Identity formation in the diaspora: an analysis of the eternal audience of One by Remy Ngamije and The Maestro, The Magistrate and the Mathematician by Tendai Huchu
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Date
2021-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Namibia University of Science and Technology
Abstract
Description
The objective of this study was to analyse identity formation in the diaspora in the two African
authored novels, The Eternal Audience of One (2019) and The Maestro, the Magistrate and
the Mathematician (2014). The study applied the postcolonial theory using the tenets of the
“other,” “third space” and hybridity. In the modern world, citizens move from one country to
another for various reasons, but mainly for greener pastures. Such movements have
necessitated the formation of diaspora communities. The two texts investigated in this study
have diaspora communities in Namibia and Scotland, respectively. Consequently, the present
study investigated identity formations of the Rwandan and Zimbabwean diaspora
communities in Namibia and Scotland. Identity formation in the diaspora is problematic as a
result of cultural differences between the host country and the home country. The study
findings revealed that the new migrant communities in the diaspora react differently to
“othering” and “third space” negotiation in the identity formation process according to their
differing generations. First generation immigrants seemed to be affected the worst by
“othering” and found it difficult to negotiate the “third space” compared to the other
generations in the two texts. Evolution into hybrid characters was also shown to differ
accordingly, with some characters growing into successful hybrids and others failing dismally.
Furthermore, the study revealed the importance of the home culture, even in the state of
memory, in identity formation in the diaspora. The study recommends further research be
done on how women are affected by identity creations, bearing the fact that they carry a
double burden of bearing children in foreign lands.
Keywords
Thesis, Namibia, Postcolonial, Identity formation, Othering, Third space, Hybridity, Diaspora
Citation
Nhamu, T. (2021). Identity formation in the diaspora: an analysis of the eternal audience of One by Remy Ngamije and The Maestro, The Magistrate and the Mathematician by Tendai Huchu [Master's thesis: Namibia University of Science and Technology].