Afrocentric Womanist Identity Theory: Conceptualizing the Diasporan African Experience

This chapter aims to break the chains of hegemony and dominance in theorizing about African women in the diaspora. I present an epistemological perspective of Africanness in the diaspora to counteract the coloniality of knowledge. To allow for critical and in-depth analysis, I focus on the workplace context, considering the space limitation and use the academy as a specific location. However, we can test this theory in other communication contexts and specific locations. Having assumed this positionality, I first examine what is in the name of a theory as I derive the origins of theorizing about African women and then provide a framework and sample methodologies that constitute Afrocentric Womanist Identity Theory (AWIT). In concluding the chapter, I discuss the application and implication of the theory and provide directions for future research.