Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South Africa

This article proposes that the work of the French sociologist of science, Bruno Latour, that conceptualises the political process in a highly pluralist society, can provide a useful starting point for a discussion on the politics of reconciliation. It is especially Latour’s suggestion of an object-...

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Main Author: J. Kruger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2017-11-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/3309
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author J. Kruger
author_facet J. Kruger
author_sort J. Kruger
collection DOAJ
description This article proposes that the work of the French sociologist of science, Bruno Latour, that conceptualises the political process in a highly pluralist society, can provide a useful starting point for a discussion on the politics of reconciliation. It is especially Latour’s suggestion of an object-oriented politics that will be explored and applied to the South African situation. Subsequently, however, it is argued that Latour’s politics of “reassembling” should be complemented by a politics of remembering. The latter notion is understood in a Platonic-Augustinian fashion – following the interpretation of the contemporary philosophical-theological movement of Radical Orthodoxy – as a diffuse recognition of the other within the self, whereby the politics of reconciliation is, in an important sense, broadened to encompass the interior, psychic and, ultimately, spiritual aspects of the relation between the self and the other. The paper concludes with some remarks on the role of the church as the narrative embodiment of reconciliation conceived as reassembling ánd remembering.
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spelling doaj-art-98cec74bdb254251b1f7cd6945df1ace2025-02-11T09:50:41ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892017-11-012510.38140/at.v0i25.3309Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South AfricaJ. Kruger0St Augustine College of South Africa, and Northwest University, South Africa This article proposes that the work of the French sociologist of science, Bruno Latour, that conceptualises the political process in a highly pluralist society, can provide a useful starting point for a discussion on the politics of reconciliation. It is especially Latour’s suggestion of an object-oriented politics that will be explored and applied to the South African situation. Subsequently, however, it is argued that Latour’s politics of “reassembling” should be complemented by a politics of remembering. The latter notion is understood in a Platonic-Augustinian fashion – following the interpretation of the contemporary philosophical-theological movement of Radical Orthodoxy – as a diffuse recognition of the other within the self, whereby the politics of reconciliation is, in an important sense, broadened to encompass the interior, psychic and, ultimately, spiritual aspects of the relation between the self and the other. The paper concludes with some remarks on the role of the church as the narrative embodiment of reconciliation conceived as reassembling ánd remembering. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/3309Bruno LatourRadical OrthodoxyReconciliationTheo-politicsRadikale OrtodoksieVersoening
spellingShingle J. Kruger
Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South Africa
Acta Theologica
Bruno Latour
Radical Orthodoxy
Reconciliation
Theo-politics
Radikale Ortodoksie
Versoening
title Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South Africa
title_full Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South Africa
title_fullStr Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South Africa
title_short Reassembling and remembering - the politics of reconciliation in South Africa
title_sort reassembling and remembering the politics of reconciliation in south africa
topic Bruno Latour
Radical Orthodoxy
Reconciliation
Theo-politics
Radikale Ortodoksie
Versoening
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/3309
work_keys_str_mv AT jkruger reassemblingandrememberingthepoliticsofreconciliationinsouthafrica