Identity Transformation and Politicization in Africa

This book interrogates how identities are politicized, transformed, and mobilized throughout the African continent to demonstrate alternatives for nation building. It examines ways of transforming identity and provides concrete options where institutions and technology mobilize for education and empowerment around issues of African identities.

Identity Transformation and Politicization in Africa: Shifting Mobilization, edited by Toyin Falola and Céline A. Jacquemin, questions whether identity is providing and sustaining power for elites, or fueling oppression and conflicts, being mobilized for exclusionary movements versus inclusive societal changes, or educating in ways that foster progress and development. Do aspects of African identities and the challenges they present also hold prospects for more inclusive and peaceful democratic and representative futures? The contributors cover a wide spectrum of expertise on different African countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Morocco, and Libya). They come from diverse disciplines (History, Political Science, Public Administration, Philosophy, Economics and Finance, Cultural Studies, Music, and International Relations), and use various methods and approaches in their research. Some contributors belong to the groups whose identity is being scrutinized and are participants in the efforts to politicize and mobilize, while others remain outside observers, who share some traits or interests with the African identities examined and provide different kinds of insights. Several chapters explore how innovative pedagogical projects studying African history and identity—facilitated by the internet and new social media—transform and connect with the African continent. Each author provides important insights on how mobilization around identity issues has been shifting with the internet and social media.

Introduction

Céline A. Jacquemin and Toyin Falola

Part I: Interrogating the Trends, Ethics, and Political, Economic, & Cultural Elements of Identity

Chapter 1: Politics of Being and its Contemporary Implications in Africa: Positive or Negative Trends?

Olanrewaju Atanda Orija

Chapter 2: ‘Ubuntu’ Dialogic Ethics: Towards a Liberal Theory of Virtue and Transformation of Identities in Africa

Jude Chinwuba Asike and Patricia Ogugua Anwuluorah

Chapter 3: Interrogating Identity Politics in Nigeria

Soj Ojo

Chapter 4: Monetary Sovereignty, Sovereign Identities, Monetary Identities in Ghana and Nigeria in the Late 1950’s to Early 1960’s

Bamidélé Aly

Chapter 5: Music as a Tool for Sustainable Development in Nigerian Society

Maureen Ada Uche

Part II: Identity and Ethnic Conflict, Transformation, Reconciliation, and Empowerment

Chapter 6: Ethnicity, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation in Nigeria: The Case of Herder-Farmer Conflict

Kialee Nyiayaana

Chapter 7: How Rwanda Transformed Identity Post-Genocide

Céline A. Jacquemin

Chapter 8: African Bureaucracies and the Implementation of Women Empowerment Programs

Abidemi Abiola Isola, Tolulope Adeogun, and Victor Adesiyan

Part III: Internet and Social Media Foster Identity Change, Exploration, and Mobilization

Chapter 9: Building Global Citizenship through the African Digital Public Humanities: The MaCleKi Collaborative

Meshack Owino and J. Mark Souther

Chapter 10: Mobilizing Student Interest in African Identity: An Academic Project for the Real World

Bradford Whitener

Chapter 11: Institutional Change & Identity: Impact of the Arab Spring & Mobilization in North Africa

Auroara Nikkels

Chapter 12: Tracking Political and Religious Mobilization Against Queer Men in Senegal

Grayson Michael Posey

Bibliography