The South African heterotopia: Whiteness and the postcolonial struggle for recognition beyond Apartheid

This thesis looks at the politics of recognition in post-Apartheid South Africa with specific reference to whiteness and affluence. The study proposes a white politics of acknowledgment with the aim to form a philosophical interpretation and critique of the life-world of suburban whiteness. The main hypothesis is that South Africa is a postcolonial heterotopia due to the continued proliferation of economic Apartheid. The study charts the way in which the dialectic of colonial times and Apartheid has become a postcolonial heterotopia after Apartheid. A postcolonial theory of recognition is outlined to show how mutual recognition is problematised beyond Apartheid.