Resumo

PIETERSEN, Doniwen. Confronting xenophobia in South Africa and the concept of foreigner in Deuteronomy as an act of 'othering'. Verbum Eccles. (Online) [online]. 2022, vol.43, n.1, pp.1-8. ISSN 2074-7705.  https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v43i1.2608.

This article explored the theme of xenophobia and 'othering' (violently targeting African immigrants in particular) as a complex and highly relevant theme in South Africa in order to move towards addressing it for the sake of unity in Africa. This research article has adopted a sociological lens that critically examines the issue of xenophobia within a 21st-century South African context. It then considers Deuteronomy and its context from a literary approach to understand how the book deals with ethnic exclusion, also known as xenophobia. South Africa, because of its history, has seen xenophobic sentiments manifest themselves in a particularly violent manner in its short democratic history. Xenophobic violence is seen as an ever-present fibre built into the make-up of South African culture, which is always ready to spill over and negatively impact society. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article critically engages the topic of xenophobia and frames it around the theme of other and/or othering others. It then evaluates how the book of Deuteronomy and how the 21st-century African, particularly South African, have misappropriated the issue of immigrants. An African hermeneutic has been implored to explore all this.

Palavras-chave : xenophobia; other/othering; Deuteronomy; South Africa; socio-historical approach; colonialism; immigrants.

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