School of Human Sciences and Education

Permanent URI for this community

http://196.216.167.205/handle/10628/963

Browse

Browsing School of Human Sciences and Education by Author "Abiatar, Festus Uugwanga"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Herero-Nama genocide as historical fiction: A new historical analysis of Mama Namibia, The Scattering, and The Lie of the Land
    (2020-04) Abiatar, Festus Uugwanga
    During its colonial rule in Namibia, Germany committed what is widely considered to be the first genocide of the twentieth century—the genocide of the Herero and Nama people. Although the said genocide took place over a hundred years ago, its profound consequences are still significant and relevant today. In the years that followed the end of German colonial rule in Namibia, there has been a noted colonial amnesia over what happened to the Herero and Nama people, and their narratives have remained on the periphery of the grand narrative of the nation. The recent publication of the three selected novels speaks to the relevance of the subject matter and creates new opportunities for engaging with this period of Namibian colonial history. This study explores the literary representation of the Herero-Nama genocide in the three selected novels in order to explain the contribution of historical fiction to the excavation of occluded narratives and engaging with Namibian history and related discourses. Using the New Historical perspective, the study analyses the literary representation of the genocide, examines the reflection of contemporary discourses on land and reparation, and explores intertextuality in the three novels. The study shows that the novels enhance the understanding of history by relating it in a literary form and adding faces to the atrocities, wherein they offer a platform to revise what has been recorded and shared, thereby enhancing historiography by presenting alternative histories. Furthermore, the novels reflect contemporary discourses circulating in the culture in which the novels emerged, in particular, land and reparation discourses, wherein their engagement with these discourses has a bearing on the shape and direction of the discourses. The study recommends coalescing New Historical framework with other frameworks in future studies for a greater understanding of the novels.