Browsing by Author "Cornelius, Beverley Jane."

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Pasts remembered, future identities pursued : postcolonial nostalgia in Etienne van Heerden's novels, Ancestral voices and 30 Nights in Amsterdam.
(2013) Cornelius, Beverley Jane.; Dimitriu, Ileana.
The aim of this study is to explore the concept and application of nostalgia in two of Etienne van Heerden’s novels in their English translation, Ancestral Voices (1989) and 30 Nights in Amsterdam (2011). I aim to show that, although Van Heerden’s novels have localized content and context — they arise from the parochial tradition of the plaasroman (farm novel) — their wider focus is postcolonial in that the ‘ancestral voices’ implicate Afrikaans identity in a multicultural entanglement, as well as in a global, cosmopolitan identity. By selecting an earlier and a later novel, I suggest a trajectory in Van Heerden’s work in consonance with a post-apartheid movement from an inward-looking, insular culture to a more general sense of former colonies and metropoles as inextricably linked. The fact that Van Heerden’s novels, in translation, enjoy a world readership confirms a local-to-global trajectory, thus emphasizing the postcolonial significance of the author’s work. The concept of nostalgia is viewed by many in the contemporary world as sentimental and biased, based on its focus on positive recall and emotional yearning. In recent years, however, there has been a serious rethink about nostalgia and inquiries are being made into why nostalgic feelings arise, what they mean and what can be learnt from them. It is being recognized that, although it deals with the past, nostalgia has a significant bearing on the present and the future. Accordingly, this study explores how Van Heerden’s nostalgic treatment of the past complements his exploration of the anxieties of the present. Coming to terms with the past — in order to understand the present and imagine a future — is a challenge faced locally, as well as globally. Nostalgia is a concept that allows for the expression of the concerns generated by the rapid social changes in the world, and it is an effective literary device which Van Heerden has applied in his novels. My study adds to a body of work that explores postcolonial writing in translation and its impact on world writing. Such explorations promote inter-cultural understanding and help preclude cultural homogenization.
Postcolonial nostalgia and meaning: new perspectives on contemporary South African writings.
(2019) Cornelius, Beverley Jane.; Dimitriu, Ileana.
This dissertation explores the concept and application of nostalgia in a selection of contemporary South African novels chosen as representative of the multi-cultural diversity of South Africa’s literature. The study explores novels by four authors – Etienne van Heerden (Ancestral Voices; 30 Nights in Amsterdam), Rayda Jacobs (The Slave Book; Joonie), Mongane Wally Serote (Revelations; Rumours), and Ronnie Govender (Song of the Atman; The Lahnee’s Pleasure) – to analyse these authors’ nostalgic treatment of the past as complementing their explorations of the anxieties of the present. Much of South African literature deals with the past, and postcolonial themes predominate: e.g. dislocation, diaspora, hybridity, ambivalence, home, identity, and belonging. Many authors dealing with issues of the past write nostalgically about it: either fondly, or with a sense of yearning, even though the past that is examined might have been turbulent and traumatic. However, this does not necessarily mean that their representations of the past are superficial or sentimental. On the contrary, nostalgic writers grapple with the paradoxical emotions associated with longed-for times and places. The term ‘nostalgia’ has often been misunderstood as an unreliable or biased form of memory. This is not always the case: the conventional understanding of nostalgia as ‘bitter-sweet’ gives the first clue as to the tensions inherent in its complex and nuanced texture. It is misleading to take nostalgia at its ‘sweet’ face-value only without also exploring its ‘bitter’ counterpart, as current research indicates. This study applies the concept of ‘nostalgia’ as a complex conceptual and analytical tool within recent debates in postcolonial literary study. In my investigation, I draw especially on Boym’s (2001) distinction between ‘restorative’ vs ‘reflective’ nostalgia, as well as on Medalie’s (2010) differentiation between ‘evolved’ vs ‘unreflecting’ nostalgia. I have also made intenstive use of related postcolonial concepts – such as ‘space and identity’ and ‘trauma and haunting’ – to inform my analysis. Finally, this study illustrates that contemporary writers can harness nostalgia as a positive force; and that instances of nostalgia, if critically applied and analysed, can unearth submerged memories and help transform trauma into meaning, thus providing fresh points of entry towards a reimagined future.