Contested identities, race and culture: An analysis of The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe by Roger Douglas, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah and Negro Land: A Memeoir by Margo Jefferson
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Date
2022-01
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Namibia University of Science and Technology
Abstract
This study analyses contested identities, race, and culture in The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe by Douglas Rogers, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah and Negroland: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson through the lens of the postcolonial theory. One of the main focuses of the postcolonial theory is identity, and it is identity crises which give rise to multiple and fluid identities. Through the postcolonial theory the themes of race, culture, hybridity, and double consciousness are addressed. The study is a desktop qualitative research, and it uses content analysis to interpret and analyse the chosen autobiographies. The purpose of the study was to explore, the construction and contention of identity, race, and culture, as presented in the three selected text, through the lens of the postcolonial theory.
The study found that all the three texts that were analysed are testament to how identities were constructed during apartheid, slavery, or colonisation and how identities were contested in postcolonial societies. The aftermath of all forms of colonisation led to the rise in identity problems being faced by individuals in contemporary societies. The study also found that, colonisation impacted identities of both the colonised and the colonisers to a great extent.
The study recommends that more studies analysing identities in autobiographies using the post-colonial lens are conducted especially in African countries not covered in this study and that the black man’s identity be analysed in other genres of literature such as poetry and drama using the postcolonial theory. Lastly, the study also recommends that more studies are conducted, analysing Namibian autobiographies to scrutinise the Namibian identity.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS
AT
NAMIBIA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
BY
SESILIA KASIKU NAMAKASA
219155038
JANUARY 2022
MAIN SUPERVISOR: DR. JULIET PASI
CO- SUPERVISOR: DR. M. MHENE
Keywords
Namibia, contested identities, race, culture, literature analysis, postcolonial theory, hybridity, double consciousness, desktop qualitative research, autobiographies
Citation
Namakasa, S. K. (2022). Contested identities, race and culture: An analysis of The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe by Roger Douglas, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah and Negro Land: A Memeoir by Margo Jefferson [Master's thesis: Namibia University of Science and Technology].