scholarly journals ‘Foxes’ holes and birds’ nests’ (Mt 8:20): A postcolonial reading for South Africans from the perspective of Matthew’s anti-societal language

2009 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries G. Van Aarde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Gospel Of Matthew ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Sociological Factors ◽  
Son Of Man ◽  
African Context ◽  
Current Article ◽  
High Crime

South Africa is experiencing an exceptionally high crime rate and many people, across the various ethnic groups, are beset by poverty. The question is whether the prevalence of violence in South Africa is the result of neocolonialism or postcolonialism, among other complicated sociological factors. The current article suggests how postcolonial hermeneutics can provide access to the diverse complexities of Africa. Postcolonial consciousness means that the experience of the Other is taken seriously from their own perspective. From the perspective of anti-societal language in the Gospel of Matthew, postcolonial theory is presented as a tool for biblical interpretation that assists in identifying colonial intentions that informed and influenced the South African context. Such theory calls for a constructive reading of concerns relating to justice. The article focuses on the Jesus saying, as influenced by Roman imperial policy. It deals with the comparison between the fate of beasts and that of the son of man, who has nowhere to lay his head (Mt 8:20).

scholarly journals ‘Selfishly backward’ or ‘selflessly forward?’: A white male’s insider perspective on a challenge and opportunity of decolonisation for practical theology in the South African context

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred R. Brunsdon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Mass Action ◽  
South Africans ◽  
White Males ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Sitz Im Leben ◽  
African Context

Depending on the Sitz im Leben of practical theologian, the issue of decolonisation will be a greater or lesser reality. For South Africans, decolonisation has become a part of their daily living. Decolonisation can be regarded as a second wave of liberation in the post-apartheid South Africa. Following on the first wave, or even the tsunami of transformation, is the urgent call for the decolonisation of colonial knowledge, structures and epistemologies that endured in the new dispensation. Squarely in the aim of decolonisation efforts are institutions of higher learning and by implication all disciplines taught there, including theology. The non-negotiability of the decolonisation of higher education is evident in the recurring violent protests and mass action, as expressed in different ‘#must-fall’ campaigns over the last few years. This article argues that the current decolonisation drive in South Africa is urging local practical theologians to make an important choice, namely to move ‘selfishly backward’ or ‘selflessly forward’. In other words, maintaining current practices or exploring alternatives in a new context. This choice is embedded in the reality that a significant number of practical theologians in South Africa are white males that may, from a decolonisation perspective, be deemed part of the colonisation legacy. Against this background, the article attempts to provide a reflective insider’s perspective on a challenge and opportunity this creates for practical theology.

scholarly journals Regional and current problems in South Africa and their impact on literature with remarks on the evaluation of the Afrikaans Novel

Literator ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
J. Van der Elst
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
The Other ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
South African Context ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Modern Novel ◽  
African Context

My paper centres round a specific situation and its impact on literature in South Africa with special reference to the modern novel in the Afrikaans language and the literary evaluation of the novel. This does not mean that I exclude references to the other genres, poetry and dram a and to literatures in other languages within the South African context. Many of you might know but to clarify I would like to point out that I refer to Afrikaans as the Germanic language originating from the 17th century Dutch mother tongue of approximately 3 ½ million South Africans.

scholarly journals Steve Biko Christ-figure: A black theological Christology in the Son of Man film

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katleho K. Mokoena
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
South African ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Black Theology ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Black Consciousness ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Son Of Man ◽  
African Context

Son of Man (2006) is the first Jesus film to be produced in South Africa and the first Jesus film with an all-black cast amongst all films about the life of Jesus. Son of Man retells the story of Jesus from the pre-1994 South African context and the transition to democracy. The film portrays a Jesus who is concerned about social justice and seeks to dismantle systems that perpetuate and maintain subjugation, oppression, discrimination and marginalisation. The film reinforces the ideology of black consciousness and the praxis of black theology creatively and artistically through film. Jesus in Son of Man embodies the life of Stephen Bantu Biko, and Steve Biko is thus given a Christ-figure around four things: non-violence, ideology, disappearance and death. A black Christological perspective is used to analyse the nature of Jesus Christ in Son of Man.

scholarly journals HOW DOES SA COMPARE: Experiences of crime and policing in an African context

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Mattes
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
African Countries ◽  
South Africans ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
The North ◽  
African Context ◽  
South African Police

Afrobarometer’s regular surveys of public attitudes toward governance, democracy and economics in 18 African countries shows that experiences of crime and concerns over safety in South Africa are indeed quite prevalent, but are by no means exceptional. People in some African countries are as, or even more, fearful than South Africans, and there are several countries in which people confront crime more frequently than do South Africans. The results also show that the South African Police Service, despite having higher levels of physical and human capital than its counterparts to the north, often lags well behind in terms of transparency and community relations.

scholarly journals The poor in the Psalms and in Tsepo Tshola’s song Indlala: African liberationist remarks

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Ndikhokele N. Mtshiselwa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
African Context

This article sets out to investigate how an African liberationist paradigm could be used in South Africa as a theoretical framework that shapes an inquiry into the issue of poverty in the Book of Psalms. The poor in the Davidic collections of psalms (cf. Ps 10; 23, 72; 109) will therefore be examined within the South African context in order to probe the liberating possibilities that the psalms could offer to poor black South Africans, and most importantly when the text is read in dialogue with Tsepo Tshola’s liberationist song Indlala [Starvation]. Firstly, this article discusses an African liberationist paradigm with the view to anchor the reading of psalms within a theoretical framework. Secondly, within that framework, this article uses the song Indlala as a hermeneutical tool to unlock the reality of poverty in South Africa. Thirdly, guided by an African liberationist framework the article teases out th ecategories and voices of the poor in the psalms. In the end, this article argues that the reading of poor in the Psalms, particularly with an African liberationist lens could have liberating implications for poor black South Africans.

scholarly journals #MisconstruedIdentitiesMustFall collective: Identity formation in the current South African context: A practical theological perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred R. Brunsdon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
South African ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
African Context ◽  
Practical Theological

In South Africa, 2015 was violently ushered out by several ‘must fall’ campaigns, of which the most prominent were the ‘fees’ and ‘Zuma must fall’ campaigns. These ‘must fall’ campaigns conveyed a new sense of urgency by the disgruntled masses towards certain institutions and individuals. Aligning with the ‘must fall’ analogy, the focus of this article is on combatting the notion of misconstrued identities in post-apartheid South Africa. Based on negative generalisation and perceptions of the ‘others’, misconstrued identities prohibit the formation of a collective identity that allows for peaceful co-existence. Consequently, the dynamics of collective identity formation and some of the possibilities for identity formation that reside within the Christian faith are investigated from a practical theological perspective. Given that a practical theological investigation takes both the context and theological reflection as points of departure, it is argued that it can contribute towards the dismantling of misconstrued identities to provide clues for the formation of a positive collective identity for South Africans.

“Lest We Forget”: A Postapartheid Perspective on Remembering in Liturgy for Healing and Justice

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-72
Author(s):  
Hilton Scott
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
South African ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Future ◽  
African Context

The idea of Remembrance Day (also known as Armistice Day) in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries carries two important notions: (1) to remember significant tragedies and sacrifices of the past by paying homage, and (2) to ensure that such catastrophes are prevented in the future by not forgetting. This concept can be applied to the South African context of a society and young democracy that is living in the wake of apartheid. In certain spheres this will include decolonizing the long-standing practices of Remembrance Day in South Africa, ritualizing the event(s) to be more relevant to those who partake by shifting the focus to tragedies caused during apartheid, and remembering that such a deplorable catastrophe should never be repeated. The important liturgical functions and pragmatic outcome(s) of this notion are reconciliation, restoration, transformation and, ultimately, liberation, as South Africans look to heal the wounds caused by the tragedies of the recent past and prevent such pain from being inflicted on others in the future.

Reframing Xenophobia in South Africa as Colour-Blind: The Limits of the Afro Phobia Thesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-444
Author(s):  
Amanuel Isak Tewolde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Black African ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Online Newspaper ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Realistic Conflict Theory

Many scholars and South African politicians characterize the widespread anti-foreigner sentiment and violence in South Africa as dislike against migrants and refugees of African origin which they named ‘Afro-phobia’. Drawing on online newspaper reports and academic sources, this paper rejects the Afro-phobia thesis and argues that other non-African migrants such as Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Chinese) are also on the receiving end of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. I contend that any ‘outsider’ (White, Asian or Black African) who lives and trades in South African townships and informal settlements is scapegoated and attacked. I term this phenomenon ‘colour-blind xenophobia’. By proposing this analytical framework and integrating two theoretical perspectives — proximity-based ‘Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)’ and Neocosmos’ exclusivist citizenship model — I contend that xenophobia in South Africa targets those who are in close proximity to disadvantaged Black South Africans and who are deemed outsiders (e.g., Asian, African even White residents and traders) and reject arguments that describe xenophobia in South Africa as targeting Black African refugees and migrants.

‘Limping, Yet Made to Climb a Mountain!’ Re-Reading the Vashti Character in the Hiv And Aids South African Context

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’A Mphahlele)
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
External Factor ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
African Women ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
African Context

The history of the Christian Bible’s reception in South Africa was part of a package that included among others, the importation of European patriarchy, land grabbing and its impoverishment of Africans and challenged masculinities of African men. The preceding factors, together with the history of the marginalization of African women in bible and theology, and how the Bible was and continues to be used in our HIV and AIDS contexts, have only made the proverbial limping animal to climb a mountain. Wa re o e bona a e hlotša, wa e nametša thaba (while limping, you still let it climb a mountain) simply means that a certain situation is being aggravated (by an external factor). In this chapter the preceding Northern Sotho proverb is used as a hermeneutical lens to present an HIV and AIDS gender sensitive re-reading of the Vashti character in the Hebrew Bible within the South African context.

Reimagining Intersectionality and Social Exclusion in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khosi Kubeka ◽  
Sharmla Rama
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Social Division ◽  
Common Reference ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
African Context

Combining the theories of intersectionality and social exclusion holds the potential for structural and nuanced interpretations of the workings of power, taking systemic issues seriously but interpreting them though social relations that appear in local contexts. An intersectional analysis of social exclusion demonstrates to what extent multiple axes of social division—be they race, age, gender, class, disability or citizenship—intersect to result in unequal and disparate experiences for groups of youth spatially located in particular communities and neighborhoods. A common reference point is therefore power and how it manifests at the intersection of the local and global. A South African case study is used to explore the subjective measures and qualitative experiences of intersectionality and social exclusion further. The unique ways that language intersects with space, neighborhood, and race in the South African context, enables opportunities in education and the labor market, with profound implications for forms of social exclusion.

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