Ethnic Identity Negotiation through Dialogical Self

Selamawit Cherinet Kebede was approved for PhD award by the Middlesex University for her thesis on ‘Ethnic Identity Negotiation through Dialogical Self: The Case of Anywaa and Nuer Evangelicals in Gambella, Ethiopia.’ Selam explores the ethnic identity negotiation of Anywaa and Nuer Evangelical Christians using the Dialogical Self Theory. The two ethnic groups are living in conflict even after acquiring a new identity in Evangelical Christianity. She demonstrated that their Evangelical Christian identity enables them to redefine some of the cultural elements, especially aspects of relations with the ethnic other. This redefinition of identity results in the discontinuity of some elements and the continuity of others, leading to negotiation strategies to deal with value-dissonance between identity elements that change the nature of their ethnic boundary, making it permeable or impermeable. Some of these strategies promote positive relations, while others promote negative relations among the two groups. Based on this analysis, Selam suggests the need for fostering value-based reflective dialogues between individual and groups such hers, enabling them to see their relations through different lenses.