The first full-length study of slave memory in the South African context, this examines the relevance and effects of slave memory for contemporary negotiations of South African gendered and racialised identities. It reads memory as one way of processing t
"What is slavery to me?" is the first full-length study of slave memory in the South African context. It examines the relevance and effects of slave memory for contemporary negotiations of South African gendered as well as racial identities. It draws from feminist, postcolonial and memory studies and is therefore interdisciplinary in approach. It reads memory as one way of processing this past, and interprets a variety of cultural, literary and filmic texts to ascertain the particular experiences in relation to slave pasts being fashioned, processed and disseminated.
What is slavery to me? extends memory studies in South Africa, provokes new lines of inquiry, and develops new frameworks through which to think about slavery and memory in South Africa.
Pumla Dineo Gqola is associate professor of literary, media and gender studies at the School of Literature and Language Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
