HERITAGE FORMATION AND THE SENSES IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA, aesthetics of power

204pp., illus., paperback, Abingdon & New York, 2020

"Concentrating on Freedom Park, the Sunday Times Heritage Project, the Vuvuzela and the politics of commemorative days, this is a timely study of heritage formation in South Africa that emphasises senses and sensibilities, the politics of authentication and an 'aesthetics of persuasion'. It adds substantially to the field of heritage in South Africa, and also draws attention to the significance experience, embodiment and smell for understanding heritage." Ciraj Rassool, University of the Western Cape

"Taking the senses as point of departure in analyzing 21st-century heritage politics in South-Africa, Duane Jethro has set out an admirably persuasive study. Grounded in anthropology, art history, material culture and memory studies, Jethro’s sensuous case-studies intertwine the lingering presence of apartheid with today’s nationalism, popular culture, the market and the involvement of diverse, engaged publics. The author’s innovative approach reaches well beyond a merely scholarly interest in South-Africa." Irene Stengs, Meertens Institute, the Netherlands

Duane Jethro is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Anthropological Research on Museums and Heritage, Humboldt University, Berlin.