Haydon-Allen Building Seminar Room HA 2175. Presented by Kirk Zwangobani.
RSVP for light lunch: alden.klovdahl@anu.edu.au  by Friday 22 October 2 PM

In this seminar I will draw on my sociological research into the formation of identity among a small group of young adult African Australians between the ages of 18 and 25 living in Canberra. These participants come from a cross section of the community, encompassing different genders, ethnicities, class, cultures and migratory patterns (diplomatic, humanitarian entrant, etc).
I will expound upon how the participants in my study perceive themselves and one another and whether they act together as a cohesive group across the ‘boundaries’ that may be created by critical points of difference. What interests me in particular among such critical points of difference is the role that ‘belonging’ plays in determining the social cohesiveness among my participants.
The purpose of this seminar is to illustrate the complexities evident in black African Australian youths’ processes of identification and belonging and discuss three distinct frames or themes that occur in their identity construction: progressive individualisation, forced homogenization and transition to adulthood. I suggest that throughout these three frames a paradox has occurred in the identity formation, both individual and collective, of African Australian youth. It emerges when the ongoing ‘pull’ for an individual progressive identity encounters the ‘push’ of forced homogenization and racism when these youth are subjected to the larger hegemonic discourses that position Africans in Australia into a ‘multicultural minority’.

Kirk Zwangobani recently joined the Research School of Social Sciences at the ANU following three years working on his Doctorate of Philosophy (Education Sociology & Cultural Studies) at the University of Canberra. With earlier degrees in commerce and education he has made a transition into the sociological field with a particular focus on ethnicity, identity and belonging. Kirk’s doctorate research focuses on the identity politics
among African youth in the ACT community and the larger discourses that shape identity formation. He is interested in whether sufficient critical mass in the African migration has yet occurred to have an effect on Australia’s socio-cultural and political environment. In the second year of Kirk’s doctorate research he presented at conferences and has had a paper published in the Australasian Review of African Studies (ARAS). This publication - From Diaspora to multiculture: in search of a youthful Pan-African identity, was based on a
conference paper that explored the fragmented or disparate sources from which the African youth in his study construct their identity.