Discursive Constructions of the Israel-Hezbollah War

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Ursula Lau ◽  
Mohamed Seedat ◽  
Victoria McRitchie
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Extensive Coverage ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Discursive Constructions ◽  
Negative Stereotyping ◽  
Israeli Soldiers

The media play a contributing influence in exacerbating hostilities between war protagonists. Through particular representations, specific groups are either hailed or vilified; thereby resulting in a “spill-over effect” of negative stereotyping, prejudice, and hostilities among people beyond the physically-designated zones of conflict. The 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War, fueled by Israel’s history of military aggression in the region and ignited by Hezbollah’s cross-border raid into Israel and the associated capture and killing of Israeli soldiers, received extensive coverage in the South African press and had the effect of polarizing groups in support of a particular side. In this article, we examine a section of the local South African print media—capturing the conflict to reveal the main discourse themes, their hidden ideological positions and their legitimation through specific textual devices. The findings reveal a “discursive war” between news texts representing a favorable stance on Israel and Hezbollah respectively. Through characterizations and intertextual practices, (“right of existence” and “defense against terror” versus “religious resistance” and “Israel as the apartheid state” respectively) that provided legitimation for violence. The ideological effects of such media representations on the ordinary lives of South Africans physically removed from the conflict are considered. In light of the findings, considerations for discursive interventions are proposed in order to promote discourses of peace in the media.

Discursive Constructions of the Israel-Hezbollah War

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Lau ◽  
Mohamed Seedat ◽  
Victoria McRitchie
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Extensive Coverage ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Discursive Constructions ◽  
Negative Stereotyping ◽  
Israeli Soldiers

The media play a contributing influence in exacerbating hostilities between war protagonists. Through particular representations, specific groups are either hailed or vilified; thereby resulting in a “spill-over effect” of negative stereotyping, prejudice, and hostilities among people beyond the physically-designated zones of conflict. The 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War, fueled by Israel’s history of military aggression in the region and ignited by Hezbollah’s cross-border raid into Israel and the associated capture and killing of Israeli soldiers, received extensive coverage in the South African press and had the effect of polarizing groups in support of a particular side. In this article, we examine a section of the local South African print media—capturing the conflict to reveal the main discourse themes, their hidden ideological positions and their legitimation through specific textual devices. The findings reveal a “discursive war” between news texts representing a favorable stance on Israel and Hezbollah respectively. Through characterizations and intertextual practices, (“right of existence” and “defense against terror” versus “religious resistance” and “Israel as the apartheid state” respectively) that provided legitimation for violence. The ideological effects of such media representations on the ordinary lives of South Africans physically removed from the conflict are considered. In light of the findings, considerations for discursive interventions are proposed in order to promote discourses of peace in the media.

scholarly journals MARIKANA, A PAST NEVER TRULY ESCAPED: A CRITIQUE ON THE COMMODIFICATION OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn Rajah
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
African Society ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
History Of

This article demonstrates that the Marikana tragedy was not a departure from the norm, but a continuation of state and corporate behaviour that has oppressed black South Africans for hundreds of years. This will be done through an analysis of the historically discriminatory socio-economic patterns of South African society, and how they subjugate the poor by limiting their access to legal and physical protection. These trends portray a history of commodification of the legal system. I discuss a notable documentary on the massacre, Miners Shot Down, and examine its depiction of the causes and effects of the events. The film provides no mention of the historical context of the killings, nor does it comment on many of the factors contributing to the massacre. Despite this, it succeeded in bringing the events to the attention of the broader public. I analyse the notions of justice, the rule of law and their application in South Africa as well as norms in the nation’s legal culture. Additionally, I examine the Farlam Commission, and how its procedures and conclusions hindered the course of justice in the context of our democracy. Ultimately, I demonstrate how the Marikana massacre was not a change in dynamic, but a reminder of a past we have never truly escaped.

scholarly journals Challenges to the sub judice rule in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kobus Van Rooyen
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Media ◽  
Entire Career ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Right

As a lawyer, it is a privilege to contribute to this Festschrift in honour of Professor Doctor Johan Buitendag. His entire career has been a quest for the truth. In the process, he has fearlessly rejected political agendas based on the Bible, and has inspired countless students in their quest to serve God in a practical and humane manner. His published research as well as the output of his doctoral students, both present and past, bear witness to a life dedicated to the search for knowledge in the service of God. He has also assisted substantially in placing South African theological research on the international map. In a sense, this article which deals with the protection of the right to a fair trial of an accused, also acknowledges Johan Buitendag’s quest for justice for all South Africans, whatever their creed, gender, race or standing. The subject of my article demonstrates my own quest to promote the constitutional right of an accused to a fair trial, a right that should not be subject to inordinate pressure by the media, and which gives priority to the right of an accused to be presumed innocent: an accused who may frequently suffer loneliness and a sense of rejection. Related to that it is, of course, always important to bear in mind that freedom of expression is at the heart of our democracy. A balance has, accordingly, to be struck between the competing rights.

scholarly journals Nation Building and the Construction of Identity: Xenophobia in South Africa

Refuge ◽  
2001 ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet E. Reilly
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Identity ◽  
South African ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Construction Of Identity ◽  
People’S Perception ◽  
History Of

This article examines the process of nation building in South Africa and its effect on the rise of xenophobia. It explores the ways in which South Africa’s efforts, since the elections of 1994, to construct a non-racial national identity have led to the exclusion of and the denial of rights to non-citizens. Looking at the history of immigration policy in South Africa, it argues that increased levels of xenophobia among South Africans represent an ever-widening gap between the country’s attempts to restructure itself constitutionally (by altering its laws) and culturally (by changing the people’s perception of what it means to be South African).

scholarly journals Of libraries, books, and reading: A journey of meaning making

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108
Author(s):  
Edwin Smith
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
South African ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
African History ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Library Book ◽  
History Of ◽  
Reading Culture ◽  
History Approach

In this essay I seek to demonstrate how an iterative reading of Archie L. Dick’s The Hidden History of South Africa’s Book and Reading Culture (2012), read through a life history lens, makes meaning of the lived experiences of South Africans—particularly during the time of the struggle against Apartheid, which is the focus of this essay. Relying on the life history approach to the recounting and exploration of South African history through the library, book, and reading culture of South Africans, I trace the complex and multi-layered experience of South Africa and its peoples as reported in The Hidden History. Interwoven with my own experiences with libraries, books, reading, and writing, I unveil the significant making of meaning in Dick’s enterprise. As demanded by Dick, I confirm in this essay that South African liberation history must indeed include the roles played by librarians, books, and the experiences of ordinary South Africans in order to provide a fuller appreciation of the various influences and understanding of South Africa’s past.

scholarly journals In search of historical consciousness: An investigation into young South Africans' knowledge and understanding of 'their' national histories

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Angier
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Intended Curriculum ◽  
History Curriculum ◽  
School History ◽  
History Of

This study reports the findings of an investigation into young South Africans' knowledge and understanding of their national past derived from narrative accounts of South African history written by 27 university students who had recently completed the national school history curriculum. Analysis of these narratives indicates two fundamental differences in the way the history of South Africa is told, in terms of emphasis (the relative weight assigned to different periods and people) and of agency (who 'did' and who was 'done to'). These differences point to the continued importance of racial identity as a factor in the formation of a national historical consciousness in post-apartheid South Africa. The highly selective emplotment of South Africa's past by the students highlights the importance of sociocultural factors in the development of young people's historical consciousness, a conclusion that has implications for classroom pedagogy. These findings suggest that unless the historical understanding with which students come to the classroom is engaged and is complicated through evidence-based historical enquiry then neither the 'disciplinary' nor 'social justice' aims of the intended curriculum will be realized.

The Actuary in South Africa

1957 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 348-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. de Smidt ◽  
H. Schermann ◽  
D. W. Williams ◽  
G. Rodger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
South African ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Third ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
History Of

The history of the actuarial profession in South Africa starts, as far as is known, during the last decade of the nineteenth century when three actuaries arrived in the Cape Colony from the United Kingdom. Two of these took up positions with the two South African life offices which were then in existence and the third became Government Actuary to the Cape Colony. By the time the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, four more actuaries had arrived from the United Kingdom, and a further four had arrived by 1920. Some of these gentlemen established permanent homes in this country, while others returned overseas after varying periods of time. It was no doubt due to these early beginnings that the actuarial homes of South African actuaries are today London and Edinburgh.The first South African-born actuary qualified as a Fellow of the Faculty in 1921, and since that time increasing numbers of South Africans have become qualified, mostly as Fellows of the Faculty.

Tsuneo Yoshikuni,African Urban Experiences in Colonial Zimbabwe: A Social History of Harare before 1925; Firozi Manji and Stephen Marks (eds.),African Perspectives on China in Africa; Allison Drew,Between Empire and the Revolution: A Life of Sidney Bunting, 1873-1936; South African Democracy Education Trust,The Road to Democracy in South Africa, Volume 2; Ivor Chipkin,Do South Africans Exist?: Nationalism, Democracy and the Identity of ‘The People’; Andrew Banks,Bushmen in a Victorian World: The Remarkable Story of the Bleek-Lloyd Collection of Bushman Folklore; Ute Dieckmann,Hai||om in the Etosha Region: A History of Colonial Settlement, Ethnicity and Nature Conservation; Ursula Trüper,The Invisible Woman: Zara Schmelen, African Mission Assistant at the Cape and in Namaland; Libby Robin,How a Continent Created a Nation; Norman Etherington (ed.),Mapping Colonial Conquest: Australia and Southern Africa; Martin L. Davies,Historics: Why History Dominates Contemporary Society; John Laband,The Transvaal Rebellion: The First Boer War, 1880-1881; George Diederik van der Smit,Die Eensame Graf by Mombolo: Die Lewensverhaal van Pieter van der Smit

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-198
Author(s):  
Alois S. Mlambo ◽  
Muchapara Musemwa ◽  
Irina Filatova ◽  
Raymond Suttner ◽  
Dirk Kotzé ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Social History ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Boer War ◽  
Democracy Education ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Road ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Colonial Settlement

Perceived barriers and facilitators to HIV testing in South African communities

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 1635-1645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri De Wet ◽  
Ashraf Kagee
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Testing ◽  
South African ◽  
Unprotected Sex ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Hiv Test ◽  
Related Stigma ◽  
The Media

We interviewed 15 South Africans seeking HIV testing to understand the factors that influenced their seeking an HIV test. Reasons in favour of testing included having had unprotected sex, availability of social support if testing HIV positive and modelling test-seeking behaviour to others. Reasons against seeking testing included fear testing HIV positive, the possibility of receiving treatment too late, HIV-related stigma and long distances to testing sites. Participants also discussed ways to increase the uptake of HIV testing, such as workplace testing, the role of the media and the role of cultural rituals such as male circumcision.

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