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Kenyan Youths' Experiences of Intercultural Conflict: Negotiating Context, Intersectionalities, and Agency

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Kenyan Youths' Experiences of Intercultural Conflict: Negotiating Context, Intersectionalities, and Agency University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Communication ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Summer 5-14-2018 KENYAN YOUTHS’ EXPERIENCES OF INTERCULTURAL ONFLC ICT: NEGOTIATING CONTEXT, INTERSECTIONALITIES, AND AGENCY Lindsay Scott University of New Mexico Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds Part of the Journalism Studies Commons Recommended Citation Scott, Lindsay. "KENYAN YOUTHS’ EXPERIENCES OF INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT: NEGOTIATING CONTEXT, INTERSECTIONALITIES, AND AGENCY." (2018). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/114 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lindsay Desiree Scott Candidate Communication and Journalism Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Mary Jane Collier, Chair Dr. Shinsuke Eguchi Dr. Myra Washington Dr. Nancy López i KENYAN YOUTHS’ EXPERIENCES OF INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT: NEGOTIATING CONTEXT, INTERSECTIONALITIES, AND AGENCY BY LINDSAY DESIREE SCOTT A.A., Liberal Studies, Moorpark Community College, 2007 B.A., Communication Studies, California State University, Channel Islands, 2010 M.A., Communication Studies, California State University, Northridge, 2012 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Communication The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico July 2018 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It’s hard to believe that I am writing the acknowledgement section of my dissertation. I’ve learned that writing a dissertation is not a solo endeavor, and there are many people that I owe gratitude. I’ve also learned that earning a PhD is more about the process than the product at the end. As I reflect on each person who has lifted me up, cheered me on, and supported me during this process, I realize how fortunate I am to have your energy in my life. To my son Jonathan. We have literally grown up together, and I am proud to be your mother. I’m energized by your love for learning and exploring. I cannot wait see where our next adventure takes us. To my advisor Dr. Mary Jane Collier. Thank you is not enough. You have patiently guided me along every step of my program and supported me when I needed it the most. Your rigorous critique pushed me to expand my thinking and to never stop advocating for justice. To Dr. Shinsuke Eguchi. I am grateful for your mentorship throughout my program and your thoughtful insights and critiques. Because of you I will always push further! You have shown me a model of mentorship that I will apply in my relationships with students. To Dr. Myra Washington. I appreciate that I can always count on you to bring an alternative perspective to the conversation. You challenge what is commonly accepted and encourage me to do the same. Academia needs more professors like you! I will try, but it won’t be easy living up to the standard that you’ve set. To Dr. Nancy López. Thank you for sharing your light with me. Your support throughout my study is appreciated. You’ve enriched my understanding culture and iii encouraged me to build connections with others to advocate for justice. Thank you for your contributions. To Dr. Karambu Ringera. Thank you for being you! You are a warrior for peace and an advocate for justice. I am beyond inspired by the work that you do. Thank you for opening your home to me and supporting my project. Asante sana! To my study participants. I am inspired by your motivation to create change in Kenya. Thank you for sharing with me and with each other. You are Kenya! You are amani! To my family, friends and students. To each and every person who has laughed with me, cried with me, showed an interest in my wellbeing or research, asked me how things were, reminded me to pull it together, and told me how much I inspire them, THANK YOU! Each of those moments along the way helped me to get to the end on this PhD journey. I see you. I hear you. I appreciate you. iv KENYAN YOUTHS’ EXPERIENCES OF INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT: NEGOTIATING CONTEXT, INTERSECTIONALITIES, AND AGENCY BY LINDSAY D. SCOTT A.A., Liberal Studies, Moorpark Community College, 2007 B.A., Communication Studies, California State University, Channel Islands, 2010 M.A., Communication Studies, California State University, Northridge, 2012 Ph.D., Communication, University of New Mexico, 2018 ABSTRACT Kenya is faced with a myriad of intercultural conflicts that impact youth. This study shifts attention to eleven diverse Kenyan youth leaders, to understand how they experience and respond to conflict. To collect data, I facilitated a conflict transformation and peacebuilding workshop in Meru, Kenya. I analyzed the participants’ written reflections and workshop discussions using a critical textual analysis. Participants identified contextual structures, such as tribalism, politics, economics, and patriarchy as enabling and constraining conflict. I also found that accounting for intersectional subject positions is important during intercultural conflict because how participants are positioned influences their capacity to respond to conflict in particular contexts. I found four themes related to agency during conflict transformation. Participants enacted or proposed enacting agency by using individual conflict management strategies, stepping into third party roles, working for institutional and social change, and using critical reflexivity. This study demonstrates that youth in Kenya hold tremendous promise for reimagining communities that are equitable, inclusive, just and responsive to intercultural conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Keywords: intercultural conflict, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, Kenya, intersectionality, agency, contextual structures, tribalism, patriarchy v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1 Problem Statement ......................................................................................... 1 Government & NGO Responses to Kenyan Youth ....................................... 9 Overview of Key Concepts in Conflict Transformation ................................ 16 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND ........ 21 Critical Intercultural Communication ............................................................ 22 Community Engaged Praxis .......................................................................... 24 My Critical Feminist Approach ..................................................................... 26 Intersectionality.............................................................................................. 31 Agency ........................................................................................................... 28 Critical Reflexivity......................................................................................... 37 Conclusion, Goals, Research Questions ........................................................ 44 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS .......................................... 46 Critical Pedagogy as Methodology ................................................................ 47 Data Collection .............................................................................................. 49 Procedures ...................................................................................................... 50 vi The Workshop on Intercultural Conflict Transformation .............................. 53 Data Analysis ................................................................................................. 58 Critical Textual Analysis ............................................................................... 58 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 4: CONTEXTUAL FORCES ENABLING AND CONSTRAINING INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT IN KENYA ..................................................... 62 Contextual Structures ..................................................................................... 63 Historical Background ................................................................................... 64 Politics and Economics .................................................................................. 70 Politics and Tribalism .................................................................................... 73 Patriarchy ....................................................................................................... 79 Inequitable Access to Resources .................................................................... 86 Tribal Hierarchies and Power Relations ........................................................ 96 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 100 CHAPTER 5: NEGOTIATING INTERSECTIONAL SUBJECT POSITIONS IN INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT IN KENYA ..................................................... 103 Identities ......................................................................................................... 104 An Intersectional Approach to Identity .........................................................
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