Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of current themes, perspectives, and studies on identity in the sub-Saharan African context. The complexity, diversity, and multifaceted nature of the subcontinent is reflected in the various perspectives on African identities. In this chapter, unique perspectives from Africa are presented. These perspectives are informed by an African philosophy and worldview (such as considering what it means to be African and the individualism–collectivism debate) and framed by political and socioeconomic trends (such as colonization, globalization, transition, and acculturation). The multiplicity of indigenous, postcolonial, national, ethnic, and cultural identities (embedded in language, religion, spirituality, symbols, and stories) will be introduced. These are discussed in juxtaposition with the more widely disseminated literature on identity that often emphasize a Western worldview. The chapter concludes with a critical deliberation on the current state of the field, with reflective thoughts regarding future directions.
Africa has her mysteries, and even a wise man cannot understand them. But a wise man respects them.
Miriam Makeba (South African singer-songwriter)
The notion of identity is curiously puzzling; the lived experience of identity is mysteriously contradictory.
Elliott (2011, p. xii)
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Naudé, L. (2021). Identity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Adams, B.G., van de Vijver, F.J.R. (eds) Non-Western Identity. Identity in a Changing World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77242-0_2
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