scholarly journals Two bad-time stories and a song of hope

Literator ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.H. Gagiano
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Public Expression ◽  
Social Importance

Using three fairly recently published South African texts – David B. Coplan’s In the Time of Cannibals – The Word Music of South Africa’s Basotho Migrants (1994); A.H.M. Scholtz’s Vatmaar – ’n Lewendagge verhaal van ’n tyd wat nie meer is nie (1995) in its English translation, A Place Called Vatmaar (2000) and Mongane (Wally) Serote’s Come and Hope with Me (1994) – this essay looks at the role such texts can play to give public expression to the voices of formerly silenced communities. The essay contends that the deep fissures in South African society require intense efforts in order to make those isolated from one another mutually intelligible. All South Africans need to broaden their cultural vocabularies. This is where texts such as novels and those containing the oral art of neglected communities can function as ‘translations’, and have profound social importance. It can be predicted that rehistoricising writings and culturally recontextualising teaching practices will continue to be required in this country, but also texts that contain the vision of a shared South African future.

scholarly journals MARIKANA, A PAST NEVER TRULY ESCAPED: A CRITIQUE ON THE COMMODIFICATION OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn Rajah
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
African Society ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
History Of

This article demonstrates that the Marikana tragedy was not a departure from the norm, but a continuation of state and corporate behaviour that has oppressed black South Africans for hundreds of years. This will be done through an analysis of the historically discriminatory socio-economic patterns of South African society, and how they subjugate the poor by limiting their access to legal and physical protection. These trends portray a history of commodification of the legal system. I discuss a notable documentary on the massacre, Miners Shot Down, and examine its depiction of the causes and effects of the events. The film provides no mention of the historical context of the killings, nor does it comment on many of the factors contributing to the massacre. Despite this, it succeeded in bringing the events to the attention of the broader public. I analyse the notions of justice, the rule of law and their application in South Africa as well as norms in the nation’s legal culture. Additionally, I examine the Farlam Commission, and how its procedures and conclusions hindered the course of justice in the context of our democracy. Ultimately, I demonstrate how the Marikana massacre was not a change in dynamic, but a reminder of a past we have never truly escaped.

scholarly journals The skewed social image of white South Africans in Nadine Gordimer’s The Conservationist

2020 ◽  
Vol 189 ◽  
pp. 03031
Author(s):  
Xiangting Chen
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
White Identity ◽  
African Society ◽  
White People ◽  
Social Image ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South African ◽  
The Social

-In this article he examines the social identity crisis of White South Africans in Nadine Gordimer’s “The Conservationist”. Gordimer describes the psychology, social deformities and human distortions of the repressed white people in post-colonial South Africa. At that time, white South Africans were tortured by colonial guilt and racial contradictions. While recognizing the culture of their European ancestors, they wanted to integrate into the black South African society. This paper analyzes the decline of South African white identity and the phenomenon of white exodus from the perspective of the protagonist’s thoughts and behaviors, and combines the political and social problems during those days.

scholarly journals Communities: Development of church-based counselling teams

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella D. Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
Pastoral Care ◽  
South African ◽  
African Society ◽  
Personal Problems ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
God's People ◽  
Pastoral Role ◽  
Biblical Foundations ◽  
The Church

Pastoral care is a biblical mandate to the Church to be involved in the lives of God’s people. A key metaphor used by Jesus to describe his pastoral role was that of a shepherd. Thus, to be God’s shepherds and instruments of healing and transformation in God’s world is an imperative to all people, clergy and laity alike. The brokenness in South African society is strikingly apparent, exacerbated by the effects of exceptionally high criminal behaviour as statistics show. The demand for pastoral care and assistance with various personal problems is on the increase, with many non-church goers turning to churches for help. Also apparent in South Africa is the acute shortage of trained individuals to offer care and counselling. The task of offering care is not the sole responsibility of clergy, as all are called to be shepherds and caregivers. The importance and urgency in training church-based counselling teams cannot be overstated. More so in that we are becoming increasingly aware that not only are individuals in need of care, but whole communities are struggling with trauma and life’s challenges, and often do not know whom to turn to. In pursuance of the realisation that pastoral care is the function and duty of all Christians, this article will delineate in particular an explanation of lay counselling, reasons for its importance including biblical foundations, where and how ordinary South Africans can get involved, and will propose certain models and approaches for getting started. These models will not be discussed in depth, but present an opportunity for the next. Teams for these models consist of professional counsellors, but ought not to be restricted to a select few, as all are called to this special ministry and can be trained for the task, which will include on-going supervision and mentoring. The overall purpose of this article is to highlight the urgency of training lay counsellors and some recommendations will be made how to apply it, in an attempt to be faithful to the biblical mandate and examples set by Jesus Christ.

The social and political construction of identities in the new South Africa: an analysis of the Western Cape Province

2002 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scarlett Cornelissen ◽  
Steffen Horstmeier
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
African Society ◽  
Western Cape Province ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Parallel Flows ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One

In apartheid South African society, racial and ethnic identities were institutionally imposed. The end of apartheid has brought about the need for new identities to be created among South Africans, and for South Africans to forge a new relationship with their society and country. With this objective in mind, the national government is engaged in a process of nation-building. But in post-apartheid South African society, sub-national identities are also strongly coming to the fore. This is an empirical study of established and emerging identities in the Western Cape province, and the processes whereby these are constructed. The investigation shows two parallel flows of identity construction in the Western Cape: on the one hand, political leaders in the province attempt to foster an autonomous provincial identity; on the other, residents of the province show little evidence of strong political identities linked to the Western Cape. Instead, social identities are being constructed around residents’ local neighbourhoods and long-existing ethnic, class and racial identities. Rather than the social cohesion sought by the post-apartheid South African government, these identities point to persistent social polarisation.

Unmasking the enduring legacies of apartheid in South Africa through Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Malesela Edward Montle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
The Political ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Past ◽  
Racial Tension ◽  
Apartheid Regime

Prior to the dispensation of democracy in South Africa, the country was presided by a system of apartheid that perpetuated colonial policies that discriminated against non-white (South) Africans. Nevertheless, the democratic jurisdiction dethroned and succeeded the apartheid regime in 1994. This galvanised South Africa to undergo a political transition from segregation (autocracy) to peace, equality and unity (democracy). The political emancipation engineered a shift of identity and also made a clarion call for South Africans to subscribe to a democratic identity branded by oneness and harmony. However, as South Africa sought to redress herself, it unearthed appalling remnants of the apartheid past. Twenty-seven years since democracy took reigns in South Africa, the country is still haunted by the horrors of the past. It is the apartheid government that has bred hegemonic delinquencies that encumber the South African society from extricating herself from discriminatory identities such as racial tension, division, inequality and socio-economic crises. This qualitative study sought to scrutinise the vestiges of apartheid in South Africa. It has hinged on the literary appreciation of Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow, which reflects on the menace that the enduring legacies of apartheid pose to livelihoods in the democratic period. Mpe’s post-apartheid novel is chosen for this study by virtue of its exposure and protest against apartheid influence in the newly reconstructed democratic South African society. Scholarly attention has been satisfactorily paid to the implementation of socio-economic transformation in the country, however, there seems to be an inadequate scholarship to explore the pretexts or the genesis of socio-economic transformation setbacks, which this study aims to unmask.

scholarly journals Ubuntu and the body: A perspective from theological anthropology as embodied sensing

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob J.S. Meiring
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Theological Anthropology ◽  
Black People ◽  
Intimate Relationship ◽  
The Body ◽  
African Society ◽  
World Language ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Relationship Of

The author asks whether the notion of ubuntu truly exists within contemporary South African society and how the experiencing of South Africans� embodiment can be connected to ubuntu � especially amongst black people. The notion of ubuntu is briefly explored within law and theology. The author has recently proposed a model for a contemporary theological anthropology as �embodied sensing� which functions within the intimate relationship of the lived body, experiencing in a concrete life-world, language, and the �more than�. It is from this perspective that the notion of ubuntu is explored.

scholarly journals South Africa’s foreign and migration policies missteps: fuels of xenophobic eruptions?

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mpedi Madue
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
African Society ◽  
The South ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
Migration Policies ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
And Migration

South Africa plays a crucial role in the development of the African continent, especially in the South African Development Community. Hence, South Africa’s foreign and migration policies shape the perceptions of both its citizens and those of neighbouring states. Since 1994, South Africa has continued to attract the highest number of migrants in the region. The widespread perceptions among South Africans that there are “floods” of illegal immigrants, stealing their jobs and depleting social and economic resources, is a course for concern. Undoubtedly, the South African society is under pressure to effectively respond to the sporadic eruptions of xenophobic attacks on African foreign nationals. This article argues that the missteps of South Africa’s foreign and migration policies partially contribute towards fuelling xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals. The findings of this article suggest that South Africa is not as committed to rooting out xenophobia as it would have us believe.

Suicidal Behavior in Black South Africans

Crisis ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourens Schlebusch ◽  
Naseema B.M. Vawda ◽  
Brenda A. Bosch
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
To Come

Summary: In the past suicidal behavior among Black South Africans has been largely underresearched. Earlier studies among the other main ethnic groups in the country showed suicidal behavior in those groups to be a serious problem. This article briefly reviews some of the more recent research on suicidal behavior in Black South Africans. The results indicate an apparent increase in suicidal behavior in this group. Several explanations are offered for the change in suicidal behavior in the reported clinical populations. This includes past difficulties for all South Africans to access health care facilities in the Apartheid (legal racial separation) era, and present difficulties of post-Apartheid transformation the South African society is undergoing, as the people struggle to come to terms with the deleterious effects of the former South African racial policies, related socio-cultural, socio-economic, and other pressures.

Why English dominates the central economy

2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Wright
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
African Society ◽  
World Language ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Economic Basis ◽  
State Of Affairs

This paper sets out to formulate some of the economic reasons for the continuing dominance of English in the boardrooms, government forums, parastatals and laboratories of South Africa, to consider whether this situation is likely to change, and to assess the extent to which such a state of affairs is at odds with South Africa’s new language policy. The historical reasons for the dominance of English in this sphere are well known: the language’s imperial history, its status as a world language, its role as a medium for political opposition during the apartheid conflict, and the accumulation of capital and economic influence by English-speakers from the mid-nineteenth century onward. However, the day-to-day economic basis for the continuing dominance of English at the apex of South African society has hardly been considered.

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