Abstract

By utilizing conceptions of hegemony, discourse and "the Other" I provide an alternative framework for reading South African political history. During the four centuries of white domination in South Africa, "Non-white inhabitants" were constructed in the dominant discourses as the generalized "Other." More precisely, the subaltern was constructed as the "savage Other," the "ethnic/tribal Other," and "laboring Other." I argue that these discourses constituted "the tradition" of the dominant group and, as such, it pervaded the thinking practices and institutions of South African society, structuring the state and civil society. The organizations articulating counter-discourses constructed an alternative tradition, reversing the heroes and villains in the story presented by the dominant group. I locate the subaltern in the "in-between;"--between the dominant and resistance discourses. The politics and collective identities of the subaltern involves negotiating between these two sets of discourses. The subjective position that they assume depends on the balance of political forces in the ongoing struggles between the dominant and themselves. Their location between dominant and resistance discourses manifests itself in at times contradictory but always complex subjectivity. This dissertation traces and interprets the history of these dominant and counter-discourses and the constitution of dominant and dominated subjects in South Africa. Though this topic is well researched, the originality of my theoretical intervention lies in the following areas. First, deconstructing dominant and resistance discourses as they relate to our understanding of collective identity. Second, problematizing collective identities in South Africa, especially the constructs of "race," ethnicity, and class. Third, formulating a discursive understanding of hegemony and resistance by combining Gramsci's notion of hegemony with Foucault's understanding of the operation of power as discourses. Fourth, presenting a critique of the existing historiography, Marxist and Liberal, by demonstrating that discourse analysis presents a more nuanced interpretation and explanation of the changes from Segregation to Apartheid and the relationship between racism and capitalism in South Africa