Recent South African Fiction

1. Recent South African Fiction intro

2. 3 novels, 1 novella, 13 short stories Recent South African Fiction: what you’ll need to do for the course reading quizzes, journal entries, a good formal paper • 2 required films (evening screening) journal entriesquizzes & final paper • Reading of basic social history (encyclopedias, etc.) a history quiz • In-depth reading of one aspect of apartheid’s social reality a group presentation

3. Part of a region colonized by Europeans, one of many products of global European expansion Recent South African Fiction: why think about South Africa ? In this sense, SA is like theUSA, a settler colony shaped by racism & struggles with indigenous peoples 1652 --> 1910 Apartheid did not come from nowhere - it has its roots in European colonization of Africa under this regime people be-haved in ways both horrifying & inspiring - and so we remember for the same reasonwe remember the holocaust 1948 --> 1994 • ‘apartheid’ - system of legalized racial discrimina-tion sustained by force 1994 --> Struggling with the lega-cies of colonialism & apart-heid, now it has to deal with globalization & aids But the USA is a super-power, in mid-20thcentury it inherited the old Euro-empires &helps shape the current global economy - & SA for complex reasons remained marginal ... • An African country, part of the ‘developing’ world, 3rd world, with great poverty

4. Recent South African Fiction: why think about SA fiction ? As we come to understand more the ways that apartheid shaped daily life for its different peoples, what can we find in these works of fiction that defines them as resistance literature, resistance to all that apartheid implied for daily life? These writerscan tell us much of the spirit of resistance to oppression We will be focusing on fiction written between1960 (when opposition to apartheid was forced to go underground & the country was technically in civil war) and 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released from prison to lead the negotiations for the first democratic elections -- held 1994. 1948 --> 1994 1960 --> 1990 • ‘apartheid’ - system of legalized racial discrimina-tion sustained by force Just as important to think about: What resources have these writers bequeathed to a country struggling to become a nation, struggling with the legacies of colonialism & apartheid, with the effects now of globalization & aids 1994 --> • An African country, part of the ‘developing’ world, 3rd world, with great poverty

5. We read the historical materialto get a good sense of the social system & its rationale We read the fictionfor how it represents that social system & its rationale - and how it sees people shaped within it Recent South African Fiction: how think about SA fiction ? Remembering that we focus on fiction written between 1960 - 1990 …. • Then we read for representations of resistance, how it’s enacted & the values it embodies • And it doesn’t have to be overt political resistance. Resistance can lie in understanding & representing people in ways that the political powers deny and want you to avoid. This difference too enacts resistance 1948 --> 1994 1960 --> 1990 1994 --> • And then -- we speculate on how these narratives might serve South Africa post-1994

6. Recent South African Fiction: how think about SA fiction ? • How is the fiction written to address and undermine racism? – and in a racist world that is also sexist how does it address and undermine sexism? • How is the fiction written to address and undermine a history of colonization – and all the cultural attitudes that made colonization seem like a normal, and certainly justifiable, activity? (And here we need to remember that racist South Africa built on its colonial legacy.) • How is the fiction written to assert the humanity of those that system sought to diminish – while pointing to the failings of those who benefited? • Etc. ;-) • Now there are many ways in which narratives could work to undermine acceptance of the apartheid system…. The following list of questions suggests some of what to look for … 1948 --> 1994 1960 --> 1990 1994 --> • & of course we speculate on how these narratives might serve South Africa post-1994

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