bloch has shared with me his avid interest in diasporic literature and film, introducing me to new publications, film events, and book releases. Danny, thanks for having been an important part of this journey from its very nascent stages.

Emily Goldsher-Diamond and Madhurim Gupta have worked tirelessly with me through the various aspects of getting this manuscript ready for publication. I simply could not have done it without them. Emily – I deeply appreciate the meticulous research assistance. Overcoming all time-space constraints, Madhurim has worked with me down to the wire on the final details. Madhurim – thank you very much. Andrea Drugan and Joe Devanny were both truly supportive of this endeavor and their encouragement was crucial to the launching of this project. Elen Griffiths of Polity Press has been simply wonderful to work with. Elen, thank you very much for your support, patience, and professionalism.

To Rita Chaudhuri I owe a special debt of gratitude for her steadfast friendship over the years. Thanks, Rita, for both steering and cheering me to the finish line.

Nirupama Shree, my daughter, has been ever ready to edit at short notice, and provide instant, honest critique. Thanks Niru, as always. Krishna – thank you for everything, too numerous to be named:

Radha Sarma Hegde
New York City; Chennai

A version of chapter 4 was published as Hegde, R. (2010) Eyeing Publics: Veiling and the Performance of Civic Visibility. In Brouwer, D. C. and Asen, R. (eds.) Public Modalities. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL, pp. 154–72. A version of chapter 5 was published as Hegde, R. (2014) Food Blogs and the Digital Reimagination of South Asian Diasporic Publics. South Asian Diaspora 6(1), 89–103.