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Abstract
In the New South Africa, Afrikaner identity is an ongoing area of contestation. During Apartheid, the boundaries for a “uniform,” white Afrikaner identity were established through extreme Afrikaner nationalism and fiercely guarded by the Apartheid government—the National Party. Since the dismantling of Apartheid and the transition of state power from the National Party to the African National Congress, however, the mechanisms for guarding a nationalist Afrikaner identity have significantly declined. In 2003, Fokofpolisiekar , a post-punk Afrikaans band, came onto the scene, and through their musical endeavors joined the debate about Afrikaner identity. In this thesis, I considered the historical constructions of white Afrikaner identity, and asked the question: How do the works of Fokofpolisiekar deconstruct a homogeneous and nationalist Afrikaner identity and reconstruct a post-Apartheid, New South African, Afrikaner identity and narrative? I used grounded theory to establish major themes in their song texts, and extended this analysis to include their musical and visual texts for a holistic rhetorical analysis of their works. The major themes Fokofpolisiekar’s works addressed in relation to Afrikaner identity were: white supremacy, patriarchy, and Afrikaner religious values and ideals. It was found that the works of Fokofpolisiekar greatly deconstructed a homogeneous and nationalist Afrikaner identity, and to a much lesser extent reconstructed a post-Apartheid Afrikaner identity and narrative.
