Who do i think i am? Autoethnographic and zoomorphic comics and the expression of coloured identity.
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
This thesis presents my investigation into what I term my "Coloured Experience," my examination of zoomorphic imagery, and my approach to portraying this research through a comic book. This aims to produce an artifact that talks about being Coloured in a creative and personal way, which is a response to a significant gap in the portrayal of Coloured people, highlighting a tendency towards oversimplified, sensationalized, and politicised narratives. I employ autoethnographic reflection as my method of inquiry and use zoomorphism as a technique for representation, the outcome of which is a comic book. Zoomorphism in graphic narratives, works as a visually stimulating tool for representing the concept of race, by drawing on visual metaphor, animal association and allegory, in combination with the comics medium, and an engagement with guided autoethnographic journaling, this research produced a comic book where I was able to host a discussion on my experience as a Coloured person in a safe and creative way. This research does not extensively explore my origins, nor does it delve into the formation of Coloured people as a distinct racial group to establish a definitive common ancestor or construct a narrative to define the essence of being Coloured.
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts to the Faculty of CHumanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024
Keywords
Comics, Coloured Identity, Autoethnography, Zoomorphism
Citation
Alexander, Ashleigh Jesse. (2024). Who do i think i am? Autoethnographic and zoomorphic comics and the expression of coloured identity. [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg].