Date of Award
Spring 2021
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Historical & Political Studies; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Dr. Jennifer Riggan
Abstract
“Rainbowism” or the new form of nationalism inspired by Mandela’s “Rainbow Nation vision” emphasizes unity, equality, and non-racialism, and has become the dominant myth and metaphor by which South Africa is recognized in the post-apartheid era. Through an application of a theoretical framework that emphasizes the mythological and imaginative aspects of constructive nationalism and an analysis of Rainbowism’s rise to mythical dominance and evolution in the South African imaginary over the span of the past three decades of democracy using ANC “Rainbowist” discourses in both explicit and inexplicit ways, this thesis argues that Rainbowism arose as a counter myth in response to the apartheid myth at a moment when South Africa was faced with the daunting task of reconstructing and reimagining itself.
Recommended Citation
Crouthamel, Riley, "The Rainbow Nation Vision: (Re)constructing & (Re)imagining South Africanness" (2021). Capstone Showcase. 3.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2021/is/3
Included in
African Languages and Societies Commons, African Studies Commons, Discourse and Text Linguistics Commons, Rhetoric Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
The Rainbow Nation Vision: (Re)constructing & (Re)imagining South Africanness
“Rainbowism” or the new form of nationalism inspired by Mandela’s “Rainbow Nation vision” emphasizes unity, equality, and non-racialism, and has become the dominant myth and metaphor by which South Africa is recognized in the post-apartheid era. Through an application of a theoretical framework that emphasizes the mythological and imaginative aspects of constructive nationalism and an analysis of Rainbowism’s rise to mythical dominance and evolution in the South African imaginary over the span of the past three decades of democracy using ANC “Rainbowist” discourses in both explicit and inexplicit ways, this thesis argues that Rainbowism arose as a counter myth in response to the apartheid myth at a moment when South Africa was faced with the daunting task of reconstructing and reimagining itself.