ABSTRACT
The present paper takes as its point of departure discourses of brokenness and farce in depictions of Russian heritage practices among transnational Russian speakers. If heritage is to be understood as a situated and actively constructed practice, then perceptions of linguistic and cultural ‘brokenness’ – or perceived inauthenticity/absurdity of such practices – stem from ideologies of stasis and the naturalised link between practice, time, and place.
Drawing on one case study from my research with transcultural Russian-speaking families in Melbourne, I will offer a glimpse into how heritage, authenticity, and superdiversity play out in the home environment. A scalar approach (Blommaert 2007, 2010), as well as Erickson’s notion of ‘subtle reanimation’ (2004) inform the analysis, reframing ‘brokenness’ in migration contexts as the ‘collective turning points’ of a diasporic Kairos, or opportunities for ideological rethinking
