The South African critique of racial capitalism was developed during the struggle against aparthe... more The South African critique of racial capitalism was developed during the struggle against apartheid, as Black South Africans engaged in urgent debates about how to understand the system they were fighting and how to win liberation for all. Rather than arguing that capitalism has always been racial, South African radicals developed a conjunctural analysis of racial capitalism with attention to time and space. In this article, we focus on the work of Neville Alexander to develop two arguments about the conjunctural critique of racial capitalism. First, we argue that the conjunctural analysis was closely tied to political praxis. The critique emerged as a theoretical framework that could inform political strategy in a context of struggle. Second, we demonstrate that the conjunctural analysis was always global, situating South Africa within a world historical moment and engaged in dialogue with radical intellectuals and anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and antiracist movements around the world.
On 27 August 2012, Neville Alexander, a revolutionary scholar and educator who seamlessly combine... more On 27 August 2012, Neville Alexander, a revolutionary scholar and educator who seamlessly combined rigorous scholarship with activism, died at the age of 75. In an affirmation of Alexander's tremendous contribution to our lives and society, Emeritus Professor Francis Wilson (2012), from the University of Cape Town, described in a eulogy what many felt: 'With the death ... of Neville Alexander, South Africa has lost one of its greatest, and possibly least appreciated, sons.' Recently, essayist T.O. Molefe (2013) described Alexander's prescience as follows: ... his thinking was, no, is far ahead of our time--and, compelled by the sense of community and humility that drew him into an active role in the country's liberation movement, he could not reasonably withdraw into the insular existence that many in his position might find tempting and mollifying. Yet despite, or perhaps because of, how infuriating it might have been to see things as clearly as he did (when others did not), Alexander was hopeful and optimistic about what could be. The importance and struggles of young people, the subject of this themed section, was always foremost in the praxis of Alexander. Scarcely three months before his passing, he requested I suggest someone knowledgeable about the North African and Middle East uprisings to invite to a series of seminars he was facilitating in Germany. I suggested Adam Hanieh, a young Palestinian activist and currently a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Hanieh (2012) describes the last evening he spent with Alexander: I came away from that evening profoundly inspired and with a feeling of incredible privilege. I was struck by his ability to sharply grasp the essence of the problem at hand, illustrate his points from a variety of different angles, and to constantly surprise and delight with his insights. His humility, warmth and great intelligence touched me very deeply and I will never forget that dinner and our conversation. His passion for the struggle, and his enthusiasm to debate and learn from the revolutionary battles in the Middle East as if they were his own, were the mark of a true internationalist. These are much too rare qualities in our movements and we still had so much to learn from him. In this brief article, I mention some of the key moments in Alexander's life that contributed to the 'rare qualities' mentioned by Hanieh, prior to focusing on Alexander's views on youth resistance and culture. Alexander was bom in Cradock in the Eastern Cape on 22 October 1936. His father was David James Alexander, a carpenter, and his mother, Dimbiti Bisho Alexander, a school teacher. He went to a local school run by German nuns. In 1953 he moved to Cape Town to read a degree in History and German at the University of Cape Town. There, he was influenced by, and later belonged to, the Teachers' League of South Africa and the Non-European Unity Movement. He also helped found the Cape Peninsula Students Union (CPSU) and belonged to the Society of Young Africa (SOYA). A fellowship awarded by the Humboldt Foundation sent him to the University of Tubingen, Germany, where he obtained his doctorate on the work of the German dramatist, Gerhart Hauptmann. Alexander was 26 years old. He was also keenly involved in the German student movement and closely associated with Algerian, Cuban and other revolutionaries who went on to play leading roles in their respective anticolonial struggles. Prompted by the Sharpeville Massacre and after his return to South Africa in 1961, he, together with Namibian and South African activists, formed the National Liberation Front. Members included the late Judge Fikile Bam and Dulcie September, who was later assassinated. At the time of his arrest in 1963, Alexander was a history teacher at Livingston High School. He was imprisoned on Robben Island for ten years, followed by five years of house arrest. …
Extracted from text ... 7 COMMON ARGUMENTS ""Justifying"" corporal punishment... more Extracted from text ... 7 COMMON ARGUMENTS ""Justifying"" corporal punishment As part of our ongoing series, we again feature an example of arguments used to justify the use of corporal punishment of children. The example is taken from Corporal Punishment and Bullying: The Rights of Learners, a publication by the Education Rights Project of the Wits Education Policy Unit, written by Salim Vally. ""There is a big difference between a cruel beating and corporal punishment used in a controlled way by a parent or principal. This is not dangerous, causes little pain and cannot be called abuse. It is a way of instilling respect."" ..
Southern African Review of Education with Education with Production, Apr 1, 2008
This book is a vital scholarly contribution to understanding the current state of schools in post... more This book is a vital scholarly contribution to understanding the current state of schools in post-apartheid South Africa, particularly the impact of education policies on teachers and classrooms.
Southern African Review of Education with Education with Production, 2005
This article is based on the keynote address to the 12th World Congress on Comparative Education ... more This article is based on the keynote address to the 12th World Congress on Comparative Education held in Havana, Cuba. The conference was convened by the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) and the Association of Cuban Educators (APC). Employing the poetry of the late June Jordan, formerly Professor of African-American Studies, Mahmoud Darwish, pre-eminent Palestinian poet, Emmanuel Ortiz of the Alliance for the Indigenous Zapatistas and South Africa's Mazisi Kunene as a heuristic tool, this article attempts to enlist fellow educationists in questioning the dominant language, symbols and ideology that help frame how we understand global events post-9/11. It explores the implications of new forms of imperialism in education in terms of both its curriculum content and control of education. The impulse to commodify education partially at the behest of agencies such as the World Trade Organization and its key agreement, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, instead of treating education as a public good will be examined. Finally, the article cautions of the dangers of militarism, racism and xenophobia as well as the accompanying perils of an atavistic fundamentalism in these charged times. It concludes with an appeal for a renewed vigour and emphasis on values and practices that promote solidarity and social justice in our curricula response and a methodological imperative and praxis that counters chauvinism, understands the viewpoint of the victims of the new imperialism and makes common cause with them.
The South African critique of racial capitalism was developed during the struggle against aparthe... more The South African critique of racial capitalism was developed during the struggle against apartheid, as Black South Africans engaged in urgent debates about how to understand the system they were fighting and how to win liberation for all. Rather than arguing that capitalism has always been racial, South African radicals developed a conjunctural analysis of racial capitalism with attention to time and space. In this article, we focus on the work of Neville Alexander to develop two arguments about the conjunctural critique of racial capitalism. First, we argue that the conjunctural analysis was closely tied to political praxis. The critique emerged as a theoretical framework that could inform political strategy in a context of struggle. Second, we demonstrate that the conjunctural analysis was always global, situating South Africa within a world historical moment and engaged in dialogue with radical intellectuals and anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and antiracist movements around the world.
On 27 August 2012, Neville Alexander, a revolutionary scholar and educator who seamlessly combine... more On 27 August 2012, Neville Alexander, a revolutionary scholar and educator who seamlessly combined rigorous scholarship with activism, died at the age of 75. In an affirmation of Alexander's tremendous contribution to our lives and society, Emeritus Professor Francis Wilson (2012), from the University of Cape Town, described in a eulogy what many felt: 'With the death ... of Neville Alexander, South Africa has lost one of its greatest, and possibly least appreciated, sons.' Recently, essayist T.O. Molefe (2013) described Alexander's prescience as follows: ... his thinking was, no, is far ahead of our time--and, compelled by the sense of community and humility that drew him into an active role in the country's liberation movement, he could not reasonably withdraw into the insular existence that many in his position might find tempting and mollifying. Yet despite, or perhaps because of, how infuriating it might have been to see things as clearly as he did (when others did not), Alexander was hopeful and optimistic about what could be. The importance and struggles of young people, the subject of this themed section, was always foremost in the praxis of Alexander. Scarcely three months before his passing, he requested I suggest someone knowledgeable about the North African and Middle East uprisings to invite to a series of seminars he was facilitating in Germany. I suggested Adam Hanieh, a young Palestinian activist and currently a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Hanieh (2012) describes the last evening he spent with Alexander: I came away from that evening profoundly inspired and with a feeling of incredible privilege. I was struck by his ability to sharply grasp the essence of the problem at hand, illustrate his points from a variety of different angles, and to constantly surprise and delight with his insights. His humility, warmth and great intelligence touched me very deeply and I will never forget that dinner and our conversation. His passion for the struggle, and his enthusiasm to debate and learn from the revolutionary battles in the Middle East as if they were his own, were the mark of a true internationalist. These are much too rare qualities in our movements and we still had so much to learn from him. In this brief article, I mention some of the key moments in Alexander's life that contributed to the 'rare qualities' mentioned by Hanieh, prior to focusing on Alexander's views on youth resistance and culture. Alexander was bom in Cradock in the Eastern Cape on 22 October 1936. His father was David James Alexander, a carpenter, and his mother, Dimbiti Bisho Alexander, a school teacher. He went to a local school run by German nuns. In 1953 he moved to Cape Town to read a degree in History and German at the University of Cape Town. There, he was influenced by, and later belonged to, the Teachers' League of South Africa and the Non-European Unity Movement. He also helped found the Cape Peninsula Students Union (CPSU) and belonged to the Society of Young Africa (SOYA). A fellowship awarded by the Humboldt Foundation sent him to the University of Tubingen, Germany, where he obtained his doctorate on the work of the German dramatist, Gerhart Hauptmann. Alexander was 26 years old. He was also keenly involved in the German student movement and closely associated with Algerian, Cuban and other revolutionaries who went on to play leading roles in their respective anticolonial struggles. Prompted by the Sharpeville Massacre and after his return to South Africa in 1961, he, together with Namibian and South African activists, formed the National Liberation Front. Members included the late Judge Fikile Bam and Dulcie September, who was later assassinated. At the time of his arrest in 1963, Alexander was a history teacher at Livingston High School. He was imprisoned on Robben Island for ten years, followed by five years of house arrest. …
Extracted from text ... 7 COMMON ARGUMENTS ""Justifying"" corporal punishment... more Extracted from text ... 7 COMMON ARGUMENTS ""Justifying"" corporal punishment As part of our ongoing series, we again feature an example of arguments used to justify the use of corporal punishment of children. The example is taken from Corporal Punishment and Bullying: The Rights of Learners, a publication by the Education Rights Project of the Wits Education Policy Unit, written by Salim Vally. ""There is a big difference between a cruel beating and corporal punishment used in a controlled way by a parent or principal. This is not dangerous, causes little pain and cannot be called abuse. It is a way of instilling respect."" ..
Southern African Review of Education with Education with Production, Apr 1, 2008
This book is a vital scholarly contribution to understanding the current state of schools in post... more This book is a vital scholarly contribution to understanding the current state of schools in post-apartheid South Africa, particularly the impact of education policies on teachers and classrooms.
Southern African Review of Education with Education with Production, 2005
This article is based on the keynote address to the 12th World Congress on Comparative Education ... more This article is based on the keynote address to the 12th World Congress on Comparative Education held in Havana, Cuba. The conference was convened by the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) and the Association of Cuban Educators (APC). Employing the poetry of the late June Jordan, formerly Professor of African-American Studies, Mahmoud Darwish, pre-eminent Palestinian poet, Emmanuel Ortiz of the Alliance for the Indigenous Zapatistas and South Africa's Mazisi Kunene as a heuristic tool, this article attempts to enlist fellow educationists in questioning the dominant language, symbols and ideology that help frame how we understand global events post-9/11. It explores the implications of new forms of imperialism in education in terms of both its curriculum content and control of education. The impulse to commodify education partially at the behest of agencies such as the World Trade Organization and its key agreement, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, instead of treating education as a public good will be examined. Finally, the article cautions of the dangers of militarism, racism and xenophobia as well as the accompanying perils of an atavistic fundamentalism in these charged times. It concludes with an appeal for a renewed vigour and emphasis on values and practices that promote solidarity and social justice in our curricula response and a methodological imperative and praxis that counters chauvinism, understands the viewpoint of the victims of the new imperialism and makes common cause with them.
The events of 2015 confounded those who made unflattering observations about the social conscious... more The events of 2015 confounded those who made unflattering observations about the social consciousness of students, allegedly consumed by the effects of being 'born-free' and without a sense of history or mission. These cynical assertions reflected ignorance about the simmering tensions at the chalk face of our education institutions, and indeed the coal face of our mines and in the impoverished communities around the country. Now the issue of the funding of higher education is writ large in the national consciousness. It is widely accepted that higher education in South Africa is chronically underfunded. This is hardly contentious, since even the Minister of Higher Education has accepted the need to access additional resources for higher education. Similarly, the shocking levels of social inequality in South Africa is hardly in issue since South Africa ranks amongst one of the most unequal societies on earth (Southall, 2016). Yet, there are important misconceptions in some of the arguments about the chronic underfunding of education and social inequality as it affects 'poor' and 'middle' class access to higher education leading to narrow conceptualisations of both the role of higher education and its relationship to social systems. The questions raised by students and other participants in the struggles around education are not simply about education, nor are they resolvable by better education policies, plans and strategies, or by increasing state budgets for the higher education system, alone 2. They raised fundamental questions about the very nature of the 'decolonisation' and 'transformation' of post-apartheid society and how 'national development' and its political, socioeconomic , and cultural goals are to be realised. Because of space constraints we will concentrate on one issue alone – that is, the debate around the question of free higher education and whether it should be provided for the 'poor' or more universally 'for all'. We know that there is a raft of other issues that have been raised in the recent events around the role and purposes of universities bringing into focus conceptions of the decolonising of the university and simultaneously of its curriculum, forms of leadership and management, the racism and gender violence which has characterised university life at many campuses, the commodification of knowledge, the limited nature of its conceptions of scholarship and pedagogy, together with issues about intra-institutional inequality, matters concerning the governance of institutions, the 'culture ' of universities, language and other pertinent issues. 3 1 A fuller version of this paper of this paper was submitted to the editor of the New South African Review (forthcoming)in May 2016, the editor has agreed to the publication of this version given the immediacy of the issues raised in the paper and its potential uses for public engagement. 2 In the book Education, Economy and Society (Vally and Motala, 2014 UNISA Press) the authors challenge the resurgent neo-classical and human capital theory assumptions related to the link between education and economic growth and that more and better education and training will automatically lead to employment. 3 There is a new consciousness encouraging solidarity amongst significant numbers of youth that speaks more and more to the intersectionality of class exploitation, racism, different forms of oppression and patriarchy in concrete ways. This has over time expanded to include issues about privatisation and the outsourcing of work, the perverse pursuit of rankings and competitiveness, inequalities between universities and the 'decolonising' of the curriculum.
The events of 2015 confounded those who made unflattering observations about the social conscious... more The events of 2015 confounded those who made unflattering observations about the social consciousness of students, allegedly consumed by the effects of being 'born-free' and without a sense of history or mission. These cynical assertions reflected ignorance about the simmering tensions at the chalk face of our education institutions, and indeed the coal face of our mines and in the impoverished communities around the country. Now the issue of the funding of higher education is writ large in the national consciousness. It is widely accepted that higher education in South Africa is chronically underfunded. This is hardly contentious, since even the Minister of Higher Education has accepted the need to access additional resources for higher education. Similarly, the shocking levels of social inequality in South Africa is hardly in issue since South Africa ranks amongst one of the most unequal societies on earth (Southall, 2016). Yet, there are important misconceptions in some of the arguments about the chronic underfunding of education and social inequality as it affects 'poor' and 'middle' class access to higher education leading to narrow conceptualisations of both the role of higher education and its relationship to social systems. The questions raised by students and other participants in the struggles around education are not simply about education, nor are they resolvable by better education policies, plans and strategies, or by increasing state budgets for the higher education system, alone. They raised fundamental questions about the very nature of the 'decolonisation' and 'transformation' of post-apartheid society and how 'national development' and its political, socioeconomic , and cultural goals are to be realised. Because of space constraints we will concentrate on one issue alone – that is, the debate around the question of free higher education and whether it should be provided for the 'poor' or more universally 'for all'. We know that there is a raft of other issues that have been raised in the recent events around the role and purposes of universities bringing into focus conceptions of the decolonising of the university and simultaneously of its curriculum, forms of leadership and management, the racism and gender violence which has characterised university life at many campuses, the commodification of knowledge, the limited nature of its conceptions of scholarship and pedagogy, together with issues about intra-institutional inequality, matters concerning the governance of institutions, the 'culture ' of universities, language and other pertinent issues. A fuller version of this paper of this paper was submitted to the editor of the New South African Review (forthcoming)in May 2016, the editor has agreed to the publication of this version given the immediacy of the issues raised in the paper and its potential uses for public engagement.
History's Schools: Past Struggles and Present Realities (UKZN Press), 2018
This collection of 15 chapters explores engagement with activist/movement archives; learning and ... more This collection of 15 chapters explores engagement with activist/movement archives; learning and teaching militant histories; lessons from liberation and anti-imperialist struggles and learning from student, youth and education struggles.
The book examines South Africa's social movements and explores historical and contemporary struggles in other parts of the world. The collection also includes the original research and experiences of prominent scholars and activists documenting feminist activism in Canada, indigenous people’s activism, student struggles in Iran, the political tradition of Palestinian history, working class education and history in the UK, anti-racist activism in the UK, Black and Third World studies in the US and a review of an Argentinian historian’s activism and scholarship.
The University and Social Justice: Struggles Across the Globe (Pluto Press), 2020
Lessons in Struggle, Studies in Resistance is the opening chapter of the book, The University and... more Lessons in Struggle, Studies in Resistance is the opening chapter of the book, The University and Social Justice: Struggles Across the Globe published by Pluto Press. I'm posting our chapter in loving memory of Aziz Choudry (1966-2021) a co-editor of the book who passed away in May 2021.
The book features contributions from Canada, Chile, France, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Occupied Palestine, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, UK and USA.
Higher education has long been contested terrain. From student movements to staff unions and communities beyond the academy's gates, the fight for accessible, critical and quality public education has turned university campuses globally into sites of struggle.
Whether calling for institutional change, the decommodification of education or the decolonisation of programmes of study and curricula (however these are defined) many of these struggles have drawn on (and in turn, resonate with) longer histories of popular resistance and are also connected to broader movements for progressive social, political and economic change, and radical visions of a fairer world.
In this book, we bring the analytical accounts of diverse struggles into conversation with each other.
Six chapters of this book foreground insights from the breadth and diversity of South Africa’s ri... more Six chapters of this book foreground insights from the breadth and diversity of South Africa’s rich progressive social movements while others explore connections between ideas and practices of historical and contemporary struggles in other parts of the world including Argentina, Iran, Palestine, Turtle Island (Canada), UK and the US. The book seeks to enrich, broaden and challenge dominant understandings about how and where education, learning and knowledge production occur.
The book advances critical understandings about learning, knowledge production and social movements by:
1) exploring relationships between contemporary activist/social movement knowledge and independent, community-based archival and historical resources; 2) examining the theoretical and practical implications of the intellectual work of activism in order to better understand non-formal and informal learning and social change and 3) highlighting approaches to retrieve, connect and bring movement/activist knowledge from the past into dialogue with the collective present, in order to inform future change and facilitate intergenerational learning.
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Papers by Salim Vally
A fuller version of this paper of this paper was submitted to the editor of the New South African Review (forthcoming)in May 2016, the editor has agreed to the publication of this version given the immediacy of the issues raised in the paper and its potential uses for public engagement.
The book examines South Africa's social movements and explores historical and contemporary struggles in other parts of the world. The collection also includes the original research and experiences of prominent scholars and activists documenting feminist activism in Canada, indigenous people’s activism, student struggles in Iran, the political tradition of Palestinian history, working class education and history in the UK, anti-racist activism in the UK, Black and Third World studies in the US and a review of an Argentinian historian’s activism and scholarship.
The book features contributions from Canada, Chile, France, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Occupied Palestine, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, UK and USA.
Higher education has long been contested terrain. From student movements to staff unions and communities beyond the academy's gates, the fight for accessible, critical and quality public education has turned university campuses globally into sites of struggle.
Whether calling for institutional change, the decommodification of education or the decolonisation of programmes of study and curricula (however these are defined) many of these struggles have drawn on (and in turn, resonate with) longer histories of popular resistance and are also connected to broader movements for progressive social, political and economic change, and radical visions of a fairer world.
In this book, we bring the analytical accounts of diverse struggles into conversation with each other.
The book advances critical understandings about learning, knowledge production and social movements by:
1) exploring relationships between contemporary activist/social movement knowledge and independent, community-based archival and historical resources;
2) examining the theoretical and practical implications of the intellectual work of activism in order to better understand non-formal and informal learning and social change and
3) highlighting approaches to retrieve, connect and bring movement/activist knowledge from the past into dialogue with the collective present, in order to inform future change and facilitate intergenerational learning.
For brief reviews, contents page and part of the introductory chapter click on the ‘Preview PDF’ icon at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351672313.