Facing a Fragmented Past

Memory, Culture and Politics in Namibia

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4604473
AutoresReinhart Kößler (University of Münster, autor correspondente)
Ano2007
Volume33
Fascículo2
Páginas361-382
Data de publicação2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057070701292640
OpenAlexW2064248602
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas34

The creation of public memory, including official readings of history, involves various actors, including civil society. In a postcolonial situation, one that still prevails in Namibia, these actors draw on diverse memory contents and rely on grossly unequal means to promote them. This takes place against the background of a fragmented past, the consequence of a uniquely divided colonial experience, with settler colonialism in the south and centre, and indirect rule in the northern regions. On the one hand, this regional problem is highlighted by the official discourse on the liberation movement, which greatly privileges the military aspect. On the other hand, communal memory practices in the south and centre refer to the pivotal experience of the colonial war and genocide in 1904–8. Associated claims have gained momentum through the centennial of 2004, but in its aftermath, cleavages, particularly between various Herero groups, have also persisted. At the same time, the official vision of the past is validated by government insistence on unity, also in relation to Herero claims for German reparations for the genocide. This has created an impasse that once again underscores the processual, controversial and manifold nature of the process through which public memory is defined and negotiated

Development economics · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Politics of memory · Sociology · Gender Studies · German Colonialism and Identity Studies · Law