(Re)theorizing hybridity for the study of identity and difference

Abstract

AbstractThis paper revisits the construct of hybridity as conceptualized in postcolonial theory and its application within and beyond the field of critical social psychology. Hybridity emerged in postcolonial theory as an alternative to racial/racist purisms, questioning “natural” and complete definitions of identity and instead suggesting movement and mediation as central to identity‐making. The objectives of this paper are twofold: First, I trace the genealogy of hybridity discourse from its origins as a critique of cultural imperialism, to its explicit and implicit invocations serving projects of assimilation and nation‐building. Second, building on the work of critical race scholars, critical social psychologists, and Caribbean feminist scholars who emphasize the role of power in the production of difference, I anchor my analysis of the malleability of hybridity in traveling notions of Indo‐Caribbean identity from the Caribbean region to the U.S. More broadly, I illuminate the tensions involved in reclaiming multiple notions of origin and organizing transnational commitments.