9. The Debate on African Identity in South Africa

ABSTRACT This paper examines South African President Thabo Mbeki's notion of the African Renaissance. Representations of Africa have been challenged in the past by movements such as negritude and pan-Africanism. Thabo Mbeki's proclamation of the African Renaissance can be seen as another attempt to fight and challenge prevailing representations of Africa. An African Renaissance that does not degenerate into essentialism (particularlism) has the potential to transform the lives of the many Africans who have been ravaged by the continuing legacy of colonialism. The author argues that if the call for an African Renaissance is to have any lasting impact on the African condition, it must be careful to avoid taking the essentialist positions advocated by earlier ideological movements such as negritude. The essay contends that the call for an African Renaissance is an important effort which needs to be adopted by Africans beyond the borders of South Africa.

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“We sing to touch hearts”: Choral musical culture in Pretoria East, South Africa

Research Studies in Music Education ◽

10.1177/1321103x18768101 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 265-285 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sarah J. Bartolome

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Collective Case Study ◽

African Identity ◽

Staff Members ◽

Bridging Social Capital ◽

Wide Range ◽

The University

The purpose of this study was to explore the culture of choral singing among children and youth in Pretoria East, South Africa. The philosophical underpinnings of the choirs, the roles of choirs within local and national communities, and the perceived values and benefits of participation were examined. This collective case study required the integration of standard ethnographic strategies employed over the course of a month-long period of fieldwork and two shorter follow-up visits. I observed approximately 40 hours of rehearsal and 25 hours of performance, focusing on five choirs in and around the University of Pretoria. I also conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with choristers, directors, staff members, and parents. Participants identified a philosophy of “message bearing” as the primary goal of choral performance. Innovation and diversity in programming and competition were additional emergent themes related to this philosophy. Choirs were found to have multiple roles, including recruiting and marketing, promoting diverse South African musical cultures, and cultivating a national, South African identity. Participants described a wide range of musical, social, educational, and personal benefits associated with participation, with choristers most commonly alluding to choir as a means of “relaxing.” Choir emerged as a source of bridging social capital, encouraging cooperation among participants from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, promoting intercultural understanding and trust, and cultivating a broadened sense of national South African identity.

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THE CHANGING POLITICS OF SLAVE HERITAGE IN THE WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

The Journal of African History ◽

10.1017/s0021853709004204 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 23-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

NIGEL WORDEN

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

South African ◽

Public History ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Western Cape ◽

Politics Of Identity ◽

African Identity ◽

Concepts Of Knowledge ◽

Insight Into

ABSTRACTChanges that have taken place in the ways in which the slave past has been remembered and commemorated in the Western Cape region of South Africa provide insight into the politics of identity in this locality. During most of the twentieth century, public awareness of slave heritage was well buried, but the ending of apartheid provided a new impetus to acknowledge and memorialize the slave past. This engagement in public history has been a vexed process, reflecting contested concepts of knowledge and the use of heritage as both a resource and a weapon in contemporary South African identity struggles.

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Building the Rainbow Nation. A critical analysis of the role of architecture in materializing a post-apartheid South African identity

Afrika Focus ◽

10.21825/af.v25i1.4960 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kim Raedt

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Critical Analysis ◽

Community Services ◽

African Identity ◽

Architectural Practice ◽

The Everyday ◽

Everyday Reality ◽

Made In

Soon after apartheid was abolished in 1994, the quest for a new, ‘authentic’ South African identity resulted in the emergence of the "Rainbow Nation" idea, picturing an equal, multicultural and reconciled society. As architecture is considered a crucial element in the promotion of this Rainbow identity, the country witnessed a remarkable "building boom" with its apogee roughly between 1998 and 2010. Huge investments have been made in state-driven projects which place the apartheid memory at the center of the architectural debate – mostly museums and memorials. However, the focus of this paper shall lie on another, less highlighted tendency in current architectural practice. This paper demonstrates that, through the construction of urban community services, South African architects attempt to materialize the Rainbow Nation in a way that might be closer to the everyday reality of society. Key words: architecture, post apartheid, Cape Town, South Africa, identity

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SHIFTING WHITE IDENTITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA: WHITE AFRICANNESS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

Phronimon ◽

10.25159/2413-3086/3821 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 112-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sally Matthews

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

White Identity ◽

Identity Crisis ◽

Public Debate ◽

Racial Justice ◽

African Identity ◽

South Africans ◽

Growing Body ◽

The Many

The end of apartheid predictably caused something of an identity crisis for white South Africans. The sense of uncertainty about what it means to be white has led to much public debate about whiteness in South Africa, as well as a growing body of literature on whites in post-apartheid South Africa. One of the many responses to this need to rethink white identity has been the claim by some that white South Africans can be considered to be African or ought to begin to think of themselves as being African. This paper argues that whitesâ€™ assertion of an African identity does not necessarily assist in the achievement of racial justice, but that some kind of shift in white identity is required in order for whites to be able to contribute to the achievement of a racially just South Africa. In making this argument, the paper brings contemporary discussions on race and whiteness, and in particular discussions about racial eliminativism, to bear on the question of whether or not white South Africans may rightly claim an African identity.

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Reformed theology and ‘decolonised’ identity. Finding a grammar for peaceful coexistence

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v74i4.4915 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Nico Vorster

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

John Calvin ◽

Social Discourse ◽

Reformed Theology ◽

Peaceful Coexistence ◽

Social Imaginaries ◽

Public Discussion ◽

African Identity ◽

Basic Parameters

Decolonisation discourse has gained significant momentum in South Africa with the rise of the various #MustFall movements that strive to rid South Africa of its colonial vestiges. But does South Africa need another national metanarrative that envisions an ideal South Africa and champions utopian social ideals? Following the logic of Johan Degenaar and Dirkie Smit, this contribution argues that we should refrain from developing social meta-narratives that seek to frame a single South African identity and social ethos. However, we do need a grammar for peaceful coexistence that goes beyond legal and procedural considerations to establish basic parameters for a constructive social discourse that promotes peaceful coexistence. Such a grammar cannot be imposed unilaterally on social groupings but should be framed by a public discussion aimed at reaching a consensus among social imaginaries on the rules of discourse. Drawing on Reformed thinkers such as John Calvin and John Althusius, the essay continues to discuss the contribution that the Reformed tradition can make to such a grammar. The last part of the essay proceeds to apply the proposed grammar as a benchmark to evaluate the validity of decolonisation discourse.

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Englishes and cosmopolitanisms in South Africa

Human Affairs ◽

10.1515/humaff-2018-0034 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 417-428

Author(s):

Stephanie Rudwick

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

South Africa ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Academic Staff ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

Cultural Dynamics ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

African Identity ◽

Official Policy ◽

Institutional Status

AbstractAgainst the background of South Africa’s ‘official’ policy of multilingualism, this study explores some of the socio-cultural dynamics ofEnglish as a lingua franca(ELF) in relation to how cosmopolitanism is understood in South Africa. More specifically, it looks at the link between ELF and cosmopolitanism in higher education. In 2016, students at Stellenbosch University (SU) triggered a language policy change that enacted English (as opposed to Afrikaans) as the primary medium of teaching and learning. English has won recognition astheacademic lingua franca for at least two socio-political reasons: First, English is considered more ‘neutral’ than Afrikaans (which continues to be strongly associated with Afrikanerdom), and second, English is arguably associated with cosmopolitanism and an international institutional status. Despite English being the academic lingua franca, it continues to be caught in an ambivalent climate with tensions among policy planners, language practitioners, higher education managers, academic staff and students. Ultimately, this paper argues that ambiguity is one of the most defining features of English in South Africa and that a complex range of Cosmopolitan, Afropolitan and glocal African identity trajectories reflect the power dynamics of English in the country.

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