The Problem of Identity: South Africa, Storytelling, and Literary History

Nigerian Children's Stories: A Cultural Perspective

“…In the African context, the European powers existing in colonial relationships deemed the oral tradition of these societies' languages as neither appropriate nor intellectually relevant as a media of communication, or a means of education (Abdi, 2007). As a means to strip the indigenous of their native languages colonial powers used the systems of education to promote and implement the written, colonial language while simultaneously controlling and prohibiting the use of native languages (Chapman, 1998). This process some believe has resulted in the deculturing and social dislocation of African peoples (Abdi, 2007).…”

Discursive Constructions of the African National Congress (ANC) and Its Discourse of Freedom: A Critical Analysis

“…In the three texts under consideration, the ANC is discursively constructed or presented as (1) an organisation which brought freedom to South Africa; (2) a leader of the struggle for change; (3) an organisation still committed to the policies of the RDP and principles of the Freedom Charter; (4) the only force with experience of democratic government; (5) the only organisation in South Africa with plans to transform South Africa into a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous democracy; and lastly, (6) a mass-based organisation rooted amongst the people, reaching into every social sector and every corner of the land. In this regard, the ANC's discursive construction is rooted in identity politics that focus upon self-interest and perspectives and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, gender, ethnicity, ideology, nation, culture and currency (Chapman 1996).…”

“…In its 2009 national election manifesto, the ANC similarly contends: "for over 97 years, it has led the struggle to bring about a South Africa that belongs to all our people, black and white" (ANC 2009: 2). Although the ideal today might be post-apartheid South African nationals, many rural Africans cannot be sure, for example, where the power of the governmentcharacterised as non-racial and democratic -ends and where the power of the chief -local and ethnic -begins (Chapman 1996).…”

‘The Prison Was the Battlefield’: Conflict, Imprisonment, and Resistance in Northern Ireland and South Africa

“…148 The Constitution aspires towards a pluralist society in which identities are constructed not through the rejection or negation of others but through respectful engagement, through what Chapman terms 'cultural interchange'. 149 In its commitment to non-racialism and human rights the Constitution formalised the ideology of politically-motivated prisoners. Non-racialism, for example, was a key principle of the ANC who maintained a multi-racial membership throughout Apartheid and following its demise.…”