Different groups within South African society express disillusionment with the present through a ... more Different groups within South African society express disillusionment with the present through a discourse of betrayal in relation to the liberation movement-cum-governing-party of the African National Congress. This article focuses on a particular articulation of this discourse within two memory communities in the Western Cape (Bonteheuwel and Crossroads) who were embroiled in violence and political struggle during apartheid and continue to suffer conditions of structural violence in the post-apartheid era. It analyses the shared memory narrative of a ‘betrayed sacrifice’ to demonstrate a proposed theoretical concept of ‘knotted memories’ which describes the way in which past and present memories of suffering knot together to produce a lived affective condition of despair. It further considers what these everyday experiences of ‘knotted memories’ mean for re-thinking the nature of trauma and hope in relation to post-apartheid despair.
The introduction conceptualises the notion of Post-Conflict Hauntings to foreground the globally ... more The introduction conceptualises the notion of Post-Conflict Hauntings to foreground the globally pressing question of how countries deal with the traumatic aftermaths of mass violence. Historically this question has been theorised through the important psychodynamically informed work of trauma theory in the post-Holocaust context. However, the chapters of this book, as introduced in this opening chapter, seek to draw on, rethink and expand the trauma concept using the lens of haunted memory as reflected through a range of different historical case studies and disciplinary perspectives. We explain the structure of the book as comprising three different parts: “Towards an Ethics of Haunted Memory”, “Local Expressions of Collective Haunting and Healing” and “Transforming Haunted Memory Through Artistic Interventions”. Together the chapters offer theoretical, empirical and practical insights into the nature of historical trauma and practices of collective healing that include embodied, ...
This paper is the final deliverable of an impact assessment programme commissioned by the Amy Bie... more This paper is the final deliverable of an impact assessment programme commissioned by the Amy Biehl Foundation to investigate the deeper impacts, benefits and disbenefits, on the recipients of the HIV/AIDS peer educators programme. This paper posits an interesting methodology based on Sen’s capability approach which sought to explore the impact of the peer education programme upon dimensions of well-being and other agency objectives. The programme was found to be having a very positive impact upon the recipients. Overall the programme was found have important unintended, but predictable outcomes upon youth’s knowledge, confidence and inner voice. The suggestion in this paper is that changes in feelings of self-worth are valuable in enhancing choices and decisions made generally in the peer educators lives and especially in regards to the knowledge gained in the area of HIV/AIDS. This is a positive appraisal; it tells us that the programme empowers youths through knowledge and relati...
The purpose of this article is to critically interrogate the extent to which diversity practition... more The purpose of this article is to critically interrogate the extent to which diversity practitioners' definitions of diversity create the potential for deep transformation. By employing critical management theory and discursive analysis, we identified three dimensions to the definitions: Categories of Difference, Engagement of Difference and Site of Change. Each of these is represented as one dimension of the Diversity "Rubik" Cube. Each dimension is described individually, after which interaction between them is examined. At each point the potential for deep transformation is examined. In most cases the potential for deep transformation offered by the Category of Difference is closed down by the Engagement with Difference. This interaction represents the dominant paradigms for thinking through diversity in management studies. We suggest that there is only one alignment of the dimensions that provides for deep transformative practice and we offer the Diversity "Ru...
This chapter explores the intergenerational transmission of nostalgic memory in the context of a ... more This chapter explores the intergenerational transmission of nostalgic memory in the context of a Cape Town township called Bonteheuwel, haunted by memories of apartheid forced removal and present conditions of violence. It draws on focus group research into the way in which young South Africans narrate their experiences of encountering their parents’ memories of apartheid, a time before their birth. It demonstrates how the sensuous and embodied nature of nostalgic “memory encounters” between generations, allows the more silenced traumatic aspects of history to surface for these young South Africans. At the same time, they provide the youth of South Africa with a source from which to imagine and articulate their hopes for the future, in a context that remains plagued by violence. Thus, it is argued that while nostalgia for the past can transfer traumatic memory to future generations, these memories can also contain the seeds of critical hope for imagining new futures.
The Limits of Transition: The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission 20 Years on is an... more The Limits of Transition: The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission 20 Years on is an interdisciplinary collection that celebrates and critiques the work of the TRC after 20 years. The authors consider whether the TRC has continued relevance for South Africa. The book further explores the legacy of the ‘unfinished business’ of the TRC.
The commemorating narrative of South African nationhood tells the story of the national liberatio... more The commemorating narrative of South African nationhood tells the story of the national liberation struggle against apartheid and the transition to freedom and democracy. It places the present ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), at its heart as leader of the struggle and bringer of freedom. However, the cracks and contradictions in this national story are increasingly evident, as poverty, injustice and inequality deepen. This article draws on a case study of former anti-apartheid struggle comrades who continue to experience poverty and oppression. Their social exclusion is expressed though the contested ways in which they give meaning to past struggles in relation to the dominant national narrative. In the current context of widespread unemployment, they face a memory paradox. Conflicting desires underpin the way in which they give meaning to their experiences as they attempt to gain access to military pensions, which, however, assume a version of the past that endorses the national liberation narrative. They also contest some of the underlying assumptions of this narrative and the politics it implies.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 21528586 2007 10419166, Jan 11, 2012
ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a se... more ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a severely unequal society. On the one side of the divide are relatively prosperous white South Africans and an increasing black middle and upper class; and on the other side are harshly poor black South Africans. Despite decreasing interracial inequality, many white South Africans remain in a highly privileged position at the intersection of continued race and class systems of privilege. Research on whiteness in South Africa indicates that inequality is actively maintained by the discourses mobilised by white South Africans. This study was interested in furthering such research. A discourse analysis was applied to ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with white, wealthy South Africans, to identify the ways in which meaning was being constructed around issues of poverty and development. J.B. Thompson's (1984) framework was applied to these discourses, to identify whether they were operating ideologically (to maintain unequal relations of race and class domination). Findings indicate that participants were mobilising discourses that function to maintain a system of race and class privilege. These findings have implications for the future focus of development strategy in South Africa.
ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a se... more ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a severely unequal society. On the one side of the divide are relatively prosperous white South Africans and an increasing black middle and upper class; and on the other side are harshly poor black South Africans. Despite decreasing interracial inequality, many white South Africans remain in a highly privileged position at the intersection of continued race and class systems of privilege. Research on whiteness in South Africa indicates that inequality is actively maintained by the discourses mobilised by white South Africans. This study was interested in furthering such research. A discourse analysis was applied to ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with white, wealthy South Africans, to identify the ways in which meaning was being constructed around issues of poverty and development. J.B. Thompson's (1984) framework was applied to these discourses, to identify whether they were operating ideologically (to maintain unequal relations of race and class domination). Findings indicate that participants were mobilising discourses that function to maintain a system of race and class privilege. These findings have implications for the future focus of development strategy in South Africa.
Different groups within South African society express disillusionment with the present through a ... more Different groups within South African society express disillusionment with the present through a discourse of betrayal in relation to the liberation movement-cum-governing-party of the African National Congress. This article focuses on a particular articulation of this discourse within two memory communities in the Western Cape (Bonteheuwel and Crossroads) who were embroiled in violence and political struggle during apartheid and continue to suffer conditions of structural violence in the post-apartheid era. It analyses the shared memory narrative of a ‘betrayed sacrifice’ to demonstrate a proposed theoretical concept of ‘knotted memories’ which describes the way in which past and present memories of suffering knot together to produce a lived affective condition of despair. It further considers what these everyday experiences of ‘knotted memories’ mean for re-thinking the nature of trauma and hope in relation to post-apartheid despair.
The introduction conceptualises the notion of Post-Conflict Hauntings to foreground the globally ... more The introduction conceptualises the notion of Post-Conflict Hauntings to foreground the globally pressing question of how countries deal with the traumatic aftermaths of mass violence. Historically this question has been theorised through the important psychodynamically informed work of trauma theory in the post-Holocaust context. However, the chapters of this book, as introduced in this opening chapter, seek to draw on, rethink and expand the trauma concept using the lens of haunted memory as reflected through a range of different historical case studies and disciplinary perspectives. We explain the structure of the book as comprising three different parts: “Towards an Ethics of Haunted Memory”, “Local Expressions of Collective Haunting and Healing” and “Transforming Haunted Memory Through Artistic Interventions”. Together the chapters offer theoretical, empirical and practical insights into the nature of historical trauma and practices of collective healing that include embodied, ...
This paper is the final deliverable of an impact assessment programme commissioned by the Amy Bie... more This paper is the final deliverable of an impact assessment programme commissioned by the Amy Biehl Foundation to investigate the deeper impacts, benefits and disbenefits, on the recipients of the HIV/AIDS peer educators programme. This paper posits an interesting methodology based on Sen’s capability approach which sought to explore the impact of the peer education programme upon dimensions of well-being and other agency objectives. The programme was found to be having a very positive impact upon the recipients. Overall the programme was found have important unintended, but predictable outcomes upon youth’s knowledge, confidence and inner voice. The suggestion in this paper is that changes in feelings of self-worth are valuable in enhancing choices and decisions made generally in the peer educators lives and especially in regards to the knowledge gained in the area of HIV/AIDS. This is a positive appraisal; it tells us that the programme empowers youths through knowledge and relati...
The purpose of this article is to critically interrogate the extent to which diversity practition... more The purpose of this article is to critically interrogate the extent to which diversity practitioners' definitions of diversity create the potential for deep transformation. By employing critical management theory and discursive analysis, we identified three dimensions to the definitions: Categories of Difference, Engagement of Difference and Site of Change. Each of these is represented as one dimension of the Diversity "Rubik" Cube. Each dimension is described individually, after which interaction between them is examined. At each point the potential for deep transformation is examined. In most cases the potential for deep transformation offered by the Category of Difference is closed down by the Engagement with Difference. This interaction represents the dominant paradigms for thinking through diversity in management studies. We suggest that there is only one alignment of the dimensions that provides for deep transformative practice and we offer the Diversity "Ru...
This chapter explores the intergenerational transmission of nostalgic memory in the context of a ... more This chapter explores the intergenerational transmission of nostalgic memory in the context of a Cape Town township called Bonteheuwel, haunted by memories of apartheid forced removal and present conditions of violence. It draws on focus group research into the way in which young South Africans narrate their experiences of encountering their parents’ memories of apartheid, a time before their birth. It demonstrates how the sensuous and embodied nature of nostalgic “memory encounters” between generations, allows the more silenced traumatic aspects of history to surface for these young South Africans. At the same time, they provide the youth of South Africa with a source from which to imagine and articulate their hopes for the future, in a context that remains plagued by violence. Thus, it is argued that while nostalgia for the past can transfer traumatic memory to future generations, these memories can also contain the seeds of critical hope for imagining new futures.
The Limits of Transition: The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission 20 Years on is an... more The Limits of Transition: The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission 20 Years on is an interdisciplinary collection that celebrates and critiques the work of the TRC after 20 years. The authors consider whether the TRC has continued relevance for South Africa. The book further explores the legacy of the ‘unfinished business’ of the TRC.
The commemorating narrative of South African nationhood tells the story of the national liberatio... more The commemorating narrative of South African nationhood tells the story of the national liberation struggle against apartheid and the transition to freedom and democracy. It places the present ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), at its heart as leader of the struggle and bringer of freedom. However, the cracks and contradictions in this national story are increasingly evident, as poverty, injustice and inequality deepen. This article draws on a case study of former anti-apartheid struggle comrades who continue to experience poverty and oppression. Their social exclusion is expressed though the contested ways in which they give meaning to past struggles in relation to the dominant national narrative. In the current context of widespread unemployment, they face a memory paradox. Conflicting desires underpin the way in which they give meaning to their experiences as they attempt to gain access to military pensions, which, however, assume a version of the past that endorses the national liberation narrative. They also contest some of the underlying assumptions of this narrative and the politics it implies.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 21528586 2007 10419166, Jan 11, 2012
ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a se... more ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a severely unequal society. On the one side of the divide are relatively prosperous white South Africans and an increasing black middle and upper class; and on the other side are harshly poor black South Africans. Despite decreasing interracial inequality, many white South Africans remain in a highly privileged position at the intersection of continued race and class systems of privilege. Research on whiteness in South Africa indicates that inequality is actively maintained by the discourses mobilised by white South Africans. This study was interested in furthering such research. A discourse analysis was applied to ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with white, wealthy South Africans, to identify the ways in which meaning was being constructed around issues of poverty and development. J.B. Thompson's (1984) framework was applied to these discourses, to identify whether they were operating ideologically (to maintain unequal relations of race and class domination). Findings indicate that participants were mobilising discourses that function to maintain a system of race and class privilege. These findings have implications for the future focus of development strategy in South Africa.
ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a se... more ABSTRACT Twelve years after the transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa remains a severely unequal society. On the one side of the divide are relatively prosperous white South Africans and an increasing black middle and upper class; and on the other side are harshly poor black South Africans. Despite decreasing interracial inequality, many white South Africans remain in a highly privileged position at the intersection of continued race and class systems of privilege. Research on whiteness in South Africa indicates that inequality is actively maintained by the discourses mobilised by white South Africans. This study was interested in furthering such research. A discourse analysis was applied to ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with white, wealthy South Africans, to identify the ways in which meaning was being constructed around issues of poverty and development. J.B. Thompson's (1984) framework was applied to these discourses, to identify whether they were operating ideologically (to maintain unequal relations of race and class domination). Findings indicate that participants were mobilising discourses that function to maintain a system of race and class privilege. These findings have implications for the future focus of development strategy in South Africa.
The book presents findings and analysis from six years of research on class structure and class i... more The book presents findings and analysis from six years of research on class structure and class identity in Soweto, South Africa’s most populous and politically-important township. This is placed within the context of heightened socio-economic inequalities in nearly all countries around the world; renewed academic interest in class alongside a paucity of literature on the character of class in the global south; and the specific value of a study on South Africa, with its extremes of unemployment, strike action and ongoing insurrectionary unrest among the urban poor. The book draws on a large, wide-ranging representative survey and extensive qualitative fieldwork. It makes an original contribution to the sociology of class and to the politics of contemporary South Africa.
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