@article{ART003366106},
author={Gi-Dae LIM},
title={A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan},
journal={Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies},
issn={2586-6206},
year={2026},
volume={23},
pages={357-378},
doi={10.22957/mses.23..202607.357}
TY - JOUR
AU - Gi-Dae LIM
TI - A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan
JO - Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies
PY - 2026
VL - 23
IS - null
PB - Institute for Migration and Multicultural Studies
SP - 357
EP - 378
SN - 2586-6206
AB - This study proposes “Nexus Humanities” as a framework to transcend territorial centralism and dichotomous structuralism, thereby exploring the nodal spaces of global fluidity. Criticizing the limitations of existing spatial theories that reduce Deleuze’s rhizome or network concepts to flat, horizontal flows, this paper provides a multilayered analysis of Abidjan—a pivotal West African hub—based on field research conducted from 2019 to 2026. This is achieved by combining Ash Amin’s “relational placeness” with Scollon and Scollon’s “mediated discourse analysis (nexus analysis).” First, within the cultural nexus, the study demonstrates that the street language “Nouchi” and the popular culture “Coupé-Décalé” represent an alternative modernity that subverts colonial languages and re-signifies civil war trauma into playful expression.
Second, within the migration nexus, the paper empirically verifies the asymmetric spatial segmentation triggered by the low-tier labor of Burkinabés in Adjamé and the upper-tier capital of Lebanese-Ivoirians in Marcory, operating under the discourse of “Ivoirité.” Third, within the power nexus, it examines the mechanisms of control within a “mobile panopticon,” where China’s hardware infrastructure and France’s platform software overlap.
In conclusion, the study observes that despite these multilayered oppressions, Abidjan’s MZ generation is emerging as “postcolonial agents of survival and brokers.” They achieve this by cross-utilizing fintech platforms and leveraging Nouchi-based informal networks to hijack and modify dominant algorithms. By redefining Abidjan as a dynamic, vanguard space that breaks away from the dichotomy of center and periphery, this study contributes to expanding the horizons of African regional studies.
KW - Nexus Humanities;Abidjan;Centrism;Cultural Nexus;Migration Nexus;Power Nexus;Broker
DO - 10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
ER -
Gi-Dae LIM. (2026). A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan. Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies, 23, 357-378.
Gi-Dae LIM. 2026, "A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan", Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies, vol.23, pp.357-378. Available from: doi:10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
Gi-Dae LIM "A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan" Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies 23 pp.357-378 (2026) : 357.
Gi-Dae LIM. A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan. 2026; 23 357-378. Available from: doi:10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
Gi-Dae LIM. "A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan" Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies 23(2026) : 357-378.doi: 10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
Gi-Dae LIM. A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan. Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies, 23, 357-378. doi: 10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
Gi-Dae LIM. A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan. Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies. 2026; 23 357-378. doi: 10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
Gi-Dae LIM. A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan. 2026; 23 357-378. Available from: doi:10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
Gi-Dae LIM. "A Nexus Humanities Approach to the West African City of Abidjan" Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies 23(2026) : 357-378.doi: 10.22957/mses.23..202607.357
