Reordering the Past: Monuments and Architectural Heritage in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Résumé 0

This paper considers how the current drive to expand and reassess the symbolic landscape of memory contributes to the construction of a new national identity in post-apartheid South Africa. Every new political order forms a group identity through a process of selective remembering and invention of usable pasts. The most significant aspect of this process is the forging of a compelling foundation myth, which traces the roots and defines the beginning of the new order. This paper argues that the key myth of origin of the post-apartheid state and the basis of present-day South African national identity is the “Struggle” for liberation, which includes resistance against all forms of colonial oppression. This underlying grand narrative forms the basis for the identification of new heritage sites, the selection of buildings to be protected, and the selection of events and persons commemorated through the construction of new museums, memorials, monuments, and public statuary.