Egypt, Arab Nationalism, and Nubian Diasporic Identity in Idris Ali’s Dongola: A Novel of Nubia

The article focuses on Idris Ali’s Dongola: A Novel of Nubia, analyzing the way in which Ali’s work reflects the emergence of a diasporic consciousness among Egyptian Nubians. Foundational to this diasporic consciousness is the experience of loss, displacement, and marginalization occasioned by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The novel registers a Nubian counter-narrative to Arab-Egyptian nationalism framed primarily through historical memory, racial identity, and language rooted in Afro-Nubian culture and history; however, the subversive potential of this Nubian counter-narrative is undercut by the novel’s representation of gender dynamics. Ultimately, Idris Ali’s work points to the limitations of the “black Atlantic” framework that dominates African diaspora studies, which tends to overlook the experiences of groups—such as Nubians—located outside of the geographic and linguistic parameters of the black Atlantic. In pointing to the ambiguous status of “blackness” in the Arab world (North Africa and the Middle East specifically), Dongola affirms the necessity of broadening the scope and focus of African diaspora studies.