Wounded citizenship

The Post-Colonial City and Poor Whites

Bibliographic Data

ID2186854
AuthorsOctavia Sibanda (0000-0001-8320-2641, University of Fort Hare, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume41
Issue1
Pages15-24
Publication date2018-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropology Southern Africa (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2332-3264 • E-ISSN: 2332-3256
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23323256.2017.1406809
OpenAlexW2796264375
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited27

This paper focuses on wounds inflicted on poor whites in South Africa by the post-colonial city emanating from a changing socio-political and economic landscape. Contrary to the general assumption that the modern city project “historically embraced whites and continues to do so,” I argue that poor whites have been bruised and wounded by the post-colonial city. I make a case that neo-liberalism as well as political changes have presented poor whites with something new and unpleasant, thereby leading to experiences of rejection, shame and uncertainty. The paradox of these experiences is that, while poor whites bear the historical shame of being part of the initial “wounders,” they also carry the identity of the “wounded” in contemporary South Africa. However, white poverty and white dispossession are often trivialised in the South African context, thereby making it “invisible.” In this paper, I highlight how poor whites carry a “wounded citizenship” in post-apartheid South Africa

Citizenship · Colonialism · Criminology · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · History · Law · Race, History, and American Society