EVERYDAY POLITICS AND COLLECTIVE MOBILIZATION AGAINST FOREIGNERS IN A SOUTH AFRICAN SHACK SETTLEMENT

Africa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamlyn Monson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Racial Identities ◽  
Shared Experiences ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Equal Citizenship

ABSTRACTIn contrast to the tolerant and largely peaceful ‘living politics' of informal settlements, as embodied by the social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, this article considers a darker side of squatter politics: ‘xenophobic’ mobilization. I show how the historical stratification of citizenship in South Africa remains spatially embedded in longstanding informal settlements, where distinctive repertoires of collective action have been shaped by a (still unfinished) history of struggle for inclusion. Using archival research and interviews conducted in the informal settlements of Atteridgeville, Gauteng, I show how the continuing struggle for equal citizenship draws on shared experiences of mundane hardship and collective labour, giving rise to social distance between established local squatters and politically indifferent foreign newcomers. At times of protest, this polarity is concentrated by and converges with familiar practices of insurgent citizenship, creating a context for mobilization against foreigners. In this sense, ‘xenophobic’ mobilization may be seen to articulate a claim for inclusion by structurally excluded ‘citizens', rather than an exclusionary claim by those who already belong. The article provides a useful counterpoint to readings of ‘xenophobic’ violence that focus on the role of elite discourses, instrumental leaders or crude racial identities in shaping such mobilization.

scholarly journals A Quarter Century of Democracy and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leepo Johannes Modise
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
Measuring Tool ◽  
The Church

This paper focuses on the role of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) in the South African society during the past 25 years of its services to God, one another and the world. Firstly, the paper provides a brief history of URCSA within 25 years of its existence. Secondly, the societal situation in democratic South Africa is highlighted in light of Article 4 of the Belhar Confession and the Church Order as a measuring tool for the role of the church. Thirdly, the thermometer-thermostat metaphor is applied in evaluating the role of URCSA in democratic South Africa. Furthermore, the 20 years of URCSA and democracy in South Africa are assessed in terms of Gutierrez’s threefold analysis of liberation. In conclusion, the paper proposes how URCSA can rise above the thermometer approach to the thermostat approach within the next 25 years of four general synods.

scholarly journals The Role of the IAU Gleaned From Oral Histories of Individuals Involved in Astronomy in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (S349) ◽  
pp. 240-247
Author(s):  
Lerothodi L. Leeuw ◽  
Jarita Holbrook
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
Cape Of Good Hope ◽  
International Astronomical ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
British Colony ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), formerly known as the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, will be 200 years old in 2020. Also, South Africa (SA), formerly a British colony known as the Cape of Good Hope, will celebrate her 100-year anniversary as an International Astronomical Union (IAU) member in 2020, following the IAU centenary in 2019 that this IAU Symposium 349 celebrates. In light of all this, particularly in anticipation of the 200-year anniversary of SAAO in 2020, the SA National Research Foundation (NRF) has developed a Roadmap for the History of Astronomy in South Africa. As part of this we are conducting an oral history of astronomers to complement the historical celebrations of the institutions and science relating to astronomy in SA, supported by the SA NRF. Primarily drawing on literature and setting the scene for this work, here we present a snippet of the on-going oral histories, to glean the role of the IAU in astronomy in South Africa and show the potential of the oral histories to inform and complement written history.

scholarly journals Die bydrae en relevansie van die ekklesiologiese besinning in die GKSA

1995 ◽  
Vol 29 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Church History ◽  
Constant Flow ◽  
Church Polity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Reformed Churches

Reflection on the role of Ecclesiology in the Reformed Churches of South Africa has produced a constant flow of publications, mainly in the field of Church History and Church Polity. Due to the history of the Reformed Churches since their inception in 1859 these publica­tions are mainly apologetic in character. This view of Ecclesiology reacted strongly against the influences of Methodism and Collegialism in South African ecclesiastical developments.

scholarly journals Rural education: Reimagining the role of the church in transforming poverty in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christo Thesnaar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Johann Baptist Metz ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Church

The desire to remember the plight of the poor in South Africa has reduced in the last 20 years after the transition from apartheid to freedom. To a large extent, Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) and the religious society at large have lost their ‘dangerous memory’ which keeps us mindful of those who suffered and whose plight is usually forgotten or suppressed. In this contribution the conditions of poor farm school children in multigrade rural education will be scrutinised by unpacking the contextual factors that cause us to forget their plight. This article will seek to reimagine the role of the church in poverty-stricken South Africa by engaging with the work of Talcott Parsons, the practical theologian Johannes A. Van der Ven, as well as the work of the political theologian Johann Baptist Metz in order to affirm the focus of Practical Theology to transform society and to contribute to the quest for justice and liberation for the poor in rural education. This reimagining discourse has a fundamental responsibility to challenge the social, political and economic realities that shape the lives of human beings within rural education, remembering the plight of the poor, and participating on their journey towards liberation and healing. It is proposed that if the church can activate its ‘dangerous memory’ it will be able to reimagine its role by transforming our poverty-stricken South African society, open new avenues for breaking the cycle of poverty and contribute to rural education.

Financialization in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1012-1030
Author(s):  
Ewa Karwowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Financial Markets ◽  
South African ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Global South ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Financial Centre ◽  
The Social

Financialization has become a popular concept across the social sciences, usually defined as the increasing role of financial motives, financial markets, financial actors, and financial institutions in the operation of the domestic and international economies. Financialization researchers highlight the detrimental consequences of an excessively large and powerful financial sector on economy and society. In South Africa, financialization has been shaped by its colonial and apartheid past, especially the strong links of South African corporations and banks to the international financial centre of London. Low growth and investment, an outcome of the finance-led accumulation regime, have also resulted in the continuity of extreme inequality and high levels of unemployment. In the Global South, financialization mainly affects emerging economies since they possess relatively developed financial markets in comparison to poorer countries. South Africa is the only African economy for which there is a substantial financialization literature. In comparison to other emerging economies, South Africa is relatively strongly financialized as stock market capitalization is extremely high, making Johannesburg one of the top financial centres in the Global South. Furthermore, financial inflows into the country are comparatively large, JSE-listed companies are well integrated into global value chains and household debt is high.

The evolving role of public libraries in South Africa in addressing information poverty

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 364-374
Author(s):  
Karla J. Strand ◽  
Johannes Britz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Information Poverty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the historical development of libraries in South Africa against a backdrop of poverty and social inequality. In particular, this paper illustrates how the development of libraries in South Africa both reflected and influenced information poverty and has as its goal to increase awareness of the role of libraries in the alleviation of information poverty. Design/methodology/approach The information in this paper is based on doctoral research completed by the author who investigated the role of libraries in the alleviation of information poverty in South Africa. The methodology for the research included two case studies, interviews, examination of library records, and observation. An extensive review of the professional literature and recorded histories provided imperative context for that research and this paper. Findings Findings indicate that libraries can play an important role in the alleviation of information poverty in South Africa. Libraries are underutilized in this role and in order to increase their capacity in addressing information poverty, one should consider the historical circumstances behind the dispossession of library services. Understanding the development of libraries in South Africa and sociopolitical ramifications of this development can encourage and inform greater participation of libraries in the alleviation of information poverty in the future. Originality/value This paper compiles the work and findings of previous studies on the history of South African libraries. The information provided here offers an accessible and efficient history of libraries in South Africa. In so doing, it provides context that is invaluable to the understanding of how the development of libraries throughout time can have sociopolitical effects on the people and their circumstances. The paper also encourages increased understanding of the value and purpose of libraries in combating information poverty in South Africa.

From Resistance to National Reconciliation: The Response and Role of the Ecumenical Church in South Africa

2004 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 369-384
Author(s):  
John W. de Gruchy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
South African ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Nazi Germany ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Reconciliation

Scattered through the history of the Christian Church are seminal moments that have shaped the future course of Christianity whether for good or ill. When later historians of Christianity will write about the twentieth century, I anticipate that they will refer to the role of the Churches in Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa as paradigmatic both in terms of success and failure. They might also refer to the role of the Christian Church in the transition to democracy in both countries in similar terms. In what follows I will offer some reflections on the South African side of the story, briefly tracing the response and role of what I have termed the ‘Ecumenical Church’ in South Africa to African resistance, democratic transition and national reconciliation.

ALCOHOL PANIC, SOCIAL ENGINEERING, AND SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF WHITES IN EARLY APARTHEID SOCIETY, 1948–1960

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 1167-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
NEIL ROOS
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Alcohol Abuse ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
South African Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Stability ◽  
State Responses

AbstractThe connection between ideologies of nation, alcohol abuse, and social engineering have not received systematic attention from historians. This article offers a case-study from the history of apartheid South Africa. Working around a fragment of apartheid history, a bureaucratic panic that excessive white drinking threatened the stability of the racial order, it explores geneaologies of state responses to white drinking in South Africa. It then concentrates on the role of Geoffrey Cronje, an intellectual / bureaucrat who not only drove the panic but then used it to implement new forms of social engineering in white South African society. Drawing on penal and welfarist traditions as well as medical models of treatment, he introduced a system for the discipline and correction of whites who drank heavily that drew on both state and private resources. I examine how the defiance of those incarcerated for drinking helped shaped subsequent, lighter-handed responses that managed the drinking of greater numbers of whites. This article may provide avenues for investigating alcohol abuse, state intervention, and social engineering in a range of mid-twentieth-century societies.

scholarly journals The emergence of black queer characters in three post-apartheid novels

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Andrews
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Queer People ◽  
The Social ◽  
South African Literature ◽  
Race And Sexuality ◽  
History Of ◽  
Black Queer

Before the end of apartheid, queer lives were almost entirely unrepresented in public literary works in South Africa. Only after the fall of institutionalised apartheid could literature begin to look back at the role of queer people in the history of South Africa, and begin to acknowledge that queer people are a part of the fabric of South African society. A number of celebrated authors emerged who were exploring queer themes; however, most of these authors and the stories they told were from a white perspective, and black queer voices were still largely absent in literature, especially novels. This paper explores the limited number of black queer literary representations following the influential work of K. Sello Duiker. I explore the social dynamics that might have influenced the fact that so few examples of black queer characters currently exist in South African literature. Through an analysis of novels by Fred Khumalo, Zukiswa Wanner, and Chwayita Ngamlana, I show how black, queer characters in post-apartheid novels confront ideas of culture, race, and sexuality as they wrestle with their identities and with questions of belonging and visibility. 

scholarly journals Preaching and performance: Theo-dramatic paradoxes in a South African sermon

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A Nell
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Specific Time ◽  
Specific Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Way ◽  
Attention Shifts

Preaching and performance is a relatively recent development in homiletical discourses and preaching practices. There is much promise in approaching preaching in this creative way. Attention will be paid to different promises related to this homiletical approach. In a next round of reflection the attention shifts to the way in which a specific approach to performance, also known as theo-drama, can not only enhance the preaching act, but also helps to understand the paradoxical role of the preacher, the audience and even God in the preaching event. This will be illustrated by looking at one of the sermons of John de Gruchy, which he preached in a very specific time in the history of South Africa. Attention will also be given to the way in which he performed a prophetic and therefore paradoxical role in his opposition to the apartheid government.

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