Work

Pan-Africanism as a laughing matter: (Funny) expressions of African identity on Twitter

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Pan-Africanism, a concept that attempts to capture the essence of being an African, needs to be reconsidered in the age of social media. In this article, we examine how Twitter users negotiate the question of African identity through humorous hashtagdriven conversations. We specifically question whether a new kind of Pan-Africanism is emerging on Africa’s Twitterverse through the use of a popular hashtag in 2015, #IfAfricaWasABar. In our analysis of tweets linked to #IfAfricaWasABar, we conclude that Twitter provides temporary solidarity by engaging users in humorous exchanges regarding the sociocultural, political and economic issues that define the African continental condition today.

Source: Journal of African Media Studies

DOI: 10.1386/jams.11.2.257_1

Authors: David Cheruiyot, Charu Uppal

Institution: Karlstad University

Language: English

Topic: African Studies and Ethnography

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Nordisk Ministerråd, University of Cape Town

Award: G5665865254