Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: Testifying in and to Cultures of Spectacular Violence
- 1 ‘Going to the Dogs’: ‘Humanity’ in J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace, The Lives of Animals and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- 2 The State of/and Childhood: Engendering Adolescence in Contemporary South Africa
- 3 Spectral Presences: Women, Stigma, and the Performance of Alienation
- 4 Men ‘Not Feeling Good’: The Dilemmas of Hyper-masculinity in the Era of HIV/AIDS
- Conclusion: Constituting Dishonour
- Bibliography
- Index
Introduction: Testifying in and to Cultures of Spectacular Violence
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: Testifying in and to Cultures of Spectacular Violence
- 1 ‘Going to the Dogs’: ‘Humanity’ in J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace, The Lives of Animals and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- 2 The State of/and Childhood: Engendering Adolescence in Contemporary South Africa
- 3 Spectral Presences: Women, Stigma, and the Performance of Alienation
- 4 Men ‘Not Feeling Good’: The Dilemmas of Hyper-masculinity in the Era of HIV/AIDS
- Conclusion: Constituting Dishonour
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Narrative Vision in Times of Violence
It is a sad irony that while South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation process has been widely studied and used as a resource internationally, and while South Africa's remarkable post-apartheid Constitution guarantees rights to its citizens that are radical in their scope, life on the ground in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ is, for the majority of its citizens, (still) characterized by high rates of poverty, morbidity and violence. Marking the failure of the promise offered by a postapartheid era in a poignant way is the fact that, fifteen years after the end of apartheid, in May 2008, the army was called out to assist police in controlling South African citizens. At issue was attacks against foreign nationals, migrants from other countries in sub-Saharan Africa who have fled impossible economic and political conditions in their various states of origin, seeking a better life in South Africa.
The return of the army to the townships of South Africa is haunting for those who experienced, with dread, their presence on the streets during the apartheid decades. Another haunting image is that of citizens standing by cheering on the xenophobic attacks, some of which have included necklacing – taking a car tyre and setting it on fire around the neck of the victim. This form of ‘punishment’ was exercised during the apartheid-era struggle against persons perceived to be sell-outs to the apartheid regime.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Cultured ViolenceNarrative, Social Suffering, and Engendering Human Rights in Contemporary South Africa, pp. 1 - 36Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2010