Diaspora-ish: Notes on Identities, Unbelonging, & Solidarities
Botswana Tanzania United States

Diaspora-ish: Notes on Identities, Unbelonging, & Solidarities

by Gayatri Sethi

Identity & Belonging Non-Fiction Memoir Essays Cultural Studies 2026

Summary

What does it mean to belong when your identity crosses borders, cultures, and histories? Drawing on her own journey from Tanzania to Botswana and the United States, Gayatri Sethi challenges conventional ideas about nationality, race, ethnicity, and belonging. Blending personal reflections, poetry, academic insights, and interactive exercises, she explores how colonialism, racism, immigration, and inherited cultural expectations shape the ways people understand themselves and others. Moving beyond individual identity, Sethi asks how people from different backgrounds can build meaningful solidarities without erasing their differences. Thought-provoking and deeply personal, this book invites readers to question the boundaries that divide us and imagine a more inclusive vision of collective liberation.

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About the author
Gayatri Sethi
Gayatri Sethi

Gayatri Sethi is a diasporic Punjabi educator, writer, and cultural worker whose work explores identity, belonging, decolonization, and collective liberation. Born in Tanzania to parents from Punjab, she grew up in Botswana before immigrating to the United States. Her experiences across continents and cultures inform her examination of how race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion shape personal identity and social relationships. Sethi holds a PhD and combines academic inquiry with creative expression, drawing on personal reflection, poetry, and educational practice to challenge dominant narratives about migration and belonging. Her first book, Unbelonging, explores her experiences of diaspora, motherhood, racism, and empire. Through her writing and teaching, she encourages readers to question inherited assumptions, confront systemic oppression, and build solidarity across cultural and geographical boundaries.

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Details
Published
2026
Author
Gayatri Sethi