The Department of Dutch and South African Studies is pleased to announce the Guest Lecture by Prof. Willie Burger — Head of the Department of Afrikaans, University of Pretoria. The lecture entitled “From Dutch Diaries to Cape Rap: a concise history of Afrikaans literature” will take place on the 29th of May 2025 at 4.45 pm in Room 238.
Abstract
This lecture will trace the history of Afrikaans literature. It starts with a story of origins rooted in the “mongrelisation” of languages and cultures – of displaced people trying to put down roots in a new contact zone where no single taproot of shared language, culture, or history exists, but where a creolising process unfolds. It is followed by the development of an established Afrikaans literary discourse during the first 60 years of the 20th century – a period that saw an uncertain start of playful rhymes and stories in an unofficial language developing into an Afrikaans literature in an official language and with internationally renowned authors. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the pursuit of a singular, exclusive Afrikaans literary tradition was increasingly challenged by growing awareness of race, gender, and class and changes in literary theory, but also radical changes in the world order (end of the Cold War, globalisation, consequences of decolonisation). The new century brought many changes: It is a time in which new media shift the landscape and open up creative new possibilities, alongside changing conceptions of Afrikaans (and indeed the concept of a “national” literature), of what counts as literature, and of the role of the humanities more broadly.
About the speaker
Prof. Willie Burger is well-known in literary circles in South Africa and can be regarded as an expert on the Afrikaans and South African novel. Prof. Burger's presentations on the Afrikaans writer André P. Brink’s oeuvre and historical writing in South Africa were both insightful and entertaining, and presented students and staff with in-depth and relevant views on modern South African literature. Prose writing by Karel Schoeman, Dan Sleigh and Jacob Dlamini also featured prominently in his exploration of novelistic approaches to a contested history. Over the past 20 years, Prof. Burger has reviewed around 300 books in various dailies and magazines. As an award-winning reviewer, he tries to spread literary research beyond the borders of academia.