| ID | 190118 |
| Title Proper | Asserting an Eritrean identity in the face of imposed racialisation |
| Other Title Information | national identity claims of some Eritrean refugees in South Africa |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Tewolde, Amanuel Isak |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Current literature on Eritrean national identity has been dominated by debates on its function as a unifying and homogenising civic identity in a context of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-clan national context. Little is known, however, about how an Eritrean national identity is mobilised among Eritreans living in racially organised host societies. This paper addresses this lacuna by examining how Eritrean refugees living in a racially classified South African host society self-identified. The focus of analysis for this paper was how an Eritrean national identity was mobilised by some participants in the face of experiencing racial classification. Some individuals defined themselves as ‘Eritrean’ to resist their classification as ‘Black’ in everyday life. I argue that beyond functioning as a homogenising and unifying civic identity, an Eritrean national identity functioned as a bulwark against ascribed racial classification in a race-conscious South African host society, |
| `In' analytical Note | Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power Vol. 30, No.1; Feb 2023: p.38-55 |
| Journal Source | Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 2023-02 30, 1 |
| Key Words | Race ; South Africa ; Self-Identification ; Racialisation ; Black Identity ; Eritrean Refugees |