I am/am I an African? A relational reading of Diaspora and Identity in South African Fiction by J.U. Jacobs
Literator
| Field | Value | |
| Title | I am/am I an African? A relational reading of Diaspora and Identity in South African Fiction by J.U. Jacobs Ek is/is ek ’n Afrikaan? ’n Relasionele lesing van Diaspora and Identity in South African Fiction deur Jacobs, J.U. | |
| Creator | Flockemann, Miki | |
| Description | The publication of Diaspora and Identity in South African Fiction (2016) by J.U. Jacobs is a timely intervention, in that it is the first comprehensive study of South African fiction to sustain the argument that South African writing is always already diasporic. Although Jacobs’ diasporic framework undoubtedly serves as an important addition to the recent trends identified by literary scholars, his focus on 12 well-established writers (including Coetzee, Wicomb, Mda, Gordimer and Ndebele), highlights some of the gaps that need to be filled in a study of this kind. For instance, what about the younger generation of writers, including those from elsewhere in Africa who are writing about living in South Africa? How do they deal with what has been termed the new diaspora, with debates around Afropolitanism and the experiences of internal, inter-continental and trans-continental migrancy in an increasingly globalising world? Despite these shortcomings, Jacobs’ premise about the inevitably diasporic identifications that are narrativised in the 20 novels analysed here can provide a useful foundation for further scholarship on how the diasporic condition informs and is mediated in other texts. These, as I will show, range from works by a new generation of emerging writers on the one hand to the performing arts on the other hand. Die verskyning van J.U. Jacobs se Diaspora and Identity in South African Fiction (2016) is besonder tydig aangesien dit die eerste samevattende studie van Suid-Afrikaanse fiksie is wat die standpunt handhaaf dat die Suid-Afrikaanse letterkunde uiteraard reeds diaspories is. Alhoewel Jacobs se diasporiese raamwerk sonder twyfel huidige tendense soos vasgestel deur letterkundiges op ’n noemenswaardige manier aanvul, bring sy fokus op twaalf goed gevestigde skrywers (onder andere Coetzee, Wicomb, Mda, Gordimer en Ndebele) sekere leemtes na vore wat deur ’n studie van dié aard gevul behoort te word. Byvoorbeeld, wat van skrywers van die jonger geslag, met inbegrip van diegene van ander Afrikalande wat skryf oor lewenservaringe in Suid-Afrika. Hoe hanteer hulle die kwessie van die nuwe diaspora, met debatte oor Afropolitanisme en ervaringe met interne, interkontinentale en tussenkontinentale migrasie in ’n wêreld met toenemende globalisering? Nieteenstaande hierdie tekortkominge kan Jacobs se standpunt ten opsigte van die onvermydelike diasporiese assosiasies, wat na vore kom in die twintig verhale wat hier ontleed word, ’n nuttige grondslag verskaf vir verdere studie oor hoe die diasporiese tendens op ander tekste inwerk en daardeur oorgedra word. Ek sal aandui hoe hierdie tekste wissel van werke deur ’n nuwe geslag opkomende skrywers, enersyds, tot die uitvoerende kunste, andersyds. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2017-04-28 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/lit.v38i1.1330 | |
| Source | Literator; Vol 38, No 1 (2017); 9 pages Literator; Vol 38, No 1 (2017); 9 pages 2219-8237 0258-2279 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1330/2330
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1330/2328
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1330/2331
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1330/2318
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