ABSTRACT
The chapter examines how African identity is negotiated in the current era of globalization. It stands on a comparative approach to two discourses of African identity, namely Afropolitanism and negritude. Concretely, the chapter focuses, on the one hand, on Taiye Selasi and Achille Mbembe’s approaches to African self-perception, and on the other hand on Léopold S. Senghor’s negritude theory. The chapter sheds light on their respective philosophical backgrounds and worldviews. The former relies on a multicultural worldview as well as on a postulate of cultural hybridity, while the latter develops on account of a monocultural way of thinking and an essentialist approach to culture. The chapter argues that beyond their common interest for Africa and their theoretical differences, both of the theories are perfectible, as African identity is a never-finalized process.
