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A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa.
Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2013
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| _version_ | 1867613625682755584 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Timm, Victoria Margaret |
| author_browse | Timm, Victoria Margaret |
| author_facet | Timm, Victoria Margaret |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2013 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/32546 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:07.647Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateRange | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/32546 A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa. Timm, Victoria Margaret flipw1@yahoo.co.uk Wessels, Philippus Jacobus Psychology UCTD Social identities Social constructionism Discourse analysis Retired White Male Afrikaner Ex-servicemen South African Defence Force (SADF) Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. This qualitative study, located within a postmodern and social constructionist framework, explores how the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military South African Defence Force (SADF) servicemen are constructed in South Africa. It considers how retired white Afrikaner ex-military South African Defence Force (SADF) servicemen have chosen to define and experience their social identities in view of the transformed political, socio-cultural and economic landscape and dominant discourses to which they have had to adjust. The literature review describes the multiple, dynamic and socially constructed nature of identities, traces the reciprocal relationship between the individual and society, relates identity formation to the various social category memberships subscribed to by research participants, and elucidates the role of language in the construction of social identities. In this study, ‘discursive threads’ of race (whiteness), culture (Afrikaans traditions, language, practices), gender (masculinity), role status (retiree, ex-soldier) were all woven together by the multiplicity of meanings contained in drawn-upon discourses, which constructed the social identities of research participants. Social identity can be viewed as a compromise between assimilation with and differentiation from others, where the need for similarity is satisfied within ingroups, while the need for distinctiveness is met through inter-group comparison. Discourse analysis was used to analyse the texts produced during semi-structured interviews with five research participants. Additionally, the discursive psychological concepts of action orientation (and positioning were used to explore how temporal, multiple and fluid social identities of participants were constructed by their use of language and invocation of supporting, opposing and overlapping discourses. From the discourse analysis, five discourses were identified as being realised in the texts, namely: a discourse of discipline; a discourse of ‘same-ness’; a discourse of ‘different-ness’; a discourse of ‘loss’: “Old Soldiers never die; they just fade away”; and a discourse of ‘camaraderie’: “Esprit de Corps”. The participants’ accounts have highlighted the complexity, fluidity and multiplicity of identities and the impact of dominant discourses on the reciprocal relationships between individuals, groups and society. This study contributes significantly to the existing knowledge regarding white retired ex-servicemen of the SADF in South Africa by offering insights into how this ingroup defines, re-defines, negotiates and maintains its social identities in accordance with and in reaction to dominant discourses of the past and present. Psychology unrestricted 2013-11-21T06:26:57Z 2013-11-21T06:26:57Z 2014 2013 Dissertation Wessels, PJ 2013, A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd<http://hdl.handle.net/2263/32546> C14/4/98/gm http://hdl.handle.net/2263/32546 en © 2013 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Psychology UCTD Social identities Social constructionism Discourse analysis Retired White Male Afrikaner Ex-servicemen South African Defence Force (SADF) A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa. |
| title | A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa. |
| title_full | A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa. |
| title_fullStr | A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa. |
| title_full_unstemmed | A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa. |
| title_short | A construction of the social identities of retired white Afrikaner ex-military (SADF) servicemen in South Africa. |
| title_sort | construction of the social identities of retired white afrikaner ex military sadf servicemen in south africa |
| topic | Psychology UCTD Social identities Social constructionism Discourse analysis Retired White Male Afrikaner Ex-servicemen South African Defence Force (SADF) |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/32546 |