Reconciliation Discourse: The case of the Truth and Reconciliation CommissionThis volume is a research monograph analysing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from an ethnographic/linguistic point of view. The central proposition of this book is that the TRC can be regarded as a mechanism that leads to the hegemony of specific discourses, thus excercising power. The analysis illustrates how, through a certain type of reconciliation discourse constructed at the TRC hearings, a reconciliation-oriented reality took shape in post-TRC South Africa. Basically, the study points to the long-term implications a truth commission can exert on a traumatised post-conflict society. The book is unique on several levels: TRC discourse is explored in-depth on the basis of personal stories from TRC testifiers; a combination of Poststructuralist and Critical Discourse Analysis approaches form the theoretical foundations; and an extensive bibliography provides an impressive database of TRC publications. |
From inside the book
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Page 4
... specific discursive patterns could be distinguished — discursive patterns based on external rules, but also patterns that were constructed at the HRV site itself. These patterns emerged significantly through the dynamic of relations ...
... specific discursive patterns could be distinguished — discursive patterns based on external rules, but also patterns that were constructed at the HRV site itself. These patterns emerged significantly through the dynamic of relations ...
Page 8
... specific event; (3) a truth commission is a temporary body, typically in operation for six months to two years, and completing its work with the submission of a report; and (4) these commissions are officially sanctioned, authorised and ...
... specific event; (3) a truth commission is a temporary body, typically in operation for six months to two years, and completing its work with the submission of a report; and (4) these commissions are officially sanctioned, authorised and ...
Page 16
... specific responsibility of the RRC. The RRC consisted of five commissioners and five committee members and its head offices were located in Iohannesburg. The RRC was soon confronted with two difficult issues: it was not at all clear who ...
... specific responsibility of the RRC. The RRC consisted of five commissioners and five committee members and its head offices were located in Iohannesburg. The RRC was soon confronted with two difficult issues: it was not at all clear who ...
Page 26
... specific definition of discourse that I will use in this work. In its day-to-day running, the most common discourse used at the TRC was that of legal discourse: the setting at the hearings resembled a courtroom setting and terminology ...
... specific definition of discourse that I will use in this work. In its day-to-day running, the most common discourse used at the TRC was that of legal discourse: the setting at the hearings resembled a courtroom setting and terminology ...
Page 36
... specific rules and practices that cannot be superposed. (2002: 145) He continues by saying: we have in the density of discursive practices, systems that establish statements as events (with their own conditions and domains of appearance) ...
... specific rules and practices that cannot be superposed. (2002: 145) He continues by saying: we have in the density of discursive practices, systems that establish statements as events (with their own conditions and domains of appearance) ...
Contents
1 | |
7 | |
31 | |
4 The sample | 43 |
5 Layering and HRV discour | 53 |
6 Reconciliation discourse truth and society | 141 |
62 A multilayered reconciliation discourse in South African reality | 155 |
7 Exercising power through discourse | 167 |
8 Towards a conclusion | 185 |
References | 193 |
Index | 229 |
The series Discourse Approaches to Politics Society and Culture | 239 |
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Common terms and phrases
a-typical African National Congress Afrikaans Alex Boraine amnesty apartheid past apartheid victims archons audience Bambiso Beck Blommaert Boraine Buthelezi Cape Town code switching concept conflict constructed Critical Discourse Analysis David Philip Publishers defined definitely diflerent Discourse Analysis emotional explicitly expressed final find findings first forgiveness Foucault groups historical HRV Committee HRV discourse HRV hearings Human Rights Violations ideal testifiers identified identity ideology influence institution interpretation Iohannesburg language layering liberation movement linguistic Mandela MANTHATA master narrative national unity Nelson Mandela officials ofthe TRC perpetrators police political Reconciliation Commission reconciliation discourse reconciliation in South reconciliation-oriented Reflections reparations SABC Siko social South Africa South African society specific statements stories stress struggle talk term reconciliation testifying victims testimony tion tortured traumatic TRC Act TRC archive TRC process TRC Report 1998 TRC’s Truth and Reconciliation Truth Commission Tutu ubuntu University Press Villa-Vicencio Whitfield