Hybridity and Agency: Some Theoretical and Empirical Observations

Abstract

In this article, Homi Bhabha’s concept of hybridity is being discussed from the point of view of its impact on persons’ capacity for agency. Bhabha emphasized the emancipating and anti-authoritarian potentials of hybridity. In this paper it is argued that this positive evaluation does not hold for all cases of hybridity. It is also argued that the value of hybridity will depend on whether it expands or diminishes persons’ capacity for agency. A limited empirical study of Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands will illustrate this hypothesis.