Catherine M. Cole is Divisional Dean of the Arts and Professor of English and Dance at the University of Washington. Her most recent book, Performance and the Afterlives of Injustice (2020), received an Honorable Mention for the 2021 de la Torre Bueno Prize, awarded annually by the Dance Studies Association for a book published in the English language that advances the field of dance studies. Cole's other
The UW Libraries has many books related to the lecture. A few are listed below. To find more, use the UW Libraries Search database. Ask Us! if you need help with your research.
Domains of Freedom by
After 20 years of freedom in South Africa we have to ask ourselves difficult questions: are we willing to perpetuate a lie, search for facts or think wishfully? Freedom has been enabled by apartheid's end, but at the same time some of apartheid's key institutions and social relations are reproduced under the guise of 'democracy'. This collection of essays acknowledges the enormous expectations placed on the shoulders of the South African revolution to produce an alternative political regime in response to apartheid and global neo-liberalism.
Essays on the Evolution of the Post-Apartheid State by
This book critically examines the challenges, successes, and failures of the post-1994 South African state against the humane values enshrined in its constitution: nonracial democracy and respect for all generations of human rights--civil, political, social, economic, resources and the environment and gender and communication. The book sheds light on the difficulties faced by the State when trying to bring together a diverse society comprised of traditional South African, Western-based and "other" African (immigrant) cultures into a cohesive nation with a common South African identity. The views of the essays may not be entirely consistent and the issues they raise may be contentious. This merely affirms the truism that the State is a contested terrain. The aim of this book is to deepen the search for an understanding of the theory of the State as it applies to a transforming society such as ours and to trudge the dividing line between theory and practice so they can feed into each other in a progressive spiral towards the desired end-state.
From Apartheid to Democracy by
South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings can be considered one of the most significant rhetorical events of the late twentieth century. The TRC called language into action, tasking it with promoting understanding among a divided people and facilitating the construction of South Africa's new democracy. Other books on the TRC and deliberative rhetoric in contemporary South Africa emphasize the achievement of reconciliation during and in the immediate aftermath of the transition from apartheid. From Apartheid to Democracy, in contrast, considers the varied, complex, and enduring effects of the Commission's rhetorical wager. It is the first book-length study to analyze the TRC through such a lens. Katherine Elizabeth Mack focuses on the dissension and negotiations over difference provoked by the Commission's process, especially its public airing of victims' and perpetrators' truths. She tracks agonistic deliberation (evidenced in the TRC's public hearings) into works of fiction and photography that extend and challenge the Commission's assumptions about truth, healing, and reconciliation. Ultimately, Mack demonstrates that while the TRC may not have achieved all of its political goals, its very existence generated valuable deliberation within and beyond its official process.
The Limits of Democratic Governance in South Africa by
In the transition from apartheid rule to democratic governance in South Africa, what has been the impact on South African society at its base¿on the people in the country¿s cities, towns, villages, and farms? Louis Picard and Thomas Mogale offer answers to this fundamental question, tracing historical trends and measuring change (or the lack of it) in the dynamic between the promise of local participatory governance and the realities of a hierarchical state.
Reconciliation Discourse by
This volume is a research monograph analysing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from an ethnographic/linguistic point of view. The central proposition of this book is that the TRC can be regarded as a mechanism that leads to the hegemony of specific discourses, thus excercising power. The analysis illustrates how, through a certain type of reconciliation discourse constructed at the TRC hearings, a reconciliation-oriented reality took shape in post-TRC South Africa. Basically, the study points to the long-term implications a truth commission can exert on a traumatised post-conflict society. The book is unique on several levels: TRC discourse is explored in-depth on the basis of personal stories from TRC testifiers; a combination of Poststructuralist and Critical Discourse Analysis approaches form the theoretical foundations; and an extensive bibliography provides an impressive database of TRC publications.
Unresolved pasts tend to turn. In the aftermath of state-perpetrated injustice, a façade of peace can suddenly give way. In such circumstances, the voices and visions of artists can help us see what otherwise evades perception. Focusing on contemporary performance in post-apartheid South Africa, this lecture will explore how unresolved racialized histories of state-perpetrated violence create conditions of possibility and impossibility for performance artists, choreographers, and theater markers. Cole will be presenting from her recent book, Performance and the Afterlives of Injustice, which brings the most social of art forms - live performance - together with questions about how societies change in the wake of state perpetrated atrocities.
The lecture, to be held on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 7:00 pm in Kane Hall 210 and online, is free and open to all.
This research guide includes resources published by Catherine M. Cole and related research. All resources are available through the UW Libraries. Everyone is welcome to visit a UW Library in person to access these resources. UW students, faculty, and staff may access online resources from off campus using their UW Net ID.
The following readings have been recommended by The Simpson Center for those who would like to learn more about the subject of her lecture.
Video interview with IRC-Fellow Catherine Cole
Cole, Catherine M. “Performance, Transitional Justice, and the Law: South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Theatre Journal, vol. 59, no. 2, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007, pp. 167–87. Current UW students, faculty, and staff log in using your UW Net ID.
Performing South Africa's Truth Commission by 
Performance and the Afterlives of Injustice by The UW Libraries offers many Research Guides to help you to get started with research. These research guides will include library resources relevant to research related to Anna Tsing's lecture. You are encouraged to contact the librarians for these subjects for help with your research.
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