A Matter of “Knowledge In the Blood”? Unperforming Racial and Ethnic Prejudice in Tertiary Educational Spaces in South Africa

Although the relatively new nation state of South Africa has been dubbed the “rainbow nation” by its iconic first president, Nelson Mandela, the much- anticipated shift from apartheid segregation to an inclusive constitutional democracy has been plagued by racial and ethnic prejudice, intermittent civil protests and violent crime. The shift in political power has not been accompanied by concomitant transformation towards a truly nonracial democratic state. singles out the institutional racism that has continued to corrode the social fabric of South Africa in schools, colleges, and universities. He further asserts that in order to deal with such prejudice, direct confrontation does not work, nor does the performance of truth and reconciliation narratives. This article argues that tackling racial and ethnic conflicts requires an understanding of what constitutes “knowledge in the blood.” The received knowledge embedded in people’s minds and hearts through intergenerational transmission tends to trigger nostalgic memories that have hindered young South Africans from moving towards a truly nonracial and nonxenophobic South Africa. The article uses the illustrative paradigm of a practice- based research project that was carried out at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, to show that “knowledge in the blood” can be subverted and transformed through the agency of interactive drama interventions.