History Of Apartheid Research Articles

Interrogating the Academy: Higher Education Transformation for the Public Good beyond Diversity in Race and Gender

This article draws on findings from a qualitative study of academics’ role in higher education’s contribution to the public good based on 15 interviews with academics from two universities in South Africa. I argue that if higher education in South Africa is to transform for the public good, the transformation of the university academic staff needs to be taken seriously and move beyond diversity of race and gender. The findings of the study that underpins this article suggest that the attributes of academics must be considered in initiatives that seek to transform the academy. This has implications for meaningful transformation because diversity, in terms of race and gender, does not necessarily translate to transformation in practice. Based on these findings, I suggest what these attributes may be through the concept of “public good academics,” which the academics I interviewed associated with being progressive, reflexive, critically conscious, and socially competent. I conclude that public good academics are aptly positioned to engage in transformational practices. Therefore, the personal attributes of academics do matter and should not be ignored in our thinking and conversations about transformational practices in higher education, especially in South Africa—a country with a history of colonialism and apartheid that has shaped the higher education landscape.

Advancing a cultural–historical activity perspective in a psychodynamic-oriented psychotherapy training programme

South Africa cannot ignore the far-reaching influence of its colonial and apartheid history on the psychological functioning of its people. Psychotherapy as a fundamental psychological intervention approach cannot ignore its evolving history as the architect of the social psyche and of an individual’s psychological functioning. With regards to psychodynamic psychotherapy, the literature has lamented this therapeutic approach’s lack of consideration of the impact of the colonial and apartheid historical trauma on the prevailing sociocultural and mental health challenges. The crux of this article is to address this epistemological lacuna, by arguing for the integration of psychodynamic theory with cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) for application in therapeutic processes. The article further posits that this integration needs to be introduced in training programmes for student psychotherapists who, as in the case of South Africa, are themselves the descendants of the generation that was exposed to historical trauma of colonialism and apartheid and are living with latent transgenerational trauma. To create a suitable foundation for the integration of psychodynamic theory and CHAT in psychotherapeutic practice, there is a need to apply critical pedagogical strategies in the training programmes of psychotherapists. Thus, this article further highlights the possibilities of employing critical pedagogical principles that incorporate ontological reflection, pedagogic discomfort, troubled knowledges, mutual vulnerability, strategic empathy, and compassion.

Using Holocaust Education as a “Bridge” to Learning about Apartheid in a South African History Classroom: The Development of “Interpretive Frames” through Comparative Histories

Abstract The Grade 9 South African history curriculum teaches the history of the Holocaust as an introduction to the study of apartheid. Students are taught how racial identities are constructed, codified into law, and weaponized for the purposes of discrimination and genocide. They are taught that racialized discrimination can happen anywhere—not only in South Africa—and that we must be vigilant lest it happens again. Curriculum developers—supported by international literature (e.g., UNESCO publications)—believe that learning about the Holocaust will act as a “bridge” to learning about apartheid.1 By teaching young South Africans difficult history that is emotionally, geographically, and temporally removed from their own country, educators believed that students will be better prepared to study the complex history of apartheid. Yet what is the impact of this comparative approach?2 The author’s ten-month ethnographic study explores how Grade 9 students in one majority-White history classroom in Cape Town learned about the Holocaust and apartheid. Developing Epstein’s idea of an “interpretive frame,”3 this empirical study contributes to ongoing debates on whether and how genocides and other atrocities can be meaningfully compared in the history classroom.4 Furthermore, it questions whether using Holocaust education as a “bridge”5 to domestic injustices and persecution will significantly improve historical understanding, tolerance, and moral reasoning.

Multimorbid life expectancy across race, socio-economic status, and sex in South Africa

Multimorbidity is increasing globally as populations age. However, it is unclear how long individuals live with multimorbidity and how it varies by social and economic factors. We investigate this in South Africa, whose apartheid history further complicates race, socio-economic, and sex inequalities. We introduce the term ‘multimorbid life expectancy’ (MMLE) to describe the years lived with multimorbidity. Using data from the South African National Income Dynamics Study (2008–17) and incidence-based multistate Markov modelling, we find that females experience higher MMLE than males (17.3 vs 9.8 years), and this disparity is consistent across all race and education groups. MMLE is highest among Asian/Indian people and the post-secondary educated relative to other groups and lowest among African people. These findings suggest there are associations between structural inequalities and MMLE, highlighting the need for health-system and educational policies to be implemented in a way proportional to each group’s level of need.

Memories and testimonies of passbooks, permits and platkeps in apartheid-era Batho, Mangaung

he memories and testimonies of black people who were on the receiving end of racial discrimination provide important evidence of their lived experiences during the apartheid era (1948–1994). They ‘revisit’ apartheid South Africa because of recurring memories of traumatic experiences. Sadly, they relive the painful incidents emotionally when such memories are triggered. The National Museum in Bloemfontein has interviewed more than 150 Batho residents about their experiences of Batho’s apartheid past, specifically their experiences of racist municipal laws and regulations. Although discriminatory municipal policies are rooted in the racial sentiments of Bloemfontein’s colonial (1846–1910) and segregationist (1910–1948) periods, they are also based on national legislation, notably the Natives (Urban Areas) Act of 1923. Direct quotes from interviews allow interviewees to speak for themselves. The interviewees’ testimonies of their experiences have generated information about, among others, the carrying of passbooks; visits to the pass office; maltreatment by municipal police (platkeps); being arrested for not having a passbook; spending time in police cells for committing loaferskap (idleness) or for housing an overnight guest without a lodger’s permit; being victims of violent house raids; and being harassed by the night curfew siren. Because most interviewees’ parents and grandparents were subjected to similar discriminatory laws and regulations, traumatic experiences are a multi-generational phenomenon.Contribution: The oral history methodology was used to reconstruct aspects of Batho’s apartheid history. By tapping into people’s memories and testimonies, this article aims to present a history from ‘below’ of Mangaung’s oldest existing township and, thereby, contribute to local historiography.

Unpacking Demographics-Based Impediments to Professionalization in the South African Built Environment

Despite South Africa’s unique demographics, shaped by a history of apartheid and ongoing inequality, its built environment has so far been unable to extricate itself from its inglorious past. This portends that the quality and impact of infrastructure developed concentrates on the few at the expense of the many. This study delves into the multifaceted challenges that impede the full realization of an inclusive built environment sector by reviewing extant studies on these issues through a mixed review and blending this with statistical evidence from document analysis on professional development in the South African built environment. We explore how diversity factors intersect to create structural impediments in the pursuit of professionalization. The findings underscore the critical importance of inclusion in the built environment profession, potential policy and institutional changes required to address these challenges, and the web of demographic factors influencing access, opportunities, and success within the built environment.

Uphicothonzulu lweentsingiselo zegama elithi ‘kaffir ‘ kusetyenziswa inkcazobungcali yobuhlanga

Kukho ingcinga ephosayo, neyalatha ukuba amagama ocalucalulo nathoba isidima sabaNtsundu kwimeko yoMzantsi Afrika omtsha, anokuqondwa ngeenkcazobungcali zesimantiki nepragmatiki kuphela. Loo nto yenza kubekho ukuqhwalela ekuqondeni iintsingiselo ezondele nzulu kwimbali nocalucalulo olwalugquba eMzantsi Afrika. Oku, kungaphezu kokuba kusekho iimpawu nemikhwa yokusetyenziswa kolwimi olucalucalulayo kuMzantsi Afrika omtsha, nto leyo ethi ithibaze kwaye ithintele intsebenziswano nokubumbana phakathi kweentlanga ngeentlanga. Ngesi sizathu, eli nqaku lijolise ekuphicotheni nzulu nasekucubunguleni iintsingiselo eziminxiselwe kwigama elithi kaffir elisetyenziswa kakhulu kwimeko yoMzantsi Afrika ukubulala isidima nokutshabalalisa ubuntu kwisizwe somgquba. Ukuchongwa kweli gama kutyhalwa kukungaqondakali kobunzulu beentsingiselo ezincathame kulo, into ke leyo ethi ikhokelele ekubeni abaMhlophe bangabonakalisi kurhoxa nganeno ngokungqamene nokusebenzisa ulwimi oluthoba isidima sabaNtsundu. Ukuphalisa iingxoxobunzululwazi zeli nqaku, inkcazobungcali yobuhlanga isetyenziswa njengegqwesileyo ukuze kuvele iintsingiselo ezincathame kwigama elithi kaffir kwimeko yoMzantsi Afrika. Iziphumo kunye neengxoxobunzululwazi zeli nqaku zibonisa ukuba eli gama lithi lithunuke, livuselele iinkumbulo kwaye lisebenze njengesithuko kwisizwe sabaNtsundu ngenxa yezenyeliso elizimumethileyo. Phakathi kwezinye iintsingiselo, kuvela ngakumbi nangakumbi ukuba igama eli linentsingiselo ejolise ekwenzeni abaNtsundu izicamba zokuxangxathwa. Ngamazwi aqukumbelayo, kuyabonakala ukuba ulwimi olucalucalulayo lumumethe imbali etyebileyo. Loo nto ibonise ukuba olu lwimi kusafuneka ukuba luphicothwe ngokubanzi kuxhathiswe ngeembonobunzululwazi zaseAfrika. Okungamandla, kugxininiswa ukuba asingombono omhle ukuyeka imbali yabaNtsundu emumethwe lulwimi icime, njengoko ubani enokuqaphela ukuba ulwimi lusisisele senyathi. A critical examination of interwoven meanings in the word ‘kaffir’ using critical race theory There is a misconception which underlines that the linguistic terms of discrimination for the Ntsundu people in the new South African context can only be understood through the theories of semantics and pragmatics. This makes it challenging to understand the meanings that are interwoven in the history of apartheid that prevailed in South Africa. This is more than the reality that there are still lingering signs and behaviours where discriminatory language is used in the new South Africa. This delays and prevents cooperation and inclusivity among different races. For this reason, this article aims to critically examine the profoundly entrenched meanings attached to the word kaffir which has been widely used in the South African context to distort and degrade the nobility and humanity of the Ntsundu people. The preference for this word is motivated by the ambiguity of the depth of the meanings concealed in it. This is what leads to the fact that white people do not seem to discontinue its use, and this degrades the dignity of the Ntsundu people. To advance the discussions of this article, critical race theory is used as a lens to uncover the meanings hidden in the word kaffir in the context of South Africa. The results and discussion in this article underscore that this word is painful, evokes memories of colonialism and serves as an insult to the Ntsundu nation. Among other meanings, it becomes clear that this word has a meaning aimed at making Ntsundu people the target of mockery and humiliation. In closing, it is obvious that discriminatory language has a rich history. This is indicative that this language still needs to be exhaustively critiqued by scholarship and supported by African theoretical perspectives. In addition to this, it is underscored here that it is not an appropriate idea to let the history of the Ntsundu people reproduced by language be erased, as one may observe that language serves as a part of knowledge and history.

Enkele Suid-Afrikaanse beplanningsvraagstukke / Some South African planning issues by Das Steÿn

South African planning issues are always a point of discussion considering the colonial and apartheid history of the country. There are different viewpoints on such planning issues, about which Steÿn writes from the position of an Afrikaner. The book is bilingual and consists of eight chapters (including introduction and reflection) on issues such as the influence of values of thinking; sound planning: wealth and poverty; confronting power to stop corruption; mercantilism and colonialism that have a grip on state capture; lessons from Afrikaners’ urbanisation and acquisition of political power, and different values to alternative approaches to the land debate in South Africa.

Whose city? (De)colonising the bodies of speculative fiction in Lauren Beukes's Zoo City

This article explores the (de)colonisation of the body and body boundaries in contemporary South African speculative fiction, paying particular attention to award-wining author, Lauren Beukes's, second novel, Zoo City (2010). I will apply Lara Cox's (2018:317) argument that 'Haraway's cyborg resembles the liminal view of identity presented by queer theory, which seeks to blur strict divisions between sexual and gender categories, dissolving binary oppositions such as woman/man and heterosexual/homosexual', to my reading of Zoo City. By centring the novel around Zinzi December, a resident of 'Zoo City' (the marginalised underbelly of Johannesburg), and situating the novel in the cradle of humankind, Beukes reacts against South Africa's colonial history and its colonisation of the body by blurring the animal-human boundary and challenging the colonial construct of body binaries. The novel can be read as a decolonial feminist text as it re-writes South Africa's apartheid history and critiques its division, separation and bodily segregation. Furthermore, I explore how fictional bodies are imagined and constructed in the text; I ask what kinds of boundary-breaking bodies predominate; and consider their thematic, narrative, and political significance in the postapartheid imaginary in relation to speculative fiction. I examine how new boundaries (particularly between 'normative' society and 'Zoo City') are formulated. Zoo City pulls into focus Kristeva's (1982) notion of the abject body as a central to its concerns, while also bringing attention to Foucault's (1992) notion of the 'disciplined' body. It foregrounds questions about the formulation and destabilisation of identity, with a particular focus on the construction of female identity. This article builds on the critical literature on the dystopian post-apartheid state by examining Zoo City's depictions of marginalised people and its construction of the body and body boundaries, as well as by extending the examination of representations of the body in speculative fiction.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version among young people in South Africa and the relationship of high scale scores to reported offending or similar deviant behaviour.

While there is empirical evidence to support associations between psychopathy scale ratings and offending or deviant behaviours, suggested as support for a unified theory of crime, evidence to date has been mainly from countries with high economic ratings and Western philosophies. In countries with a wide range of cultural groups and languages and a complex history of colonisation and apartheid, such scale ratings and correlations may differ. To explore the psychometric properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) and its applicability and relationship to deviant and actual or potential criminal behaviour among young adults in South Africa. 18- to 20-year-olds from poor socio-economic backgrounds were recruited by a fieldworker with an existing relationship with community-based youth centres. Consenting participants completed the Deviant Behaviour Variety Scale, reflecting criminal or similar behaviours in the 12months prior to rating and the YPI-S. Reliability measurements, principal factor analysis, Spearman's Rho correlations, chi square and multiple regression were used to explore performance of the YPI-S in this sample and relationship of YPI-S scores to deviancy. Of the 213 participants recruited, 176 completed all data points and were entered into analyses. The YPI-S was found to have generally good psychometric properties; however, in factor analysis, while items mapped well into an emotional subscale and quite well into an interpersonal scale, as in the original, behavioural items did not. Emotional, interpersonal and total YPI-S scores were significantly associated with reported deviant behaviour scores. The findings of this study suggest value in using the YPI-S with young people in South Africa to help identify those vulnerable to committing criminal acts. Among these disadvantaged young people, however, caution should be used in interpreting scores on its behavioural dimension. It is interesting that the emotional dimension, which incorporates perhaps the most personal features such as 'callous and unemotional traits' (albeit probably better considered as difficulty in recognising emotions in others), seemed most robust, suggesting that there may be core problems in a pathway to crime-or theory of crime-that transcend culture. This possibility, likely to be remediable through personal interventions, would benefit from further investigation.

Learning from young people in Port Harcourt and Bayelsa, Nigeria, about their experiences of depression: a discussion space report

Recently, we reported a morning-long discussion (held 7th February 2023) that we held with a group of youth currently living in Johannesburg, South Africa, and self-identifying as Black African (Levine et al., 2023). Black African young people in South Africa typically have the least access to mental health supports, given South Africa’s Apartheid history and ongoing racialised inequity. We wanted to understand their lived experiences and observations of the risks and influences that make African young people vulnerable to elevated levels of depression (i.e., strong feelings of hopelessness, despondency, and sadness). While young people can experience other mental health challenges, our narrow interest in depression was prompted by the knowledge that youth depression is a global emergency, particularly in under-resourced contexts such as Africa (Sankoh et al., 2018), and that African youth are typically under-represented in mental health studies (Steel et al., 2022). Given our long-standing and enduring attention to human resilience since the early 2010s (Theron, 2016; Theron et al., 2013; Theron & Ungar, 2023; Ungar, 2011, 2018, 2021; Ungar & Theron, 2020), we were also interested in learning what young people believed might support youth resilience to mitigate or counter these risks. Finally, we were curious about young people’s thoughts on the value of an empirical study that would produce insight into how best to protect young people living in Africa against elevated levels of depression.

"Youth speaking truth to power": intersectional decolonial activism in Namibia.

This article portrays a recent movement towards intersectional activism in urban Namibia. Since 2020, young Namibian activists have come together in campaigns to decolonize public space through removing colonial monuments and renaming streets. These have been linked to enduring structural violence and issues of gender and sexuality, especially queer and women's reproductive rights politics, which have been expressly framed as perpetuated by coloniality. I argue that the Namibian protests amount to new political forms of intersectional decoloniality that challenge the notion of decolonial activism as identity politics. The Namibian case demonstrates that decolonial movements may not only emphatically not be steeped in essentialist politics but also that activists may oppose an identity-based politics which postcolonial ruling elites have promoted. I show that, for the Namibian movements' ideology and practice, a fully intersectional approach has become central. They consciously juxtapose colonial memory with a living vision for the future to confront and situate colonial and apartheid history. Young Namibian activists challenge the intersectional inequalities and injustices, which, they argue, postcolonial Namibia inherited from its colonial-apartheid past: class inequality, racism, sexism, homophobia, and gender-based violence.

Technologies of Visibility

Technologies of Visibility

Indigenous healing in South Africa: looking for a tree of truth in the forest of illusions

Purpose This study aims to investigate the indigenous healing space in South Africa, by zooming in on the confusions that are faced by young people in the country. These muddles are a result of the country’s colonial and apartheid history which left the population divided between the Western and African philosophies when it comes to health among other things. The recent technological developments which are embraced by some of the healers exposed the space to exploitation by criminal elements. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used content analysis and interviews to gather data. Findings The results suggest that the indigenous healing space in South Africa is poorly regulated and a fertile breeding ground for criminals. As a result, it is not easy to distinguish between genuine healers and bogus ones. The technological advancement, especially social media, has exposed the space to further exploitation by criminal elements. Originality/value This study paints a picture of the indigenous healing space in the age of technology in South Africa. This study further explains challenges faced by South Africans in navigating philosophical challenges influenced by their colonial past.

English

South Africa's (SA) history of apartheid produced racial inequality that was entrenched for centuries. After 1994, the goal of the new government was to transform the workplace. Numerous affirmative action (AA), legislation, policies, and procedures enforced organisational transformational obligation and compliance. Studies in SA indicate a slow pace of transformation. The financial sector may be paying lip service to affirmative action legislation; setting racially balancing targets for management structures yet not achieving them. The purpose of this paper is to explore existing literature on transformational leadership and AA progress in the SA financial sector to propose an AA Transformational Model. The research method employed was abstract qualitative content analysis method. Selected accredited journal articles were analysed as per the paper keywords for emerging trends on the topic. Findings indicate lack of leadership in transformational implementation, leadership commitment, and management motivation for accelerated transformational targets and strategies. The paper theoretically adds to the body of knowledge on workforce transformational leadership. The practical contribution of this paper is the proposed AA Transformational Model for the SA Financial sector to be proactive in their AA transformation.   Key words: Racial discrimination, racial equity, employment equity, black employees, transformation, leadership, South Africa, affirmative action.

Exploring Coastal Access in South Africa: A Historical Perspective

(1) Background: Coastal spaces have been highly contested terrains in South Africa, dating from the colonial period to the present time. Inclusive documentation of the history of coastal access in South Africa is inadequate. The current paper aims to explore the history of coastal access in South Africa, dating back to precolonial times until the present. (2) Methods: this research includes the review of documents in order to understand the phenomenon. Documents ranging from pre-colonial times to the present regarding access to the coast in South Africa were explored. (3) Results: the alienation of the African majority from coastal access in South Africa has been systematically executed through various legislations. Although 1994 (democratic era) ushered in a political change, coastal spaces in South Africa still reflect historical racial divide, with former Caucasian areas well-endowed with facilities whilst others are still underdeveloped. The lack of access to coastal resources remains a challenge to many previously disadvantaged communities, owing to South Africa’s history of Apartheid. Apartheid spatial planning remains a factor that undermines equitable access to the coast. (4) Conclusions: Our conclusions show that, although the Native Land Act of 1913 was abolished, the failure to implement meaningful land redress continues to perpetuate Apartheid spatial order. Furthermore, a drastic shift in spatial planning and socio-economic development must be implemented to address the imbalances of the past. Although the Integrated Coastal Management Act (2008) is a progressive legislation, capacity and boldness is needed to implement the expropriation of coastal land for public interest. South African jurisprudence also needs to deal with the perceived unequal regard for private property rights and public property rights.

From Colonialism to Postcolonialism: Decolonized Social Work Education in South Africa

ABSTRACT In a postcolonial context, the influences of South African colonial and apartheid history are still visible, and much has been written about the need to decolonize learning and teaching practices. However, student protest movements point to a general dissatisfaction with the higher education context in a postcolonial and postapartheid society. In an effort to acknowledge this dissatisfaction, this article examines the concepts of colonialism, decolonization and decoloniality, and postcolonialism, and explores how an understanding thereof could contribute to decolonized social work education. Four strategies to employ in decolonized learning and teaching are proposed; namely, creating opportunities for conversations, exploring how we think about colonialism and decolonization, aiming for Africanization, and centralizing African culture and identity within the South African context.

Shadow of a drought: Notes from Cape Town’s water crisis

This essay reflects on the water crisis experienced by the Cape Town metropolitan area in 2016 and 2017. It explores how the question of access to water is implicated in the city’s colonial and apartheid history, and then considers how the spectre of “Day Zero” (the day when the taps would, supposedly, run dry) was invoked in political debates and the media.

Race, Genealogy, and the Genomic Archive in Post-apartheid South Africa

From the early 2000s onward, scientists, politicians, and intellectuals have presented the South African gene pool as a new archive for the new nation, suggesting a non-racial unity in diversity through common human origins. In this discourse, population genomics and genetic ancestry allude to metaphors of shared kinship to overcome the legacies of race. However, a focus on the underlying practices of measuring and classification reveals how the genomic archive is implicated in the history of apartheid and its racialized subjectivities. Similarly, individual interpretations of genetic ancestry show that race is constantly brought forth in this archival process. The genomic archive interweaves measuring practices in the sciences with the politics of social and biographical experience—a relationship that is at the heart of genetic genealogies.

Afrikaner nationalism and the light side of the colonial/modern gender system: understanding white patriarchy as colonial race technology

There is a growing body of feminist scholarship and literature exploring the ways in which Western patriarchal technologies of gender differentiation and sexual violence structure the racial categorisation and dehumanisation that define South Africa’s history of slavery, colonialism and apartheid. In this article, I consider the gendered history of white Afrikaner nationalism in the context of these insights. Using the decolonial feminist lens of María Lugones, I interpret the historical and contemporary patriarchal subjugation of the white Afrikaner woman as a site of the production and maintenance of colonial racial categories and hierarchies. Gaining a better understanding of how gender operated as a colonial mode of organisation in the process of forging the ethno-racialised white identity of the Afrikaner in the early nineteenth century in opposition to the black indigenous majority population helps to explain how the continued patriarchal subjugation of white Afrikaner women by Afrikaner men in postcolonial/postapartheid South Africa works to reassert and maintain colonial racial categories and inequalities that continue to plague the country.