Students complete a written as well as an oral examination at the end of the programme.
The focus is on external historical factors, e.g. the question of identity in the adoption of a new language. An overview of stereotypes and ideological developments. A comparative study in which attention is given to, amongst others, the representation of war and the treatment of war traumas in literature. This course examines the principles of canonisation and the extent to which esthetics is influenced by the literary politics of a particular time. Attention is given to the most important anthologies in Afrikaans and, specifically, to the influence of DJ Opperman as canoniser in Afrikaans.