The short story in South Africa post-2000: Critical reflections on a genre in transition

Abstract

This editorial offers critical reflections on short story writing in South Africa post-2000. Against the background of critical scholarship on the short story form and thematic trends of short story anthologies since the late 1980s, we argue that short story criticism on apartheid as well as contemporary South African short story writing has consistently emphasized the genre’s disposition to capture the fragmented realities of socio-political transitions in the country. Critics have frequently observed a shift from the overtly politicized short story of the 1970s and 1980s to a return to a more literary and modernist aesthetics in the present. In this special issue, we intend to complicate this reading by mapping out other trajectories the short story has taken in recent years, which point toward the emergence of more popular subgenres such as speculative fiction, crime fiction, and erotic fiction. Short stories also increasingly examine and challenge conventional sexuality and/or gender-based norms.

Stylising agency, identity and solidarities in South African English language classrooms

“…Essa and Mendelowitz (2022) argue that language should apply multiple modes, or multimodalities in the parlance of Blommaert and Horner (2017), so that learners are not limited to the visuality of print-based material but concurrently exposed to performance-based story-reading and storytelling. Different cognitive levels of questions should be applied as they inaugurate interaction between learners and text, generating spaces for self-directed learning (Fasselt, et al, 2020). Questions which are well-designed lead to new perceptions, trigger discussions, and develop understanding of the subject matter.…”

NILAI LINGKUNGAN DALAM CERPEN “APAKAH RUMAH KITA AKAN TENGGELAM” KARYA ANAS S MALO MELALUI TANGGAPAN MAHASISWA (KAJIAN EKOKRITIK) (Environmental Value in the Short Story “Apakah Rumah Kita Akan Tenggelam” by Anas S Malo through Student’s Responses (Ecocritical Study))

“…Cerpen dianggap ideal menangkap kepekaan masyarakat terhadap kondisi lingkungannya (Fasselt, et al, 2018;Murray, 2018). Penggubah karya sastra ada yang menjadikan lingkungan sebagai inspirasi kemudian direpresentasikan ke dalam bentuk cerpen (Juanda, 2018a(Juanda, , 2018bMhana, et al, 2019).…”

“…Penelitian ini bersifat sinkronik (sezaman) yang dapat dilihat dalam tanggapan mahasiswa yang berkaitan dengan kondisi lingkungan saat ini yang mengalami kerusakan. Salah satu kerusakan lingkungan akibat banyaknya pembukaan lahan pertambangan, sejalan penelitian Fasselt, et al (2018;Mhana, et al, 2019;Murray, 2018). Lingkungan sebagai sumber inspirasi bagi pengarang untuk selanjutnya dituangkan dalam bentuk karya sastra.…”