Tropes of multicultural englishness and mixed-race
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Date
2023
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University of Oum El Bouaghi
Abstract
This dissertation explores the role of cultural production in negotiating and reframing identity and belonging within Black British literature at the turn of the millennium. Focusing on Zadie Smith's critically acclaimed novel, White Teeth, the study aims to investigate the extent to which mixed-race conviviality defies essentialist notions of Englishness and British identity. The study draws on the theoretical framework of Diaspora and Black cultural studies by referring to key critics such as Paul Gilroy and Stuart Hall to provide valuable insights into the complexities of multicultural Englishness, hybridity, and identity politics. Through a comprehensive analysis, the study reveals how White Teeth employs the tropes of multicultural Englishness to navigate the complexities of identity in contemporary Britain. The examination of mixed-race characters in the novel has highlighted the importance of their stories in reconfiguring national identity and forging the basic assumptions of the mixed-race figure as an agent of change and transformation in Britain .The findings of the study contribute to the existing literature on White Teeth and offer theoretical perspectives on the exploration of identity in multicultural contexts.
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Keywords
Multicultural englishness; Mixed-race conviviality; Identity politics; Zadie Smith