The Political Mythology of Apartheid - Softcover

Thompson, Leonard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300035128 ISBN 13: 9780300035124

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1986

Synopsis

Describes the mythology of the Afrikaner nationalist movement, compares it with the political mythologies of the U.S., France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, and looks at how South Africa's outlook has been changed by recent events

About this title

From Library Journal:

This book, by an outstanding historian of southern Africa, explores the idea of political mythology and the particular mythology of the Afrikaner nationalist movement. Two specific myths are described in detail, that of Slagtersnek, when a few Cape farmers attempted to defy the government of the Cape Colony in 1815, and the more well-known myth of the Covenant, which grew from the defeat of a Zulu army by an Afrikaner commando in 1838. The change from a mythology of liberation used to justify opposition to British imperialism to a mythology that justified oppression of the majority of the people is explored. A description of how these myths developed and have been used and changed illuminates much more than the South African situation. Recommended for those with a serious interest in South Africa and/or political history. Maidel Cason, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, Ill.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0300035128
• ISBN 13: 9780300035124
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 299