Transnational Childhoods

the long version

This book is about British Bangladeshi children living and growing up in contemporary London. Benjamin Zeitlyn examines the transnational lives of children who are connected to an array of international events, communities and forces. These engagements and the complex power relations that lie behind them are revealed through an examination of socialisation practices in British Bangladeshi families. In London, the children live in a global city, connected to every part of the world through history, trade, travel, migration and media. As British Bangladeshis, their migration patterns emerged from the connections formed during the British Empire. As British Muslims, their identities are informed by an official and unofficial Islamophobia, fuelled by the 'war on terror' and debates over the relationships between liberal Western states and Islam. British Bangladeshis have found themselves at the centre of these debates, and this book provides revealing insights into how these processes have shaped their childhoods and identities.