First-Generation Afropolitan Identity Reformation: A Comparative Study of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah and Sefi Atta’s A Bit of Difference

‘Afropolitanism’ is an integral concept that contributes to diaspora studies that celebrate the concepts of globalization, transnationalism, and multiple belongings. Popularized by Nigerian-Ghanaian author Taiye Selasi in her 2005 essay “Bye-Bye Babar”, the term refers to a generation of the diaspora raised between global metropolises after their parents left Africa in the 1960s-70s, shaped by both African and non-African cultures. By extending Selasi’s definition to include first-generation Afropolitans, the research examines the dynamic reformation of Afropolitan cultural identity in the context of migration, focusing on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013) and Sefi Atta’s A Bit of Difference (2013). It explores how the migration journeys of first-generation Nigerian women, Ifemelu and Deola, to the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, shape their evolving Afropolitan cultural identity. Drawing on John W. Berry’s acculturation theory and Stuart Hall’s concept of identity as continuous ‘production’, the research examines how both characters negotiate their identities within the dominant cultures of their host societies, with specific focus on language and hair styles. The research argues that their shifting acculturation strategies reflect the malleability and hybridity of Afropolitan cultural identity, challenging Afro-pessimism and essentialist notions of Africanness.