Migration, Cultural Memory & Identity in Benjamin Kwakye’s The Other Crucifix

InThe Other Crucifix, Benjamin Kwakye explores the relationship between cultural memory and belongingness by focusing on the tensions that shape African identity in America. At the centre of the novel is a young Ghanaian man from a poor family who migrates to America for education and economic ameli...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inALT 34 Diaspora & Returns in Fiction p. 82
Main Authors HELEN YITAH, MICHAEL P.K. OKYEREFO
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Boydell & Brewer 18.11.2016
EditionNED - New edition
Subjects
Anthropology
Applied anthropology
Arts
Behavioral sciences
Ceremonial objects
Ceremonies
Cognitive psychology
Collective memory
Communications
Criminal justice
Criminal law
Criminal punishment
Crosses
Crucifixes
Cultural anthropology
Cultural customs
Cultural identity
Devotional objects
Exile
Fiction
Group identity
Human geography
Human migration
Identity
Law
Literary characters
Literary elements
Literary genres
Literature
Memory
Narratives
Novels
Personality psychology
Protagonists
Psychology
Rituals
Social psychology
Social sciences
Online AccessGet full text
ISBN1847011489
9781847011480
DOI10.1515/9781782048589-007

Cover

More Information
Summary:InThe Other Crucifix, Benjamin Kwakye explores the relationship between cultural memory and belongingness by focusing on the tensions that shape African identity in America. At the centre of the novel is a young Ghanaian man from a poor family who migrates to America for education and economic amelioration. His migration, although voluntary, places the protagonist-narrator, Jojo Badu, in a ‘middle passage’, a life-negating environment in which his cultural rootedness is ruptured, and which he must survive by holding on to memories that will eventually replace his original home. In this sense, ‘home’ and identity are defined by cultural memory,
ISBN:1847011489
9781847011480
DOI:10.1515/9781782048589-007