Narrative as a Symbolic Social Act: Sexual Bribery and the Pragmatics of Resolution in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace and Kunle Afolayan’s Citation

Abstract

This paper explores pragmatic approaches to dealing with issues of sexual harassment within the academy. This is achieved through an analysis of the plot resolutions in two narratives, drawing on Frederic Jameson’s framework of the Political Unconscious. Within this context, the paper examines J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace and Kunle Afolayan’s Citation asw symbolic acts that explore symbolic resolutions of social contradictions. The selected texts enable a reflection on the BBC’s October 6, 2019 documentary on sex for grades, and nurture a symbolic dimension to appreciating the complexities and power relations in sexual harassment reporting in the academy. The paper demonstrates that the two narratives engage in a broader dialogue with theoretical concepts to speak to the dynamics of mediated sexual scandals.