Like Family
Domestic Workers in South African History and Literature
Will be published approx. on 15. April 2019
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-77614-459-4 (ISBN)
Description
An analytic and historical perspective of literary texts to understand the position of domestic workers in South Africa
More than a million black South African women are domestic workers. Precariously situated between urban and rural areas, rich and poor, white and black, these women are at once intimately connected and at a distant remove from the families they serve. Ena Jansen shows that domestic worker relations in South Africa were shaped by the institution of slavery, establishing social hierarchies and patterns of behavior that persist today. To support her argument, Jansen examines the representation of domestic workers in a diverse range of texts in English and Afrikaans. Authors include Andre Brink, JM Coetzee, Imraan Coovadia, Nadine Gordimer, Elsa Joubert, Antjie Krog, Sindiwe Magona, Kopano Matlwa, Es'kia Mphahlele, Sisonke Msimang, Zukiswa Wanner and Zoe Wicomb. Like Family is an updated version of the award-winning Soos familie (2015) and the highly-acclaimed 2016 Dutch translation, Bijna familie.
More than a million black South African women are domestic workers. Precariously situated between urban and rural areas, rich and poor, white and black, these women are at once intimately connected and at a distant remove from the families they serve. Ena Jansen shows that domestic worker relations in South Africa were shaped by the institution of slavery, establishing social hierarchies and patterns of behavior that persist today. To support her argument, Jansen examines the representation of domestic workers in a diverse range of texts in English and Afrikaans. Authors include Andre Brink, JM Coetzee, Imraan Coovadia, Nadine Gordimer, Elsa Joubert, Antjie Krog, Sindiwe Magona, Kopano Matlwa, Es'kia Mphahlele, Sisonke Msimang, Zukiswa Wanner and Zoe Wicomb. Like Family is an updated version of the award-winning Soos familie (2015) and the highly-acclaimed 2016 Dutch translation, Bijna familie.
Reviews / Votes
"Like Family deepens our understanding of how the institution both reflects and reproduces the savage inequalities on which our society continues to be based." - Jacklyn Cock,author of Maids and Madams: A Study in the Politics of Exploitation "My hope is that Like Family leads to a national dialogue and a reassessment of domestic work. This is an important book for both maids and madams." - Sindiwe Magona, author of To My Children's ChildrenMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Johannesburg
South Africa
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
15 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
726 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-77614-459-4 (9781776144594)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ena Jansen was professor of South African literature at the University of Amsterdam until 2016.