Afrikaans

In this article the relationship between history and fiction is examined in response to the historian, Fransjohan Pretorius's criticism of recent Afrikaans fiction about the Anglo Boer War. The intricate relationship between history and fiction is examined by pointing, on the one hand to the problematic of the relationship between history and the past and on the one hand, and to the difference between fiction and history. The function of aesthetic illusion, verisimilitude and conceptions of reference is investigated theoretically before turning to the specific novels that Pretorius discusses. The article shows that historical fiction cannot be restricted to novelized versions of accepted history, but that historical fiction also reminds the reader of the fact that the past is always culturally mediated and that the primary aim of novels is not to represent the past but to examine aspects of human existence. A comparison between fiction and history can therefore not be used as a norm to assess novels

Clear cut distinctions between “popular fiction” / genre fiction / formula literature on the one hand and “High Literature” on the other hand have often been challenged during the past few decades as a result of, among other reasons, the growing rejection of the “humanist paradigm” since the 1960’s and the rapid expansion of the availability of popular entertainment through electronic media. This distinction between popular fiction and “Literature” is analysed from the point of readers’ expectations that vary, on a continuum between extreme escapism to the expectation to have one’s understanding of the world challenged. Various possibilities for the writer to address these expectations are proposed with reference to examples.

In conclusion, we include a critical-reflective analysis of the Who-am-I? learning experience, and recommend some changes. Keywords: applied competence, language development, narratives of the self, text linguistics, language in context, Labov's narrative analysis. Sleutelwoorde: toegepaste bevoegdheid, taalontwikkeling, narratiewe oor die self, tekslinguistiek, taal in konteks, Labov se narratiewe ontleding.

Breyten Breytenbach’s Boek: language (poetry) as feelinginstrument to explore consciousness One of the big questions of science is the mystery of consciousness. How is it possible that a state of consciousness, an awareness of your own being and actions, can originate from matter, from the movement of neurons in nerve tissue? While neuroscience does not have answers to these questions (yet), the subjective exploration of consciousness by means of works of art, could make a valuable contribution. Breyten Breytenbach explicitly views his art (writing and painting) as ways to investigate consciousness. In “Boek” (1987) Breytenbach explains his views on art. In this complex work, he focusses, among other aspects, on the idea that the work of art, at a specific moment, produces an “other”, a meaning that has not hitherto existed somewhere, waiting to be discovered. This hitherto unknown meaning comes into existence in the moment of creation. The creative moment in which the hitherto unkn...

Travel as the undermining of master narratives: The journeys of Ratkas and Isobelle Travelling usually leads to changed perspectives. The traveller becomes aware that his/her own perspective on reality is not the only valid perspective. In this article two Afrikaans novels in which travel is of central importance are examined to determine the manner in which these travels serve to undermine master narratives. Travels do not necessarily lead to a proliferation of perspectives and a postmodernist distrust of master narratives. In Die ryk van die rawe the traveller does not succeed in gaining a new perspective at all, while in Die reise van Isobelle, one master narrative is replaced by another - corresponding with Caren Kaplen's idea that master narratives are needed in order to change society.

Die Tand van die Tyd • Opstelle opgedra aan Jac Conradie uitgegee deur Sun MeDia Stellenbosch Kopiereg © 2009 aFriCan Sun MeDia alle regte voorbehou. geen gedeelte van hierdie boek mag sonder die skriftelike toestemming van die uitgewer gereproduseer of in enige vorm ...