Claiming the City in South African Literature

This book demonstrates the insights that literature brings to transdisciplinary urban studies, and particularly to the study of cities of the South. Starting from the claim staked by mining capital in the late nineteenth century and its production of extractive and segregated cities, it surveys over a century of writing in search of counterclaims through which the literature reimagines the city as a place of assembly and attachment. Focusing on how the South African city has been designed to funnel gold into the global economy and to service an enclaved minority, the study looks to the literary city to advance a contrary emphasis on community, conviviality and care.

An accessible and informative introduction to literature of the South African city at significant historical junctures, this book will also be of great interest to scholars and students in urban studies and Global South studies.

Meg Samuelson is Associate Professor in English and Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Associate Professor Extraordinaire at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She has published widely in South African, African, Global South and oceanic literary and cultural studies.