Exploring Third Space: Cultural Identity and African Traditions in August Wilson's Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1988)

Abdulaal, Lamiaa Hassan; Nagieb, Mary Michiel

doi:10.21608/misj.2024.319971.1064

Exploring Third Space: Cultural Identity and African Traditions in August Wilson's Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1988)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Foreign Languages - Faculty of Education - Tanta University - Tanta - Egypt

10.21608/misj.2024.319971.1064

Abstract

African American writers construct African traditions within American society to help African Americans form a new, empowered identity. Reclaiming such an identity requires reconstructing the erased cultural traditions. This paper focuses on how Homi Bhabha’s concept of the third space enables August Wilson to empower African Americans by introducing their cultural elements within the mainstream American culture. For African American playwrights, the concept of the third space provides a framework for understanding the complexity and fluidity of African American cultural identity. Also, it highlights the transformative potential of the encounter between African and American cultures. By exploring the third space, African American playwrights can challenge dominant narratives and redefine identity in hybridization. The paper applies the idea of third space to August Wilson’s Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988). In his plays, August Wilson introduces the concept of the third space where African Americans can freely practice their African traditions and form their new hybrid identities. He empowers African Americans by bringing African traditions and heritage on the stage to help them recognize themselves as Africans and Americans. In his play, Wilson creates a liminal space for his characters to enable them to practice their cultural heritage and connect with their ancestors. Performing cultural heritage in the liminal space represents the power of human connections and highlights personal transformation.

Keywords

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Lamiaa Hassan Ibrahim Abdulaal

Associate professor of English Literature in the Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Education, Tanta University. Her research interests: Postcolonial Studies, Postmodernism, Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, Multiculturalism, Interculturality, Comparative Literature.

Relevant Publication:

Cultural Identity and Multiculturalism in Diana Abu-Jaber's Crescent, 2011
Breaking Down the Silence: Counter-Narrative as a Site of Resisting Patriarchal Oppression in Tsisti Dangarembage Nervous Conditions and Hanan El Sheikh The Story of Zahra, 2014

Mary Michiel Nagieb

A Lecturer of English Literature and English Language in the Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Education, Tanta University since1996. She got her PhD Degree in 2012 with First Degree of Honour. The thesis is entitled “The Quest for Irish Identity in Selected Plays by Eugene O'Neill, Brian Friel and Tom Murphy.” She works on a number of research publications. Her interests: English and Irish Literature.

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