Mobilising History for nation-building in South Africa: A decolonial perspective.

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges facing people in the process of becoming South
\nAfricans today is that of building a cohesive national identity out of diverse and
\ncompeting national, cultural and ethnic aspirations and identities that were never
\nimagined as belonging to a single nation-state. This challenge has been made worse
\nby the fact that the advent of the post-apartheid dispensation came with liberal
\ndemocratic values of diversity, tolerance and various forms of freedom such as those
\nof choice, association and speech. All of these freedoms have brought about an
\nimpediment to the cultivation of the spirit of patriotism, common belonging and
\nunity among the peoples meant to become South Africans. While a number of
\nobstacles have been identified in the quest to develop a sense of common belonging
\namong the peoples who occupy the cartographic space known as South Africa today,
\nthe question of knowledge production and its divisive role in the making of South
\nAfrica has not yet been comprehensively addressed. This gap needs to be addressed
\nurgently with specific reference to the field of producing historical knowledge
\nbecause the manner in which historical events and narratives are imagined and
\nreconstructed in South Africa today has the potential to constrain and/or enhance
\ncommon belonging. This article is a decolonial epistemic perspective on the
\nproduction of historical knowledge in South Africa and it argues that a decolonised
\nhistorical narrative can possibly lead to the emergence of a cohesive South African
\nnational identity.