Week 4

Summary

“Hybridity is one of the emblematic notions of our era. It captures the spirit of the times with its obligatory celebration of cultural difference and fusion, and it resonates with the globalization mantra of unfettered economic exchanges and the supposedly inevitable transformation of all cultures.” (Kraidy, M. M., 2005, p. 1)

Hybridity relates to the concept of cultural identity being fluid and ambivalent, and evolving as different cultural influences blend and merge. It stems from the idea that, that which comes into existence ‘between spaces’ cannot be definitively declared as existing in one space or the other - providing for new and wider forms of personal and collective identity. When one culture colonises another, it’s inevitable that the cultures of both the coloniser and the colonised, will begin to influence each other as members of each culture intermingle. 

The ‘imitation’ and ‘mimicry’ that takes place within colonised cultures can itself be considered a form of resistance to colonisation. Its use as a tool of resistance lies in the ability to disrupt, challenge, and reshape established power structures and cultural norms - allowing emergence of diverse new voices. Many languages, such as Pidgin, Creole, and Patois are an example of how linguistic hybridity has occurred as a result of colonisation by English-speaking cultures. Another example is musical hybridity, where elements of music associated with different cultures are blended and mixed together to create new and interesting forms of music.

“Hybridity [...] has a broader meaning that often encompasses the objects and processes captured by equivalent terms such as creolization, mestizaje, and syncretism.” (Kraidy, M. M., 2005, p. 1)

References

• Kraidy, M. M. (2005). Hybridity, or the Cultural Logic of Globalization. Temple University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bw1k8m

• SAE Videos. (2023, September 18). CIM211 - Week 4 before-class video: Postcolonialism & CRT [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM8lePn995c

• Wellington, S. (n.d.). [Mimicry and Hybridity] [Image]. Humanities Core. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/12ae88_da988db4951d4a5885b6dab8996a8aa8~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_350,h_195,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/12ae88_da988db4951d4a5885b6dab8996a8aa8~mv2.jpg 

Week number: 4

Group members: Joshua Ferguson, Mitchel Smith