An intersectional analysis of contemporary Afropean world-making in France

This research project will consist in an investigation into the lives of Afropean subjects in France through the concept of world-making, borrowed from queer theory. The term Afropean refers to people of African descent living in Europe, highlighting the inseparability of Africa and Europe in their identities. However, because national identities in Europe have predominantly been racialised as white, Afropean's liminal identity puts them in an uncomfortable subject position which they need to manage. It is to understand the strategies and practices put in place to manage these identities that I will use the idea of world-making. In queer theory, world-making refers to an ongoing aspiration to create a collective future which is not yet possible, through various living practices (everyday acts, activism, cultural creation and consumption, etc.). It thus allows oppressed subjects to create more liveable lives for themselves, beyond perpetual resistance. Using semi-structured interviews, auto-ethnography, participant-observation and semiotic analysis of cultural objects, I aim to provide an analysis of these practices, which will also contribute to a better sociological understanding of contemporary Afropeanity.