How can we account for the apparent increase in ethnic violence across the globe? Donald L. Donham develops a methodology for understanding violence that shows why this question needs to be recast. He examines an incident that occurred at a South African gold mine at the moment of the 1994 elections that brought apartheid to a close. Black workers ganged up on the Zulus among them; killing two and injuring many more. While nearly everyone came to characterize the conflict as “ethnic;†Donham argues that heightened ethnic identity was more an outcome of the violence than its cause. Based on his careful reconstruction of events; he contends that the violence was not motivated by hatred of an ethnic other. It emerged; rather; in ironic ways; as capitalist managers gave up apartheid tactics and as black union activists took up strategies that departed from their stated values. National liberation; as it actually occurred; was gritty; contradictory; and incomplete. Given unusual access to the mine; Donham comes to this conclusion based on participant observation; review of extensive records; and interviews conducted over the course of a decade. Violence in a Time of Liberation is a kind of murder mystery that reveals not only who did it but also the ways that narratives of violence; taken up by various media; create ethnic violence after the fact.
#3848265 in Books Duke University Press 1975PDF # 1 #File Name: 0822303310173 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. View from the trenchesBy Rodgers L. HarperVery different perspective on the Civil War through the letters of a fellow who participated in most of the major battles. Focus is on his personal experience and feelings and light on strategic view of the battle; but useful addition to a rounded view of the war from a foot soldier's view.
