The border wars in southern Africa had a major impact on the lives of people in the region, especially those who joined the armed forces involved in the conflicts. The members of the Bushmen Battalions in the South African Defense Force found themselves impacted more than most. Their identities as Bushmen were already complicated, because they have been portrayed in various guises for centuries to entertain European audiences. Their identities were further manipulated by the SADF to justify their involvement with the people. The result was an ever contradictory collection of propaganda that attempted to reconcile ideas of cultural retention and development. South Africa developed these ideas in the context of the total institution that was designed to control every aspect of the lives of the soldiers and their dependents.
","abstract_html":"<p>The border wars in southern Africa had a major impact on the lives of people in the region, especially those who joined the armed forces involved in the conflicts. The members of the Bushmen Battalions in the South African Defense Force found themselves impacted more than most. Their identities as Bushmen were already complicated, because they have been portrayed in various guises for centuries to entertain European audiences. Their identities were further manipulated by the SADF to justify their involvement with the people. The result was an ever contradictory collection of propaganda that attempted to reconcile ideas of cultural retention and development. South Africa developed these ideas in the context of the total institution that was designed to control every aspect of the lives of the soldiers and their dependents.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Browning-Mullis, Shannon T"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in History (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)","degree_discipline":"Department of History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Alan Downs","Brian Feltman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:15Z","subjects":["ETD","San","Bushmen","Namibia","Angola","Identity","Propaganda","Bush wars","African History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1187","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Alan Downs","Brian Feltman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Browning-Mullis, Shannon T"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-11-19T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in History (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","San","Bushmen","Namibia","Angola","Identity","Propaganda","Bush wars","African History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1187"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The border wars in southern Africa had a major impact on the lives of people in the region, especially those who joined the armed forces involved in the conflicts. The members of the Bushmen Battalions in the South African Defense Force found themselves impacted more than most. Their identities as Bushmen were already complicated, because they have been portrayed in various guises for centuries to entertain European audiences. Their identities were further manipulated by the SADF to justify their involvement with the people. The result was an ever contradictory collection of propaganda that attempted to reconcile ideas of cultural retention and development. South Africa developed these ideas in the context of the total institution that was designed to control every aspect of the lives of the soldiers and their dependents.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Innocent Victims and Savage Killers: Representation and Portrayal of the Bushman Battalions"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Alan Downs","Brian Feltman"],"dc:creator":["Browning-Mullis, Shannon T"],"dc:date.available":["2014-11-19T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The border wars in southern Africa had a major impact on the lives of people in the region, especially those who joined the armed forces involved in the conflicts. The members of the Bushmen Battalions in the South African Defense Force found themselves impacted more than most. Their identities as Bushmen were already complicated, because they have been portrayed in various guises for centuries to entertain European audiences. Their identities were further manipulated by the SADF to justify their involvement with the people. The result was an ever contradictory collection of propaganda that attempted to reconcile ideas of cultural retention and development. South Africa developed these ideas in the context of the total institution that was designed to control every aspect of the lives of the soldiers and their dependents.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1187"],"dc:subject":["ETD","San","Bushmen","Namibia","Angola","Identity","Propaganda","Bush wars","African History"],"dc:title":["Innocent Victims and Savage Killers: Representation and Portrayal of the Bushman Battalions"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in History (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:15Z"}