The Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia: Chinese Nationalism Reinforced
(2009). The Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia: Chinese Nationalism Reinforced. Diaspora Studies: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 119-142.
Strong in Their Weakness or Weak in Their Strength? The Case of Lebanese Diaspora Engagement with Lebanon
This paper seeks to assess when and how the Lebanese Diaspora in Australia, Canada and the USA is most able to affect homeland affairs in Lebanon. Drawing on over 300 in-depth interviews and analysing literature on the Lebanese Diaspora and Lebanon itself, the article seeks to categorise the spectrum of diaspora engagement with Lebanon and more fully define the diaspora's homeland participation. Tentative conclusions indicate that the Lebanese Diaspora is most able to affect homeland affairs when the state is absent or unable to perform its functions as well as because the various political factions do not want a state built. However, to date, despite its renowned strength, the Lebanese Diaspora has not been able to affect change in the sectarian nature of Lebanese homeland politics nor in the too often replicated sectarian politics in the diaspora. We conclude that the diaspora is thus both strong and weak vis-à-vis affecting homeland public affairs.
Negotiating the cultural and economic outcomes of sport heritage attractions: the case of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
ABSTRACT Contemporary museums must balance their roles as commercial entities and repositories of various, and often dissonant, heritages and histories. Sports museums in particular often have clear commercial and nostalgic aims, particularly through tourist visitation, though the extent to which they represent more challenging narratives remains unclear. This paper examines how one of the most famous sports museums in the world, the National Baseball Hall of Fame (NBHF) in Cooperstown, New York, balances its dual role as tourist attraction and repository of baseball's sometimes checkered past. It was found that different sections of the museum provide greater or lesser degrees of engagement with more controversial issues, although the commercial outputs and appeal of the museum remains clear throughout. Utlimately, the NBHF demonstrates that balancing veneration and critique in collections can be commercially prosperous, and can provide a template for other sport and popular culture museums who may be wary of incorporating more challenging narratives in their exhibits. Furthermore, the symbiotic relationship between the Hall of Fame and the village of Cooperstown, particularly in creating and maintaining cultural and economic outputs, requires further exploration.