Afropolitan Genealogies

Abstract

Afropolitanism’s first enunciation in public discourse can be traced to Taiye Selasi’s 2005 online article, Bye-Bye Babar. This idea of a new subjective experience of African diasporic self-identity then migrated into academic contemplation initially through Achille Mbembe, Wawrzinek and Makokha, Simon Gikandi, and Chielozona Eze’s scholarly and philosophical deepening of Afropolitanism, which has since been variously expanded by many Africanist critics. This keyword think-piece maps the disciplinary beginning and trajectory of Afropolitan ontology and scholarship. It considers the cultural materialialist and phenomenological aspects of the term and its relationship to the concept of Pan-Africanism and concludes with a projection of its possible future critical development.