Article Title
Abstract
The period of the mid 1970’s marked the revival of black politics in South Africa. The new wave of black political mobilization occurred in the vacuum that had been created by the government outlawing of black political parties such as the ANC, PAC, and CPSA. New schools of black political thought, such as Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement, left behind the methods and goals of the traditional liberation organizations of the forties and fifties. The cultural and political philosophy of Biko inspired mass actions such as the Soweto uprisings and remains influential to this day. I examine works of post-apartheid South African fiction by Dangor, Magona, and Mda in order to highlight the lasting influence of BCM thought as well as utilize the work of these writers to illustrate the socio-political context in which this new political philosophy was created and thrived. I argue that these writers’ works highlight the anti-assimilationist philosophy of the BCM as well as paint a picture of the vibrant black South African culture in which Biko pinpointed alternative ways of being together in everyday life that, if embraced, could function as a revolutionary political force.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31922/disc3.6
Recommended Citation
Frisch, Nathan E.
(2016)
"Reading Steve Biko Through Contemporary South African Fiction: Black Consciousness as a Force for Something Else,"
DISCOVERY: Georgia State Honors College Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 3, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31922/disc3.6
Available at:
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/discovery/vol3/iss1/6
Included in
English Language and Literature Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons
