This is a study of South African literature through the prism of narratives of sexual violence. While most incidents of sexual assault in South Africa are not interracial, narratives of interracial rape have dominated the national imaginary. South African literature has again and again circled back to images of "black peril" (representations of the rape of white women by black men) and "white peril" representations that show the rape of colonised women by colonising men. Taking an historical and comparative perspective, the book uses as theoretical underpinning Michel Foucault's ideas on sexuality and biopolitics and Judith Butler's speculations on race and cultural melancholia. Avoiding a simplistic feminist perspective, the book examines the complex ways in which race, gender and class work together in the literary texts under examination. Where relevant, it examines the production, dissemination and reception of the selected texts. The books argues for an ethically responsible and dialectical approach that recognises high levels of sexual violence in South Africa, but also examines the racialised inferences and assumptions implicit in representations of bodily violation.

About the Author
Lucy Valerie Graham is a lecturer in English at Stellenbosch University.

Reviews
State of Peril effectively remaps the corpus of South African literature to produce an alternative trajectory which highlights issues of race and gender violence ... [It] constitutes an important intervention in the proliferating discourses on sexual violence at the present time, as it goes a long way in demystifying the long and problematic history of racist representations in relation to rape. * Betty Govinden, Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity *
Graham's work is powerful, important and deserves to be read. * R. W. Johnson, Times Literary Supplement *
Highly recommended. * J.C. Eustace, CHOICE *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199796373
Author Lucy Valerie Graham
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 530g
Dimensions(mm) 165mm * 239mm * 23mm