Alisha Sheikh

Thesis: Generational Change in the Sense of Belonging of British Asians

This research asks: how do second and third generation British South Asians construct their identities in Leicester? Some public debates claim that British South Asian identities and lifestyles are irreconcilable with ‘native’ British people by not assimilating into British society, increasingly contributing to historic stereotypes about this demographic (Saini, 2022). Research into the British South Asian identity is thus timely and significant to acknowledge the sentiments of this antagonised group.

Leicester presents a unique case to explore these identity constructions due to its large South Asian population and its recent intragroup tensions. By conducting a comparative analysis of archival and contemporary interviews with British Asians in Leicester, my research will examine how social developments in the UK and Leicester in particular have implications on British Asian ethnic identities and their manifestations. After analysing the archival interviews carried out in 2006 and 2007 with British Asians in Leicester about their everyday lives, I will conduct interviews in the same location with second and third generation comparators to reveal the evolution in lifestyles and identities across generations.

Drawing upon Stuart Hall’s (1987) theory of ‘new ethnicities’, this research will emphasise how British Asians autonomously form their identities over time to effectively explore the developments of anti-immigrant sentiments within wider British society, and the experiences within the South Asian community, including socioeconomical and cultural changes. Consequently, this study intends to challenge public discourse by contributing to South Asian representation in British academia, as well as inform local policy on community cohesion.

Biography:

Alisha is a PhD researcher at the University of Warwick's Department of Sociology. Her research explores the generational developments of South Asian diasporas living in the UK, focussing on identity and community construction. More broadly, her research fits into Cultural Studies and sociological fields of community and identity formation, including theoretical influences from Stuart Hall's work on diaspora. Prior to her PhD, Alisha has undertaken a BA in Sociology and an MA in Media, Culture and Society, both from the University of Leicester. She has also completed a research placement at the University of Cambridge, where she explored the conflict autonomisation of the 2022 Leicester unrest between British South Asian Hindus and Muslims. Alisha's research seeks to provide representation in academia for the British South Asian experience, and to contribute to an understanding of diasporic identity in the current UK social and political climate.

Department of Sociology

University of Warwick

2026 Cohort

Supervisors:

Professor Ayse Guveli

Dr Ajmal Hussain