Entwined identities: A comparative study of Americanah, The Book of Not, and We Need New Names
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Date
2022-10-31
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Namibia University of Science and Technology
Abstract
Africa is a continent made up of numerous sovereign nations and different kinds of people. African identities, which are multiple, while acting as the root or stable core for the fluid and in-transit identities, are frequently misconstrued for being a single identity. Misconstruing identities thus becomes a problem. It is for this reason that this study sought to conduct a comparative analysis of three selected African authored texts, namely Americanah (Adichie, 2013), The Book of Not (Dangarembga, 2006) and We Need New Names (Bulawayo, 2013). The Postcolonial Hybridity theory was applied to the study as a framework that guides the study. A qualitative method of data collection and analysis was used in the study. Data with similar themes that respond to the research objectives were thematically grouped and organised and then analysed. Text selection criterion was used to select these three texts from a collection of texts that were written by each of the three authors. The study findings revealed that the Orient, including the African states and the African identities, are genuine people who have been researched and represented through Orientalism. Despite the fact that colonialism has long since ceased, Africanism outside Orientalism is impossible because African states are monuments of the colonial systems. It was further revealed that although identities, as conceptualised by Hall, are inherently fluid, they are nonetheless characterised by a sense of a core identity and a sense of belonging or a state of rootedness. As a result, a human subject is identifiable because of the consciousness and coherence of their fundamental identity, which for Africans, should be viewed as existing outside the boundaries of the binary constructed by the West. African identity is being rebuilt from personhood, nationalism, racial identification, ethnic identity or cultural identity. As a central assertion drawn from a variety of assertions made about a single human subject, therefore, the study recommends a collective identity as a label type that is transitory, ephemeral, and periodic. The study recommends an analysis of the significance of identities developed throughout a subject's childhood in Africa. It further recommends the evaluation of the importance of parents and their function in forming modern African identities.
Description
THESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ENGLISH AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS AT THE NAMIBIA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUPERVISOR: DR MAX MHENE
31 OCTOBER 2022
Keywords
Namibia, African identity, acculturation, assimilation, culture, hybrid, migration, postcolonial, transcultural, transnational
Citation
Negongo, S. N. (2022). Entwined identities: A comparative study of Americanah, The Book of Not, and We Need New Names [Master's thesis: Namibia University of Science and Technology].