J. M. Coetzee
Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1940
Naturalized as an Australian citizen in 2002
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003
In what ways—and for what reasons—does it make sense
to think of Coetzee as a South African writer?
(After all, he is a naturalized citizen of Australia, where he has
lived for decades.)
In what ways, and for what reasons, does it make sense to
think of Waiting for the Barbarians as a South African novel?
-> What is South Africa, anyway?
Like many African nations that were colonized by Europeans during the
16th-19th centuries, South Africa has a history marked
by violent takeovers.
Before 1652 South Africa is settled by indigenous San and
Khoikhoi people. Nomadic hunters begin to settle farms.
1652-1852
The Dutch and the British take turns governing South
Africa; both nations build colonial infrastructures.
1852
The British grant limited self-control to the Transvaal
(the northern region of South Africa).
1867
Diamonds are discovered! Everyone wants them.
1877-79
The British annex Transvaal, fight off Zulus and Dutch.
1880-81
The Dutch and British begin a war that lasts until 1902.
1885
Gold is discovered! Everybody wants it.
.
During the first half of the 20th century, Afrikaners
(South Africans descended from the British and Dutch) dominate
black South Africans with increasingly repressive legislation.
1910 Formation of the Union of South Africa joins British and Dutch.
1912 African National Congress is founded to represent black citizens.
1914, 1918 National Party and Secret Broederbond are founded to
fight for Afrikaner causes.
1940: Coetzee was born in Cape Town to Afrikaner Parents
1948
1950
National Party rises to power and institutes policy of apartheid
(separateness).
All citizens are classified by race, and the Group Areas Act
formalizes segregation.
1951:
The Bantu Authorities Act makes makes black South Africans citizens of their
“homelands” or districts rather than of the nation, so they can no longer vote in national
elections.
They also become obligated to carry “passbooks” that indicate their race and homeland, and
their travel is restricted.
Apartheid created inequity that deepened
over the twentieth century. Black South Africans were kept out of
the nation’s economic prosperity and political power.
Apartheid was abolished in 1989, but it created a nation that was
deeply unequal in every way.
Efforts to rebalance the economic and educational systems have
been complex and only partially successful.
When Coetzee won the Jerusalem Prize in
1987, he accepted it by distancing himself
from his nation, its politics, and its literary
traditions:
“South African literature is a literature in
bondage. It is a less than fully human
literature. It is exactly the kind of literature
you would expect people to write from
prison.”