Research

The privileging of national oneness in an otherwise racially divided South Africa is cause for concern. While the writing of a new post-conflict chapter after the trauma of apartheid is necessary, this mythical national oneness belies the reality of a country that is still at racial odds. While racism may no longer be legally sanctioned, apartheid structures nonetheless remain undismantled. In other words, despite the radical socio-economic changes promised by former president Nelson Mandela and his successor Thabo Mbeki, issues of race have not been resolved in a country where the black majority remain poor.

In the last few years, I have looked at South African literary criticism and culture closely and have found that there exists an obsessive focus on the discourses of truth, reconciliation and forgiveness endorsed by the present South African government. This obsession eclipses other contexts in which these discourses are immersed. Rather than focus on reconciliation between blacks and whites--which has received much critical attention--my current research and publications are concerned with highlighting instances of other(ed) reconciliations.