A political-institutional history of the Stellenbosch University physical education department, 1936–1939

Abstract

This article unpacks the political-institutional origins of the Physical Education (presently Sport Science) Department at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. The article begins with a definition of institutional history and an explanation of the obstacles for creating debates on institutional culture. In order to overcome these obstacles, the author mapped a methodology that moved away from managerial history writing that previous historians had employed when they tried to make sense of the department’s past. This methodology helps scholars to uncover the links between institutional culture and politics at the department. The article concludes with intervention suggestions for disrupting the vestiges of previous oppressive political-institutional cultures that may still linger at the Stellenbosch University Sport Science Department.