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The Construction of Afrikaner Identity Post-Apartheid by Afrikaans Online Newspapers

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The Construction of Afrikaner Identity Post-Apartheid by Afrikaans Online Newspapers The construction of Afrikaner identity post-apartheid by Afrikaans online newspapers Master’s Thesis Erasmus Mundus Master Journalism, Media and Globalization Graduate School of Communication Author: Sarah Van Meel Student: 12846945 Master’s program Communication Science Supervisor: dr. Linda Bos Date: 12/06/2020 Word count: 7910 1 I am not an Afrikaner anymore Breyten Breytenbach 2 Acknowledgement I would like to express my gratitude to my friends and family who have supported me in writing this thesis. A special word of thanks to my supervisor Prof. Dr Linda Bos, her enthusiasm and effort has made a big difference. Also a word of thanks to Prof. Dr Knut De Swert for his kind answers to my many questions. A word of thanks is also due to Quintus and to the countless contacts who shared their knowledge of the South African media with me. 3 Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 5 1. Theoretical background ........................................................................................................................ 6 1.1 Identity .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Identity and the media .............................................................................................................................. 7 Complex identity ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Afrikaans ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Whiteness ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Collective victimhood .............................................................................................................................. 12 Self-othering ........................................................................................................................................... 12 Feelings of loss, guilt and shame. ........................................................................................................... 13 Religion ................................................................................................................................................... 14 1.2 Framing ........................................................................................................................................... 14 Newspaper selection & hypotheses ....................................................................................................... 15 2. Methods .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Unit of analysis and sampling strategy ................................................................................................... 18 Measurement.......................................................................................................................................... 19 3. Results ................................................................................................................................................. 21 4. Discussion & conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 24 Research question ................................................................................................................................... 24 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................................................. 26 Limitations .............................................................................................................................................. 27 Conclusion and future recommendations .............................................................................................. 27 References .................................................................................................................................................. 28 Academic articles .................................................................................................................................... 28 Newspaper articles ................................................................................................................................. 31 Websites ................................................................................................................................................. 31 Other ....................................................................................................................................................... 32 Appendices .............................................................................................................................................. 32 4 Abstract This study examines to what extent Afrikaans newspapers differ when creating a post- apartheid Afrikaner identity. The dependent variable is the created Afrikaner identity, the independent one is the newspaper’s ideology. Afrikaner identity is compiled by identity elements which are found in the literature. A quantitative content analysis was done to analyse the presence of these elements in a sample of 85 opinion pieces. This sample is constructed by using opinion pieces out of three groups of Afrikaans online newspapers which are classified on a conservative-progressive scale. The three newspapers do not differ from each other except when mentioning the Afrikaans language. The conservative newspaper addresses Afrikaners indirectly whereas the progressive one prefers to literally use the word “Afrikaner”. This might be due to a difference in ideology. Introduction In South Africa, the apartheid era (1948-1994) has left deep scars in the South African country. Apartheid, described by the UN as “a crime against humanity” (UN, 1973, p.245) was introduced by the then leading government, the Afrikaner National Party (ANP). This government called for the separate development of different racial groups. The Afrikaans press was used as a legitimization vehicle for this apartheid ideology (Wasserman, 2009). After the democratization of the country, in 1994, the Afrikaans newspapers had to reinvent themselves to shake off their ideological baggage (Wasserman, 2009). Not only these newspapers, but the entire South African media wrestle with creating a post- apartheid identity (Vanderhaeghen, 2018). Identity struggles are not only tied to the South African media system, all inhabitants of South Africa questioned and still question their identities post-apartheid(Vanderhaeghen, 2019). One way to understand what kind of identity or identities a group of people have is to assess the media they consume. The media help to construct people’s identity, on the other hand, media might be the mirror in which people see their identity (Baderoon, 2002). Although this might be a ‘chicken or egg’ question, it is important to understand the role that media play in the creation of identity in a country that is still recovering from apartheid 5 atrocities. The Afrikaans written online press can give us an insight into the identity or identities of Afrikaners which are being reflected in this kind of media. It can show us how Afrikaners come to terms (Boersema, 2013) with the past and what this can mean for the future of South Africa. The different ideological basis of Afrikaans online written media may have an impact on how they report about identity and this research has the aim in understanding to what extent Afrikaans newspapers differ when creating this post-apartheid Afrikaner identity. The answer is found by conducting a quantitative content analysis of opinion pieces of three South African newspapers. 1. Theoretical background 1.1Identity The concept of identity “refers to forms of individual personhood or self-image as well as to the collective self-image shared by the members of social groups and communities” (Rousse, 1995 as cited in Harris & Zegeye, 2002, p.242). Identity is not a fixed state of being. Identity is a construct (Melluci, 1995 as cited in Harris and Zegeye, 2002). As identity is a construct, many factors have an impact on it. Media are one of these factors that contribute to the construction of identity (Harris & Zegeye, 2002). Not only do media add to the construction of identity, but identity also contributes to the understanding of relationships (Harris & Zegeye, 2002). In this research, a more specific type of identity is analysed, Afrikaner1 identity. 1 I am aware that the word “Afrikaner” is strongly linked with questions considering the troubling past, the current social-economic reality and future challenges of South Africa. The question of what an Afrikaner is, whether Afrikaners form one or multiple groups and how they position themselves in the current South African society inspired me to start this research but they cannot be discussed in this thesis due to the limited time and space. The answer to the research question may contribute to answers on the previous question
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