Platform: In Theory

Abstract

Platform: In Theory Gerhard Maré (bio) and Peter Vale (bio) As regular readers of this journal you will know that Platform: In Theory was launched in Transformation 104. On that occasion, we made an introductory argument for the deliberate exploration and employment of theory and also the implications of the absence the clear relevance and application of theory for our understanding of the social world. What would we like to see happening, through contributions, in this section in future editions of the journal? The first, is self-reflection: in the previous issue we suggested that the ‘rich tradition of theorising on (and around) public discourse and public policy’, in South Africa, ‘has still to be fully explored’ (which would include recognising important individuals, fields of theory development, published work, and university courses and departments, and the part theoretical contestation played – and plays – in intellectual, organisational practice and policy formulation). The second is recovery: as Transformation has regularly editorially noted (#1 (1986), #38 (1999), #50 (2002), #75 (2011), #90 (2016), #100 (2019)), we remain interested in critique and the ‘critical’ exploration of the social, of explaining social concerns, of exposing and engaging with theories which ‘underlie systems of domination, exploitation and oppression’; but also theories which will assist in shaping engagement with transforming such a state of affairs. This sense of critical engagement will shape our selection of submissions for this regular section in the journal – Platform: In Theory. This is not to imply that there is a single position – such an absurdity would go against notions of complexity, nuance and articulation. The third is the exploration of new arenas: so, the next issue (Transformation 106) will carry an article on the notion of ‘keywords’, first expressed in the now famous book Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society (published in 1976, by Fontana in their ‘Communications Series’), in which ‘Theory’ is but one word which is subjected to deep analysis. [End Page 116] The approach has since been adopted and adapted many times, also in publications in South Africa. The article will serve to launch an on-going project through Platform: In Theory, soliciting contributions on what are argued to be words key to understanding this region and its place globally, and – importantly – to changing it. And, of course, we will welcome contributions to this platform, including debate and comment on what appears here, and to wider issues. It is to serve as a Platform, after all. [End Page 117] Gerhard Maré Gerhard Maré is an emeritus professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His 2020 book is Ethnic Continuities and a State of Exception: Goodwill Zwelithini, Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Jacob Zuma. Peter Vale Peter Vale is Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria. Recently he has published a chapter on cartoons and Afrikaner Nationalism; a book (with Vineet Thakur) on the Johannesburg origins of International Relations; and contributed to an Oxford Handbook on ‘South Africa and the idea of peaceful change’. pgmare@gmail.com petercjvale@gmail.com Copyright © 2021 Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa