Articulation and Recognition of San Firstness in Southern Africa and the Contestation Over Citizenship
Articulation and Recognition of San Firstness in Southern Africa and the Contestation Over Citizenship
- Nhamo Anthony Mhiripiri, Nhamo Anthony MhiripiriDepartment of Media, Communication, Film and Theatre, University of Zimbabwe
- Keyan TomaselliKeyan TomaselliDepartment of Communication Studies, University of Johannesburg
- , and Julie GrantJulie GrantDepartment of Communication Studies, University of Johannesburg
Summary
Different groups of contemporary San or “Bushmen” peoples in southern Africa have a different status. Bantu and White Europeans’ subjugation and marginalization of the San over the past centuries has traceable influences on the way that the San have been represented and are perceived in the public consciousness. Public perceptions are often based on what the mass media present as San identities. This also has implications on the way different countries recognize them as people and as citizens. In the best of situations, they have at least been accorded the status of First Nation within the multiracial and multiethnic modern nation-state. At worst, they lack recognition and are stateless or without citizenship.
Keywords
Subjects
- Race, Ethnicity, and Communication