South African Reality Research Articles

Identity, Community and Land Claims: The People of Kutama Face Contemporary South African Realities

Identity, Community and Land Claims: The People of Kutama Face Contemporary South African Realities

Redeeming features: from Tsotsi (1980) to Tsotsi (2006)

This paper interprets Gavin Hood's film adaptation Tsotsi (2006) of Athol Fugard's eponymous novel (1980) from a constellation of angles: institutional (exploring the politics behind film funding and viewing in South Africa), historical (in relation to the interpretation of terms such as tsotsi, and the importance of understanding historical places such as Sophiatown and the impact of art forms such as kwaito), socio-political (in terms of the circulation of political discourses in contemporary South Africa), and aesthetic (examining the ways in which the film medium may be orchestrated for particular meaningful ends). After contextualizing the film within the landscape of post-apartheid cinematic production, I proceed to analyze whether Tsotsi represents a truly independent national cinematic voice, or whether its potential critique is compromised by commercial aims and certain ideological underpinnings. Situating the film at the intersection of South Africa's two major political discourses – liberalism and Marxism – I examine how the film engages with questions of violence, critique, the representation of South African realities, and redemption. To do so I draw on rare archive material concerning the novel, as well as personal interviews that I have undertaken with contemporary South Africa filmmakers. I offer a comparative perspective on Tsotsi in relation to other recent South African film adaptations, which – like Tsotsi – ‘update’ South African literary texts written in earlier periods so as to offer stringent critiques of contemporary violence in the country. Ultimately I argue that Tsotsi, however, focuses on certain forms of contemporary violence at the expense of another, very important kind of violence in South Africa: violence against women and children. I also argue, in the final instance, that the film sacrifices a possible Marxist critique of class division and submits to a neoliberal point of view on social relations. In conclusion, I question whether Tsotsi, a film about redemption, has its own redeeming features.

Aspects of Legislative Drafting: Some South African Realities (or Plain Language Is Not Always Plain Sailing)

It seems to me that a sort of hieratic language has developed by which the priests incant the commandments. I seem to see the ordinary citizen today standing before the law like the laity in a medieval church: at the far end the lights glow, the priestly figures move to and fro, but it is in an unknown tongue that the great mysteries of right and wrong are proclaimed.

Primordialist paranoia, essentialism and South African realities: participating and observing across the ‘anthropological divide’

This article interrogates the exigency of some of the current concerns of South African anthropology. The contribution is autobiographical and occasionally anecdotal; personal narrative hence shapes the mode of text development. In considering the current state of the South African anthropology project, the following, inter alia, receive particular attention: the legitimacy of the perseverance with the notion of an ‘anthropological divide’; the persistence of discrete ‘quoting circles’; a debilitating past which still haunts the contemporary anthropological enterprise and results in a kind of primordialist paranoia; and a state of selective denial as regards prevailing perceived, lived and legislated South African realities—the new essentialist challenge for constructivist anthropologists.

Subverting the pastoral: the transcendence of space and place in J.M. Coetzee’s <i>Disgrace</i>

This article investigates how J.M. Coetzee’s “Disgrace” (1999) – portrayed as a postcolonial and postmodern fictional event – embodies, problematises and subverts the vision of the pastoral farm novel tradition by transcending traditional configurations of space and place. The novel offers a rather bleak apocalyptic vision of gender roles, racial relationships and family relations in post-apartheid South Africa and expresses the socio-political tensions pertaining to the South African landscape in terms of personal relationships. As a fictional reworking of the farm novel, “Disgrace” draws on the tradition’s anxieties about the rights of (white) ownership, but within a post-apartheid context. As such, “Disgrace” challenges the pastoral farm novel’s “dream topography” (Coetzee, 1988:6) of the family farm ruled by the patriarch – a topography inscribed – with the help of the invisible labour of black hands – as a legacy of power and ownership to be inherited and cultivated in perpetuity. Accordingly, the concept “farm” is portrayed as a contested and liminal space inscribed with a history of violence and dispossession – a dystopia. This article therefore conceptualises “Disgrace” as an antipastoral farm novel that reconfigures the concept “farm” – within the context of the South African reality – by subverting, inverting and parodying the structures of space and place postulated by the pastoral farm novel.

Who Will be the Shade of Our Tree When You Leave? Collaborating as Women to Advance Community Emancipation

In 1994, out of a population of 45 million people an estimated 7.7 million people lived in informal settlements in South Africa (South African Institute of Race Relations, 1994). This article focuses on one community whose residents' desperation to own housing contributed to community disintegration, typified by infighting among women, and threats to human life. Issues of diversity became more prominent and destabilized community-building efforts. One effort to collaboratively break down barriers that deterred women from working together is presented to illustrate how these women created bonds based on "discovered similarities." The participatory and personal-experience approach described here contributed to their becoming active protagonists of their learning and encouraged tolerance and understanding among community women from differing ethnic, linguistic, and political backgrounds. The article concludes with a discussion of the critical importance of recognizing and working with and through differences within the current South African reality.

Exclusivity, hybridity and community: negotiating place, ethnicity and South African realities

Living on a tract of land in the Soutpansberg allocated to them in 1888 by President Paul Kruger for ‘services rendered’ to the erstwhile Transvaal Republic (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek), is the hybrid and largely exclusive Buys community. As descendants of Jean du Bois, a French Huguenot, but more significantly of his great-grandson Coenraad de Buys who married, or cohabited with, several indigenous women, these people have prevailed for generations and carved a singular niche for themselves in the South African political and sociocultural landscape.This article considers the processes and influences that have shaped the Buys phenomenon over years, but more pertinently the Buyses strategy of both identity politics and politics of identity are examined. Using the specificity of this case study, ethnicity is ‘unpacked’ and the particular ways that space and place are articulated receive analytical attention.

What do we Know about the Perception Educators Have of HIV/AIDS and its Impact on the Holistic Development of Adolescent Learners?

ABSTRACT HIV/AIDS is part of the South African reality to such an extent that more than half the children admitted to South Africa's second largest hospital are HIV-positive or have full-blown AIDS. This has implications for the education sector, as HIV/AIDS has also infiltrated and affected schools and education institutions and calls for the role of the educator to exceed that of teaching. It is now more than ever necessary that educators pay close attention to the holistic development of the learner, infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. This research attempted to determine what perceptions senior phase educators have regarding HIV/AIDS and its impact on the holistic development of adolescent learners within their ecosystem and then to formulate recommendations based on the findings. To achieve these aims a qualitative, descriptive and contextual research design was chosen. The first theme regarding the educators' perceptions of HIV/AIDS revealed various categories, i.e an awareness of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS; medical knowledge of HIV/AIDS; causes of HIV/AIDS; feelings about it as well as views on what is needed for stopping the spread. The second theme regarding the impact of HIV/AIDS on the holistic development of the learners showed the following categories: understanding of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the holistic development of the adolescent (physically, cognitively, emotionally, socially and morally), on the family, on the peer group, on the school and on the community.

Mobilizing Victimization

The "Truth and Reconciliation" commission (TRC) was implemented following the first democratic elections in South Africa in order to bring to light the brutality of the apartheid regime, to offer individual amnesty to persons responsible, and to compensate victims. From the outset, an important aspect of its emergent legitimizing discourse concerned the role and the needs of victims of brutality - whether victims of the former authoritarian government or of the liberation movements - within a rhetoric of "national reconciliation". The TRC's definition was to correspond to a notion of criminal justice that excluded any response of direct punishment or compensation: the proposed amnesty would relieve of responsibility all those to whom it applied.This context gave rise to a highly specific discourse concerning victims of "past conflicts", a discourse created within a precise range of nuances that were designed to make the TRC conceptually compatible with its public image, and vice versa. In evidence was the gradual construction of a language that allowed the Commission to be described in positive terms of satisfying needs, of respect for a greater, more honest and more universal ethical basis than that of retribution, of successful national reconciliation, etc. The propagation and effectiveness of this language were indispensable considering the concurrent dominant discourse about criminal justice in general, which maintained a hard line with regard to crime and which resulted in practice in an uncontrolled inflation of the penal population (two blocks away from the Commission's headquarters, parliament considered such solutions as corporal punishment, the establishment of prisons in abandoned mines, etc.) According to the Commission's discourse, victims identified two common fundamental outcomes of their victimization: their need for financial assistance, and their desire to know the truth. This desire for truth was manifested in two forms: first, the need to know the truth concerning the matter itself, for example, the disappearance of loved ones, and secondly, the restoration of individual dignity through an official and public acknowledgment of their victimization. Whether these outcomes in fact corresponded to the reality experienced by victims themselves tends to be a question of secondary importance, since the organization of the Commission's discourse allowed perfect integration of their testimonies, their attitude, and even their actual participation. This integrative power is to a great extent the result of the characteristic form both of testimonies made to the Commission and of statements concerning the participation by and satisfaction of its members: that is, the narrative form. Because of the great capacity of personal biographies to communicate the experience of injustice and of reparation compatible with the daily experiences of the general public, from these narratives may be drawn a normative language almost beyond reproach. Furthermore, each of the narratives, without exception extremely emotionally moving, included the Commission's role in the implicit or explicit denouement of victimization. The Commission's logic is further reinforced thereby, as it appears to be extracted from the actual experience of the persons who participated. In relating their narratives, victims provided the Commission with the necessary material to persuade other victims to participate in the process, to justify itself to the population of South Africa, and to meet its mandate of restoring dignity to victims. Such circularity is a natural element of all discourse, since it contains in its terms of reference the construction of its context, its subjects, its problems and its solutions. The Commission thus met its mission, primarily through a readjustment of its concepts and language but also by a concrete modification of social reality - if such a modification were possible, and possible to observe outside of the language used in its description. From the outset, "dignity" was very apparent not as an objective personal condition but as the outcome of a specific symbolic reality. Whether or not victims felt better following their visit to the Commission, or after the publication of its report, would have no effect on the general availability of a discourse of restored dignity to describe South African reality. On the contrary, the success of this enormous and costly institution, with its mission of rewriting the history of apartheid, could not fail to transform the social representation of its victims.

The many 'faces' of history: <i>Manly Pursuits</i> and <i>Op soek na generaal Mannetjies Mentz</i> at the interface of confrontation and reconciliation

Several English and Afrikaans novels written during the nineties focus on confrontation with the past by exposing past injustices and undermining various myths and legends constructed in support of ideological beliefs. This commitment has gradually assumed the proportions of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. A comparison of two recent novels dealing with events preceding and during the Anglo-Boer War, Manly Pursuits by Ann Harries and Op soek na generaal Mannetjies Mentz (In search of General Mannetjies Mentz) by Christoffel Coetzee provides an interesting angle to this debate. This article is an attempt to contextualise these novels within the larger framework of a contemporary South African reality; to acknowledge and reconcile, or assemble, disparate “faces” of a South African historical event at a specific moment in time. In Manly Pursuits, Ann Harries focuses on the arch imperialist, the “colossus of Africa”, Cecil John Rhodes, to expose the machinations behind the scenes in the “take over” of southern Africa, while in the Afrikaans novel, Op soek na generaal Mannetjies Mentz, the General becomes the embodiment of collective guilt. Written within a postmodern paradigm, both texts problematize the relationship between history and fiction by revealing deviations from “historic data” suggesting alternate versions of such "documentation" and by juxtaposing the private lives of historical personages with their public images.

Mathematics literacy of final year students: South African realities

Mathematics literacy of final year students: South African realities

Middle school students' performance in mathematics in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study: South African realities

Middle school students' performance in mathematics in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study: South African realities

Excellence in health care in the next millennium: South African realities and challenges

This paper was delivered at an international conference as the closing address with the topic "Excellence in health care in the next millennium." Due to the length of the presentation, it is divided into two articles. Opsomming Hierdie referaat was by 'n internasionale kongres as die afsluitingsreferaat gelewer met die titel "Excellence in health care in the next millennium." Weens die lengte van die referaat, word dit in twee artikels verdeel.
 
 *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.

HENNIE AUCAMP: DIE AFRIKA-KONNEKSIE IN KABARET-VERBAND / Hennie Aucamp: the African connection in the context of cabaret

Abstract This article traces a close relationship between the “black” political protest theatre and the Afrikaans form of cabaret, implying the possibility of an indigenous South African theatre form. In the seventies and early eighties two vigorous alternative theatre forms developed on the South African stage, independently of one another and from radically different experiences of the South African political reality. The one grew from a struggle for existence and voiced the protest of a politically, socially and economically deprived community. It reached back to ancient forms of African theatre and traditions and combined it with the modern sounds of South African township jazz. The other form of theatre evolved from pangs of conscience and voiced the protest of a privileged minority. It recalled an authentic and exclusively European tradition. Thus, on the one hand a militant “black” political protest theatre developed, which was intrinsically African, and on the other a literary cabaret in Afrikaans...

RADICAL CHRISTIANITY AMONG STUDENTS: THE STORY OF SUCA

The brith of the Student Union for Christian Action (SUCA) marks the beginning of an important chapter in the history of the student movement. By the late 1970s South Africa was still suffering the trauma of the after-effects of the 1976 riots. Political groups were regrouping to occupy the space created by the banning of popular organizations in 1977. There was a need to give direction to the massive anger and the quest for action against the brutality of the system. Society was fast becoming polarized. Towards the end of the proceedings of the South African Christian Leadership Assembly (SACLA), held in Pretoria in June 1979, the formation of a national union for Christian action was mooted. After much effort, discussion, tension and prayer, SUCA was born in June 1980 a national union for Christians from seventeen universities. To white students it provided a first encounter with black Christians and a better view of Christians from other races. One of them once said: as privileged whites our problem is that we simply do fully know nor understand what is happening in our country. For black students, SUCA 's birth was a dream-come-true and they saw it a vehicle through which to engage and challenge the apartheid system. The bulk of the SUCA constituency at its debut in 1980 were whites from the liberal and Afrikaner universities. SUCA had members from all Christian student groups in the country, namely the Student Christian Movement (SCM), the Student Christian Association (SCA), the Association of Christian Students (ACS) and the Afrikaanse Christen Studentevereniging (ACSV). Most SUCA leaders held national positions in these Christian structures and in the Student Representative Councils (SRCs) of their universities. Since SUCA was meant to be an organization but a movement, little attention was paid to action against building branches. It had members from all the major Christian traditions in the country, but one remarkable feature is that it adopted an evangelical basis of faith at its launching. The greatest problem SUCA faced at the beginning was the prospect of rejection by evangelicals for being too and by activists for not being enough, or for having a definite political line. Tension also existed from the beginning between black and white students based on their understanding of the South African reality and the action required to change it. Until 1982 provision was made for corporate affiliation by student structures. During 1982 SUCA's stand shifted towards practical action and a programme on relocations and squatters was adopted. …

The horns of a dilemma: Economic discipline and economic development in South Africa

Economic debate exploded across the South African policy landscape during the last two years. However, the discussion and many of the emergent policy recommendations seem constrained by old paradigms and confined to incremental changes. A fundamental shift of paradigm is urgently needed, to one based on a holistic view of South African society and economic realities, one which integrates macro‐economic discipline with developmental restructuring interventions. Ultimately, a democratized economy built around widespread participation of all peoples is essential to underpin democratic political processes. A framework for macro‐economic policy reforms is presented in the form of an agenda — issues that must be addressed to restore economic health. By themselves, these reforms are essential but will not be sufficient. Equally important are interventions to rebalance economic participation, closing employment and income gaps and beginning the process of stimulating growth and redistribution simultaneously. Key ...

Primary mental health care: indications and obstacles.

This paper considers indications and obstacles for the development of primary mental health care practice in both developed and under-developed countries. Both are considered as this represents the South African reality. While a significant body of literature has documented the need for primary mental health care, the obstacles (especially in terms of the co-modification of health) to its fruition are seldom addressed.

Suid-Afrikaanse “alternatiewe” rolprente en die Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-politieke werklikheid (Deel 2)

SUMMARY The “alternative” film originated in South Africa because people or groups outside the apartheid establishment were unable to communicate through existing mass media structures, and their own communication channel had to be established. The key question addressed in this article is whether the “alternative” South African film actually succeeds in making a contribution, on an intercultural level of communication, to the socio-political reality of South African society, and to what extent the film as communication medium succeeds in establishing positive intercultural communication? A study of four films is undertaken, according to Pieter J. Fourie's theoretical model (1983), whereby the content and shaping aspects of film images are examined from a contextual as well as an analytical point of view. The value of the “alternative” film lies in the fact that the South African reality is seen from the perspective of the “black” or “coloured” person. For many years “whites”, on account of their ethnocen...

Media, mites, metafore en die kommunikasie van apartheid

SUMMARY In this article it is argued that in spite of politicians and the media's efforts to create a new South Africa, they still mainly communicate in the discourse of apartheid. In order to reach and persuade their publics they use metaphors which embody existing stereotypes and myths of apartheid. The nature of metaphor, myth and stereotype, and the dilemma with which it confronts the media in its daily reporting of South African realities, are briefly discussed. The above is set within the context of a sociological and political theory of language, namely that interpretations of reality within a specific language community is set within the nature of the language as such, and that a language cannot be separated from ideology. In this article the emphasis is on Afrikaans.

South African Reality

South African Reality