Thesis (DPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The uncertainty and insecurity generated by social transformation within local and
global contexts foregrounds concerns with identity. South African society has a
legacy of an entrenched racial order which previously privileged those classified
‘white’. The assumed normality in past practices of such an institutionalised system of
racial privileging was challenged by a changing social, economic and political
context. This dissertation examines the discourse of white middle-class South
Africans on this changing context. The study draws on the discourse of Afrikaansspeaking
and English-speaking interviewees living in urban and rural communities.
Their discourse reveals the extent to which these changes have affected the ways they
talk about themselves and others. There is a literature suggesting the significance of
race in shaping people’s identity has diminished within the post-apartheid context.
This study considers the extent to which the evasion of race suggested in a literature
on whiteness is apparent in the discourse on the transformation of the society. By
considering this discourse a number of questions are raised on how interviewees
conceive their communities and what implication this holds for future racial
integration. What is meant by being South African is a related matter that receives
attention. The study draws the conclusion that in spite of heightened racial sensitivity,
race remains a key factor in the identities of interviewees.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1363 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Puttergill, Charles Hugh |
| Contributors | Bekker, Simon B., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1640552 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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