Jairos Kangira

African hybrids: exploring Afropolitan identity formation in Taiye Selasi's 'Ghana must go' and Chimamanda Adichie's 'Americanah'

This paper discusses the representation of Afropolitan identity forma tion in Taiye Selasi’s debut novel Ghana must go (2013), and Chima manda Adichie’s novel Americanah (2013). The aim of the paper is to discuss Afropolitan identity formation as presented in the two novels using Selasi’s (2005) essay Who is an Afropolitan? as a benchmark. Se la si blends the words ‘Africa’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ in her essay, which discusses several themes, namely: cultural hybridity, careers, identity for mation, self-expression and an African bond as they relate to the Afropolitan. Although we have listed all the major themes above, this paper only focuses on the theme of Afropolitan identity formation. For example, in Ghana must go (2013) Kehinde, the twin boy struggles with his identity because of his Scottish heritage which gives him a skin complexion that is neither black nor white and he does not know what nationality to consider himself. In Americanah (2013), Dike also struggles with his identity because he expresses in a school essay that he does not know his identity and that his name is diffi cult to pronounce. The analysis concluded that not only do Afropolitans need to craft an identity on three levels according to Selasi (2005, para. 9) “national, ra cial, cultural – with subtle tensions in between”, but the experience can be traumatic and painful, both emotionally and physically. This paper contributes to knowledge of the world as a global village, but more specifi cally the international integration of cultures as expressed in literature, not only in the African diaspora, but in Africa as well. Introduction Afropolitanism is a term originally coined by Nigerian-Ghanaian writer, dancer, photographer and documentary fi lmmaker, Taiye Selasi. She defi nes the term as “not being citizens but Africans of the world” (Se lasi, 2005, para. 3). She was born in London, raised in Boston and studied at Yale and Oxford Universities. In Otas (2012), Selasi explains that she coined the term Afropolitanism because while growing up, when asked where she was from she was always lost for words, and even if she did respond, people were never satisfi ed with the answers she gave. She explains that being Afropolitan is not an exclusive identity be cause she wrote the essay based on her experience. The response that emanated from her essay led to the writing of her debut novel, Gha na must go (2013), in which she captures the identity and roots of the Afropolitan. *Emelda /Ucham is a Junior Lecturer in the Education and Languages Department at the Polytechnic of Namibia. She holds a Master of Arts degree in English Studies which she obtained from the University of Namibia. She has experience in teaching English as a Second Language. Her research interests are African literature and rhetoric. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Namibian literature. E-mail address: eucham@polytechnic.edu.na Jairos Kangira is an Associate Professor of English and Head of the Department of Language and Literature Studies at the University of Namibia. He holds a PhD in Rhetoric Studies earned from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Before joining the University of Namibia, he lectured at the University of Zimbabwe and the Polytechnic of Namibia. He also supported the Bachelor of English and Communication Studies of the Zimbabwe Open University through material development and part-time teaching. His research interests are in rhetoric studies, literature and linguistics. E-mail address: jkangira@unam.na