DATA ANALYSIS: THE NATURE OF HERITAGE IN SELECTED GRADE 10 HISTORY TEXTBOOKS
4.1 Introduction
4.3.4 Interpretation of heritage in case studies
This section provides an interpretation of the representation of heritage as described in the previous section above. Table 4.5 captures the interpretation of the nature of heritage representation based on the benchmarks provided for analysis. Nonetheless, the analysis also included aspects of heritage representation not provided by the benchmarks but important for understanding post-conflict societies such as issues of gender, race, class and geography. This textbook presentation is mostly source-based and dominated by visuals, in the form of pictures, and is supported by sources and activities. In spite of this, as previously explained, the analysis remained true to the focus of this study which is an analysis of the textual representation that excludes both the visuals and their captions. Generally speaking, heritage is almost absent in the text of this book which poses a challenge in that the visuals fall beyond the analysis framework for this study as explained in chapter 3.
Table 4.5 below represents the data from Shuters history. Grade 10. Learner’s book, captured under the indicators of the conceptual framework for this study.
Table 4.5 Interpretation of heritage in case studies – Shuters history. Grade 10. Learner’s book
Indicators Signifiers/lexicons Tangible, Intangible,
or IN-Tangible heritage
Natural heritage N/A N/A
Cultural
heritage Symbolic-identity heritage
-Names
-Public holidays -Heroes of the past -Historical events -Oral history
Intangible heritage
-Ship wrecks -Secret sites
-Sites IN-Tangible heritage
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-Robben Island Museum -Natal Museum
-South African Museum -National Monument Council
-Historical Monuments Commission -South African Heritage Resources -Natural history museums
-Social history museums -Buildings
-Military history museums -Rock art
-Photographs
-Paintings and drawings
IN-Tangible heritage
Scientific- technological
heritage -N/A N/A
Ethnological heritage
-Khoisan -El Negro
-Saartjie Baartman -Zulu People -Bushmen -Mapungubwe
Intangible heritage
Natural heritage is not evident in this textbook and is omitted in the conceptualisation.
Subsequently the case studies make no mention of this heritage benchmark. With the absence of natural heritage representation in the textbook, the case studies simply focus on cultural heritage. Table 4.5 points to a detailed representation of all the forms of cultural heritage, that is, symbolic-identity, ethnological and to some extent scientific- technological heritage.
Symbolic-identity heritage manifests itself in the category of names, public holidays, historical events, oral history, ship wrecks, heroes, and secret sites. This category also features a list of museums and monuments given as examples of heritage. which includes the Robben Island Museum; the Natal Museum; the South African Museum;
natural history museums; South African heritage resources; social history museums;
and military history museums. These museums are presented as being symbolic in terms of their ability to preserve the heritage and history of a people.
Even though not categorised separately in Table 4.5, scientific-technological heritage is evident in the text with examples such as rock art; photographs; and paintings and drawings advanced to reflect this form of heritage. All the above mentioned signifiers
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contain elements that render them eligible in this category such as the science and technological skills involved in their productions. For example whilst rock art is symbolic in determining the Khoi lifestyle and identity, it simultaneously shows “their wisdom and understanding of the natural world, their knowledge of plant and animal life, and their skill and artistry” (Dlamini et al., 2005, p. 315).
Ethnologically, heritage is represented in the textbook through the examples of the Khoisan and Zulu people, El Negro and Saartjie Baartman, as well as the examples of Great Zimbabwe, the Bushmen and Mapungubwe.
Evidently, the categories are not very rigid because of the general difficulties involved with classifications. It will therefore be possible to find some indicators that could be contained in other categories. As a result it can be deduced that heritage in this textbook is a body of knowledge rather than a concept.
The analysis of content of the text also revealed that in terms of geography, this textbook’s focus is on South Africa and the southern region of Africa. This is largely due to the interest in representing the heritage of the Khoisan people. An interpretation of this could be seen as an attempt to portray a type of social history that seeks to give voice to the voiceless or to speak for the disempowered. For this reason, southern African countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa are cited because of their links with the activities of the Khoisan people. For example, the rock art sites recorded in this region are valuable in understanding the Khoisan life style.
Apart from the Khoisan people, southern Africa is also represented through the depiction of the Great Zimbabwe ruins, the ancient civilisation of Mapungubwe as well as the South African Coat of Arms. The absence of international examples to illustrate heritage, is indicative of this textbook’s purpose to expose Grade 10 learners to pre- colonial southern African regional heritage as opposed to a universal heritage.
Issues of gender are minimally represented in the text by means of reference to Saartjie Baartman. In this case, reference to Khoisan people, Zulu people, Great Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe and the indigenous people could be taken to indiscriminately imply the men and women of these societies. However, in the case of museum displays, the choice of El Negro and Saartjie Baartman who are male and female respectively,
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suggest an attempt to balance the representation of gender. As a result, it can be concluded that this textbook attempts to show a heritage that is free of gender bias.
The heritage/history partnership and controversy identified in the conceptual analysis is also evident in the case studies contained in this book. The language used in the text denotes that heritage cannot be divorced from historical language which is exemplified by the use of lexicons like “oral history” and “historical events” as part of heritage (Dlamini et al., 2005, pp. 308 & 312). Both examples are established forms of history, and their use in the text to illustrate heritage makes it difficult to distinguish the history and the heritage elements in them and also furthers the debate about their (inter)relationship. The most noticeable characteristic of history used in the text is historical time as the entire text is entrenched in the effects of historical time on people and on communities. The heritage represented in the different case studies, whether in the form of photographs, drawings, paintings, museums, monuments, names or rock art, is only a present day re-enactment of events that happened in historic times and this shows the dishevelled and entwined nature of the heritage/history relationship in this book.
Even though the race and space analysis showed a limitation on the heritage of the black population especially the Khoisan of South Africa and the entire southern African sub region, the choice of pronouns used in the case studies suggests an inclination towards a shared and inclusive heritage. This is exemplified by the reference to “our heritage” in almost all the case study titles. Paradoxically, the level of inclusiveness is not elucidated, leaving the learners with doubts on whose text is referred to as “our”.
This is compounded by the fact that the text speaks of different kinds of heritages. For instance Dlamini et al (2005, p. 300) mention other forms of heritages such as family heritage and South African heritage. Considering the racial ambiguities noticed in the analysis, the notion of a South African heritage becomes contentious. Is South African heritage the heritage of the black people of South Africa and the Khoisan people or it is the heritage of multiracial and multicultural South African society? It can therefore be concluded that fundamentally, this textbook appears to expose an ideal form of heritage that is shared and inclusive. However, the analysis of the textual content shows a heritage representation that is generally in favour of the black people, and
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geographically limited to South Africa as a country and the southern region of the African continent.