Abstract
Describing South Africa as a ‘society in transition’ is an oft-repeated trope — one that commonly concedes a hope that the past can be ‘repaired’ and ‘moved beyond’. The realities of South African life, however, as in other places that have experienced systematic racism in the past, belie the simplicity of this formulation. Racism remains present in South African society, and race as a construct continues to evoke passionate and anxious sentiments. This chapter begins with the question of what it means to be a society in transition, foregrounding in so doing the in-betweenness of South African society and its dual orientation towards the past and the future. Implicit in the metaphor is the troubling suggestion of opposing forces, and whether the call from the past is stronger than our hopes for the future.
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© 2013 Carol Long
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Long, C. (2013). Transitioning Racialised Spaces. In: Stevens, G., Duncan, N., Hook, D. (eds) Race, Memory and the Apartheid Archive. Studies in the Psychosocial. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137263902_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137263902_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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