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The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2024.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613850572947456 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Visser, Danel |
| author2 | Van der Rede, Lauren |
| author_browse | Van der Rede, Lauren Visser, Danel |
| author_facet | Van der Rede, Lauren Visser, Danel |
| author_sort | Visser, Danel |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2024. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/131967 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:42:41.823Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/131967 The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land Visser, Danel Van der Rede, Lauren Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Genocide in literature Victims in literature Psychic trauma in literature Rwanda -- History -- Civil War, 1994 Namibia -- History -- Herero Revolt, 1904-1907 UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2024. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The selected novels in this thesis represent perpetrators and victims of the Rwandan genocide and the genocide of the Herero and Nama people. Together with this, each novel illustrates human right atrocities that amount to genocide at the hands of offenders. This thesis is informed by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Raphael Lemkin’s definition of genocide and Rwandan Organic Law. I also draw from the Reparations Case brought forward by the Herero Nation against the German government. This thesis argues that while these laws and descriptions are useful, they are limited in their scope. Further, I argue that the context is often more complex than initially perceived when looking at the Rwandan genocide and the genocide of the Herero and Nama people. The first work pertaining to the Rwandan genocide is Running the Rift (2010) by Naomi Benaron. The novel is narrated by Jean Patrick, a young Tutsi boy. As he grows up, his perspective shines a light on the building tension between the Hutu and Tutsi people. A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (2004) by Gil Courtemanche is concerned with the Rwandan genocide as well. The book is told from the perspective of a Canadian journalist, Valcourt. While residing in Rwanda, he witnesses the tension between the Hutu and the Tutsi people reach boiling point. Further, the first novel centred on the genocide of the Herero and Nama people is Mama Namibia (2017) by Mari Serebrov. It is narrated by a young Herero girl, Jahohora, whose perspective shows the atrocities committed by the colonial German army. The Lie of the Land (2017) by Jaspar D. Utley is the second novel that explores the Namibian genocide. Sam, a British spy, narrates his experiences while traveling with a German troop in South-West Africa, now Namibia. He watches the colonial German army perpetrate the genocide of the Herero and Nama people. I analyse the depictions of perpetrators and victims in these four selected novels, drawing from the provided descriptions. I analyse characters who fall outside the idea of victimhood textured by the crime of genocide in this context, while also exploring characters who push against the label of perpetrator. Characters who show the limits of the description of an offender, is explored as well. Finally, in comparing the texts centred on the Rwandan genocide with those concerned with the genocide of the Herero and Nama people, I highlight differences and similarities in their portrayals of perpetrator and victims. This thesis aims to add to the discourse regarding genocide, international law and human rights abuses which inform the analysis of these works of fiction. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar. Masters 2025-05-02T12:12:25Z 2025-05-02T12:12:25Z 2024-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/131967 en Stellenbosch University 103 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Genocide in literature Victims in literature Psychic trauma in literature Rwanda -- History -- Civil War, 1994 Namibia -- History -- Herero Revolt, 1904-1907 UCTD Visser, Danel The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land |
| title | The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land |
| title_full | The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land |
| title_fullStr | The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land |
| title_short | The Rwandan and Namibian genocides in selected novels : a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in Running the rift, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, Mama Namibia and The lie of the land |
| title_sort | rwandan and namibian genocides in selected novels a comparative analysis of perpetrators and victims in running the rift a sunday at the pool in kigali mama namibia and the lie of the land |
| topic | Genocide in literature Victims in literature Psychic trauma in literature Rwanda -- History -- Civil War, 1994 Namibia -- History -- Herero Revolt, 1904-1907 UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/131967 |
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