Representing bushman: South African and the origin of language

Representing Bushmen draws on the work of Jacques Derrida, Edward Said, and Martin Bernal to show how the study of language was integral to the formation of racial discrimination in South Afrrica. Author Shane Moran demonstrates the central role of literary history to the cultural racism and ideology that fed into apartheid by tracing the ethno-aesthetic figuration of the Bushemen in W.H.I. Bleek's theory of the origin of language. Moran examines the gestation of colonial ideology and provocatively traces aspects of the post-apartheid rhetoric of commemoration and national unity t their colonialist roots. This detailed and compelling volume contributes significantly to current trends in post-apartheid scholarship. Moran emphaizes the need for a cautious interrogation of the colonial archive and scrutiny of critical discourses used by the would-be postcolonial intellectual, and poses a timely challenge to those committed to exorcising the legacy.