1 - 1 of 1 results for: AFRICAST 219: Novel Perspectives on South Africa

South Africa's rich vein of contemporary fiction provides as a fascinating window onto that country's social dynamics. In this class we'll focus on a number of recent works that tease out some of the key themes that continue to shape both South Africa and the world today.nnSelected novels will provide a framework within which to consider, among other topics: explosive public protest aimed at the Zuma government and other institutions, particularly around the question of university fees and other #MustFall issues; the place of youth culture and coming-of-age in a changing society; attempts to deal with HIV-Aids and other infectious diseases, with their considerable impact; simmering dissatisfaction, especially among young people, about 'Transformation'; the apparent victory of neoliberal policies over social justice, at least it was perceived in the 1980s and early 90s, and the rise of a new black middle class; changing notions of South Africa's place in Africa and in the world. If we take these themes together, the novel seems well suited to the exploration of personal identities amid the social change, and our choices of authors are aimed at showcasing South Africa¿s literary talent beyond the tired tropes of J. M. Coetzee¿s bleak vision.nnFour novels will form the core of our discussion. Zakes Mda in Little Suns (2016) uses one of his characteristic historical settings to explore the private aftermaths of a public event: the assassination of the colonial commissioner, Hamilton Hope (1880), amidst a rising of the amaXhosa people in the Eastern Cape. Niq Mhlongo's After Tears (2007) is the story of a young man's attempts to negotiate academic failure at the University of Cape Town on the one hand and his family's upwardly mobile expectations of him on the other. Ivan Vladislavic setsThe Restless Supermarket (2001) in central Johannesburg of 1993, adopting the perspectiveof a retired proofreader of telephone directories, enjoying one of his old haunts on the eve of its demolition. Finally, in Zoë Wicomb's October: a novel (2014), a scholar-author tries to deal with changes in her own life in Scotland at the same time as she reconnects with her family in rural Western Cape and deals anew with its challenges and skeletons in the cupboard.nnThis course is conceived in the frame of (South) African humanities. Anyone interested in contemporary Cape Town, including students who have spent a term in BOSP-Cape Town or intend to do so, will find several points of engagement. Graduate students are welcome to audit the class: the key point will be a willingness to read and discuss.