Apartheid Mythology and Symbolism. Desegregated and Re-Invented In
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Monuments and Museums for Post-Apartheid South Africa
Humanities 2013, 2, 72–98; doi:10.3390/h2010072 OPEN ACCESS humanities ISSN 2076-0787 www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities Article Creating/Curating Cultural Capital: Monuments and Museums for Post-Apartheid South Africa Elizabeth Rankin Department of Art History, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand; E-Mail: [email protected] Received: 5 February 2013; in revised form: 14 March 2013 / Accepted: 21 March 2013 / Published: 21 March 2013 Abstract: Since the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa has faced the challenge of creating new cultural capital to replace old racist paradigms, and monuments and museums have been deployed as part of this agenda of transformation. Monuments have been inscribed with new meanings, and acquisition and collecting policies have changed at existing museums to embrace a wider definition of culture. In addition, a series of new museums, often with a memorial purpose, has provided opportunities to acknowledge previously marginalized histories, and honor those who opposed apartheid, many of whom died in the Struggle. Lacking extensive collections, these museums have relied on innovative concepts, not only the use of audio-visual materials, but also the metaphoric deployment of sites and the architecture itself, to create affective audience experiences and recount South Africa’s tragic history under apartheid. Keywords: South African museums; South African monuments; cultural capital; transformation; Apartheid Museum; Freedom Park 1. Introduction This paper considers some of the problems to be faced in the arena of culture when a country undergoes massive political change that involves a shift of power from one cultural group to another, taking South Africa as a case study. -
Constitutional Authority and Its Limitations: the Politics of Sexuality in South Africa
South Africa Constitutional Authority and its Limitations: The Politics of Sexuality in South Africa Belinda Beresford Helen Schneider Robert Sember Vagner Almeida “While the newly enfranchised have much to gain by supporting their government, they also have much to lose.” Adebe Zegeye (2001) A history of the future: Constitutional rights South Africa’s Constitutional Court is housed in an architecturally innovative complex on Constitution Hill, a 100-acre site in central Johannesburg. The site is adjacent to Hillbrow, a neighborhood of high-rise apartment buildings into which are crowded thousands of mi- grants from across the country and the continent. This is one of the country’s most densely populated, cosmopolitan and severely blighted urban areas. From its position atop Constitu- tion Hill, the Court offers views of Hillbrow’s high-rises and the distant northern suburbs where the established white elite and increasing numbers of newly affluent non-white South Africans live. Thus, while the light-filled, colorful and contemporary Constitutional Court buildings reflect the progressive and optimistic vision of post-apartheid South Africa the lo- cation is a reminder of the deeply entrenched inequalities that continue to define the rights of the majority of people in the country and the continent. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY AND ITS LIMITATIONS: THE POLITICS OF SEXUALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA 197 From the late 1800s to 1983 Constitution Hill was the location of Johannesburg’s central prison, the remains of which now lie in the shadow of the new court buildings. Former prison buildings include a fort built by the Boers (descendents of Dutch settlers) in the late 1800s to defend themselves against the thousands of men and women who arrived following the discovery of the area’s expansive gold deposits. -
True Confessions, End Papers and the Dakar Conference
Hermann Giliomee True Confessions, End Papers and Hermann Giliomee was Professor of the Dakar conference: A review of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town and is presently Professor the political arguments Extraordinary at the History Department, University of Stellenbosch. E-mail: [email protected] True Confessions, End Papers and the Dakar conference: A review of the political arguments As a social critic Breyten Breytenbach published two books of political commentary and political analysis during the mid-1980s without the opportunity of engaging with commentators at home. While True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist is part autobiography and part searing comment on prison life, End Papers is a more detached dissection of the major political and cultural issues confronting South Africa. Breytenbach was now one of the respected international voices on the political crisis in South Africa. The violent break-up of apartheid had changed Breytenbach’s social criticism. In the place of the earlier rejection and denunciation had come a willingness to engage and reason with his audience. The Dakar conference of 1987, which Breytenbach co-organised, offered an ideal opportunity for this. The conference was given wide publicity and was seen by some as the catalyst that broke the ice for the negotiations between the government and the ANC two and a half years later. Key words: Afrikaans literature, Dakar conference, National Party, African National Congress, South Africa, violence, negotiations. Introduction Shortly after being released from jail in 1982 Breyten Breytenbach published two non-fiction books, The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist (1984) and End Papers (1986). -
Winning Hearts and Minds in the Namibian Border War
85 WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS IN THE NAMIBIAN BORDER WAR Lieneke Eloff de Visser1 Abstract During the Namibian border war, South African counterinsurgency doctrine acknowledged the importance of securing the allegiance and cooperation of the population. This article demonstrates that, in the operational zone, the responsibility of winning the hearts and minds of the Namibian people largely fell to the SADF (South African Defence Force). Although the SADF dedicated considerable resources to this task, these efforts were often at cross-purposes with those of institutions in the political, police and administrative domains. In addition, there was a lack of unity and purpose within the SADF. This article argues that lack of unity between and within the different domains undermined the effort at winning the hearts and minds of the Namibian population, and must at least partly have contributed to SWAPO´s victory in the 1989 elections. Introduction In devising appropriate responses to the challenges of the Namibian border war (1974–1989), the South African military drew on the work of C.A. „Pop‟ Fraser and John McCuen. Fraser, a WWII veteran, became Chief of Joint Operations of the South African Defence Force in 1966. In an unpublished study entitled Lessons learnt from past revolutionary wars, released in the early sixties, Fraser distilled the basic principles of counterinsurgency warfare from the work of authors such as Galula and Trinquier. McCuen served in staff and command positions in the United States Army in Vietnam, Thailand, Germany and Indonesia. While serving on the US Army General Staff in 1966 his book, The Art of Counter-Revolutionary War – The Strategy of Counter-Insurgency, was published. -
The Black Sash
THE BLACK SASH THE BLACK SASH MINUTES OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE 1990 CONTENTS: Minutes Appendix Appendix 4. Appendix A - Register B - Resolutions, Statements and Proposals C - Miscellaneous issued by the National Executive 5 Long Street Mowbray 7700 MINUTES OF THE BLACK SASH NATIONAL CONFERENCE 1990 - GRAHAMSTOWN SESSION 1: FRIDAY 2 MARCH 1990 14:00 - 16:00 (ROSEMARY VAN WYK SMITH IN THE CHAIR) I. The National President, Mary Burton, welcomed everyone present. 1.2 The Dedication was read by Val Letcher of Albany 1.3 Rosemary van wyk Smith, a National Vice President, took the chair and called upon the conference to observe a minute's silence in memory of all those who have died in police custody and in detention. She also asked the conference to remember Moira Henderson and Netty Davidoff, who were among the first members of the Black Sash and who had both died during 1989. 1.4 Rosemary van wyk Smith welcomed everyone to Grahamstown and expressed the conference's regrets that Ann Colvin and Jillian Nicholson were unable to be present because of illness and that Audrey Coleman was unable to come. All members of conference were asked to introduce themselves and a roll call was held. (See Appendix A - Register for attendance list.) 1.5 Messages had been received from Errol Moorcroft, Jean Sinclair, Ann Burroughs and Zilla Herries-Baird. Messages of greetings were sent to Jean Sinclair, Ray and Jack Simons who would be returning to Cape Town from exile that weekend. A message of support to the family of Anton Lubowski was approved for dispatch in the light of the allegations of the Minister of Defence made under the shelter of parliamentary privilege. -
A Contextualization and Examination of the Impi Yamakhanda (1906 Uprising) As Reported by J
1 A contextualization and examination of the impi yamakhanda (1906 uprising) as reported by J. L. Dube in Ilanga Lase Natal, with special focus on Dube’s attitude to Dinuzulu as indicated in his reportage on the treason trial of Dinuzulu. Moses Muziwandile Hadebe Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Arts in Historical Studies Programme of Historical Studies Faculty of Human and Social Sciences University of Natal Durban 2003 2 Declaration I Moses Muziwandile Hadebe, hereby declare the content of this thesis is entirely my own original work. Moses Muziwandile Hadebe June, 2003 Dr Keith Breckenridge June, 2003 3 Abstract The thesis explores not only the history but also the competing histories of 1906. It is however no claim to represent the entire history - undoubtedly a period of great complexity, and a time of tragedy for the African people that culminated in their conquest. My exploration of the history relies heavily on the reportage of J. L. Dube in his newspaper, Ilanga Lase Natal. A close analysis of Dube’s reports points to a number of crucial aspects, such as the fundamental importance of the amakhosi/chiefs, the clear determination of the Natal settler government to break and undermine the power of the amakhosi, the central significance of the issue of land and the closely related matter of taxation. All these are contextualized in the African setting - homesteads and cattle, with their profound traditional influence for many reasons in Zulu culture. My exploration and analysis has been carried out by looking concurrently at the usage of metaphor, words and language in the newspaper, the impact of which is mesmerising. -
Article Differing Interpretations of Reconciliation in South Africa
Article Differing interpretations of reconciliation in South Africa: a discussion of the home for all campaign1 Sally Matthews [email protected] Abstract The theme of reconciliation remains an important one in South African politics. The issue of reconciliation was recently highlighted by South African Human Rights Commission chairperson, Jody Kollapen. According to Kollapen, in South Africa we have a problematic narrow interpretation of reconciliation, one that presents reconciliation and transformation as being in opposition to one another. This paper explores some of the debates about reconciliation as a process and then relates these to the Home for All Campaign. This Campaign was aimed at encouraging white South Africans to acknowledge the injustices of the past and to commit themselves to healing divisions and reducing inequalities in contemporary South Africa. It conceived of reconciliation as a process in which the onus is on white South Africans to take the initiative in reconciling with black South Africans. The Campaign received much publicity and provoked debate but never managed to gain the support of a significant number of white South Africans. In this paper, I explore the reasons for the Campaign’s failure to meet all of its objectives, relating this to contemporary South African discourse on reconciliation. I argue that the Campaign’s interpretation of reconciliation was valuable and necessary and that it remains imperative in South Africa that white South Africans critically reflect upon past and present privileges and take the initiative in processes of inter-racial reconciliation. More than fifteen years after the end of apartheid the topic of post-apartheid inter-racial reconciliation in South Africa remains pertinent. -
“Born out of Shaka's Spear”: the Zulu Iklwa and Perceptions of Military
Selected Papers of the Consortium on the Revolutionary Era (2020). “Born out of Shaka’s spear”: The Zulu Iklwa and Perceptions of Military Revolution in the Nineteenth Century Jacob Ivey, Ph.D. Florida Institute of Technology In May 2010, anticipating South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup, the city of Durban decided to make a dramatic addition to the newly opened King Shaka International Airport. Officials unveiled a statue of the Zulu king Shaka kaSenzangakhona, known popularly as “Shaka Zulu.” Shaka, founder of the Zulu nation in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, had since his death in 1828 become perhaps one of the most famous South Africans in history next to Nelson Mandela. The Zulu king had facilitated the creation of the Zulu kingdom during the early nineteenth century through what has been described as a “military revolution” that influenced the historic arc of the whole region. However, unlike the traditional image of Shaka with shield and iklwa, or short stabbing-spear made famous by the Zulu king, he was presented outside the airport terminal as unarmed, surrounded by Nguni cattle. This revelation created a major controversy in June when Goodwill Zwelithin kaBhekuzulu, Isilo (King) of the Zulus of South Africa, expressed his displeasure, arguing, “it made Shaka look like a herd boy, rather than the hunter and warrior he was.”1 Shaka, evidently, was not Shaka without his spear. If there is one indelible image of the Zulu nation, it is the iklwa. Literally “stabbing” through the title graphic of the mini-series Shaka Zulu (1986) and a key element of the imagery of the Inkatha Freedom Party, the short stabbing spear of the Zulu is frequently offered as part of the military genius of Shaka. -
Life & Times of Magda A: Telling a Story of Violence in South Africa
Life & Times of Magda A: Telling a Story of Violence in South Africa Author(s): Didier Fassin, Frédéric Le Marcis, and Todd Lethata Reviewed work(s): Source: Current Anthropology, Vol. 49, No. 2 (April 2008), pp. 225-246 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/526096 . Accessed: 08/06/2012 11:42 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The University of Chicago Press and Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Current Anthropology. http://www.jstor.org Current Anthropology Volume 49, Number 2, April 2008 225 Life & Times of Magda A Telling a Story of Violence in South Africa by Didier Fassin, Fre´de´ric Le Marcis, and Todd Lethata How to write about violence? Most recent anthropological works have dealt with this question in terms of either political economy, narratives, or performance. Using J. M. Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K as a pre-text, an ethnological inquiry into violence is proposed through the biography of a young South African woman. -
RECONCILIATION MONTH “United in Action Against Racism, Gender Based Violence and Other Intolerances”
RECONCILIATION MONTH “United in Action Against Racism, Gender Based Violence and Other Intolerances” ”We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world” Nelson Mandela BACKGROUND TO SOUTH SFRICA’S RECONCILIATION Day of Reconciliation, also called Day of the Vow, Day of the Covenant, or Dingane’s Day, public holiday observed in South Africa on December 16. The holiday originally commemorated the victory of the Voortrekkers (southern Africans of Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent who made the Great Trek) over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. Before the battle, the Voortrekkers had taken a vow that, if they succeeded in defeating the Zulus, they would build a church and observe the day as a religious holiday. The observance became known as Dingane’s Day (after the Zulu king Dingane), and in 1910 the day was established as a public holiday. In 1952 the ruling National Party passed the Public Holidays Act, which changed the holiday’s name to Day of the Covenant (later changed in 1980 to Day of the Vow) and formally declared the day a religious holiday. As a result, activities such as sports events and theatre performances were banned. The Day of Reconciliation is observed on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 in South Africa. The day gained additional significance in 1961, when the military wing of the African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), chose the date to begin an armed conflict against the ruling government’s policy of apartheid. -
South Africa: Afrikaans Film and the Imagined Boundaries of Afrikanerdom
A new laager for a “new” South Africa: Afrikaans film and the imagined boundaries of Afrikanerdom Adriaan Stefanus Steyn Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology in the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Dr Bernard Dubbeld Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology December 2016 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. December 2016 Copyright © 2016 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract The Afrikaans film industry came into existence in 1916, with the commercial release of De Voortrekkers (Shaw), and, after 1948, flourished under the guardianship of the National Party. South Africa’s democratic transition, however, seemed to announce the death of the Afrikaans film. In 1998, the industry entered a nine-year slump during which not a single Afrikaans film was released on the commercial circuit. Yet, in 2007, the industry was revived and has been expanding rapidly ever since. This study is an attempt to explain the Afrikaans film industry’s recent success and also to consider some of its consequences. To do this, I situate the Afrikaans film industry within a larger – and equally flourishing – Afrikaans culture industry. -
Designing the South African Nation from Nature to Culture
CHAPTER 3 Designing the South African Nation From Nature to Culture Jacques Lange and Jeanne van Eeden There is to date very little published research and writing about South African design history. One of the main obstacles has been dealing with the legacy of forty years of apartheid censorship (1950 to 1990) that banned and destroyed a vast array of visual culture in the interests of propaganda and national security, according to the Beacon for Freedom of Expression (http://search.beaconforfreedom.org/about_database/south%20africa.html). This paucity of material is aggravated by the general lack of archival and doc- umentary evidence, not just of the struggle against apartheid, but also of the wider domain of design in South Africa. Even mainstream designed mate- rial for the British imperialist and later apartheid government has been lost or neglected in the inadequate archival facilities of the State and influential organizations such as the South African Railways. Efforts to redress this are now appearing as scholars start to piece together fragments, not in order to write a definitive history of South African design, but rather to write histories of design in South Africa that recuperate neglected narratives or revise earlier historiographies. This chapter is accordingly an attempt to document a number of key moments in the creation of South African nationhood between 1910 and 2013 in which communication design played a part. Our point of departure is rooted in Zukin’s (1991: 16) belief that symbolic and material manifestations of power harbour the ideological needs of powerful institutions to manipulate class, gender and race relations, ultimately to serve the needs of capital (and governance).