The Ethos of Hybridity Discourse

Abstract

As demonstrated above, hybridity has been a key feature of civilizations since time immemorial. Most civilizations, from the Sumerians through to the Egyptians and Greeks, developed and thrived through the incorporation of foreign ideas, philosophies, and technologies. In a sense, these ancient societies widely practised hybridity and produced, to varying degrees, hybridized cultures. However, they were obviously not as selfconsciously aware of this process of hybridization as we are today.¹ Nor, for that matter, did these ancient civilizations reflect on and conceptualize the issue of métissage or process of hybridization as intensely as we have done in our postmodern era. Over the last three decades, indeed, hybridity has been one of the most discussed and widely utilized concepts in academia and beyond. It has become a central concern in postcolonial studies in particular and in the humanities more generally, gaining, in the process, an unprecedented degree of critical prestige.