A narrative analysis of Zimbabwean landowners’ experiences of displacement from their land as a consequence of the land redistribution programme

Abstract

Given the use of a social constructionism approach, the emphasis within the research is to include the listener in the on-going conversation when considering expropriation and the construction of identity around that experience. The question of how the experience of expropriation contributes to the construction of meaning and identity for the Zimbabwean farmer is posed. Gergen (1994) emphasised that identity is not an entity that is possessed by the individual nor a product of an individual’s cognitive processes; rather it is a possession of social interchange and relationships in a given context. The “self” or identity is “a linguistic implement embedded within conversational sequences of action and employed in relationships in such a way as to sustain, enhance or impede various forms of action” (Gergen, 1994, p.188). This particular story from farming to eviction offers the reader a unique look into the construction of reality by Zimbabwean farmers as well as an opportunity to examine the fluidity of identity as it is constructed around agreed meaning or conversations and context.