Transculturality, Otherness and the Antimonies of Transnational Mobility in Jamal Mahjoub’s Travelling with Djinns

Abstract

The continuous transnational mobility facilitated by various elements of globalisation, evidently, enhances transcultural consciousness. Despite the increasing interest in transnational mobility among critics, its effect on the different perceptions of new identity formation in Mahjoub’s Travelling with Djinns has not got the deserved critical attention. Using Achille Mbembe’s perspectives in On the Postcolony, the paper attempts to critically engage the transcultural sensibility of the characters and otherness that occur in their relationships and how all these affect their sense of belonging. Estranged from their supposed indigenous cultural affiliation, the characters are also unable to get integrated into the mainstream western culture. In the text, it is clear that while transnational mobility continues to influence new identity formation, the characters are still perceived with stereotypical indexicalities. Mahjoub’s text depicts the contested place of identity by juxtaposing transculturality and otherness, portraying their effects on the person, the family and the postcolonial state.