Abstract
This paper focuses on the navigation and negotiation of a Zulu student on a diverse university campus in South Africa. Students in higher education institutions bring their life stories, shaped by lived experiences, culture, history, and language, to the campus, while the interconnection between race, language, culture, and gender creates new possibilities for identity formation. The study is guided by the central research question: How do students navigate and negotiate their narrative identities in a diverse university context? Reflective writing exercises and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from a black male isiZulu-speaking student. Using the narrative methodology, the lived experience of the participant was explored. Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory was employed as a theoretical lens. An inductive thematic analysis highlighted the following themes in the data: language and race; culture; gender and sexuality; and social class. The findings reveal that narrative identities can be negotiated and navigated through recreation, adaptation, and limited adjustment.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Learner Diversity and Identities
KEYWORDS
Higher Education, Identity, Narrative, Navigate, Negotiate, Students
