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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Remembering or re-membering? Life-writing and the politics of narration in Morgan Tsvangirai's autobiography 'At the Deep End' (2011) |
Editor: | Moyo, Tamsanqa |
Year: | 2013 |
Periodical: | Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (ISSN 2026-7215) |
Volume: | 2 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 15-26 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Zimbabwe |
Subjects: | politicians autobiography |
About person: | Morgan Tsvangirai (1952-2018) |
Abstract: | The authors argue that, in his autobiography, Morgan Tsvangirai's analysis of events is compromised by his view of himself as a possible leader in Zimbabwe. History and characters are judged according to how they relate to him and his political career, and he positions himself at the epicentre of Zimbabwean politics, as the only true democrat and consensus-builder. Tsvangirai guides the reader to see characters and events from his own perspective, presenting the white settlers as exploiters and oppressors, and Mugabe as a villain. Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was often branded as a 'terrorist' organisation by the ruling ZANU PF, and Tsvangirai portrays himself as a passive victim of the State and the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) apparatus. The authors argue that, for much of the time, Tsvangirai 're-members' his narrative account in order to suit the political situation of 2011. The authors find nonetheless that the book is important as a well-researched account that complements other works on Zimbabwean history. Bibliogr., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract] |