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Browsing by Author "Adesina, Jimi"
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Item The lords of poverty? Micro-credit institutions and social reproduction in South Africa(University of the Western Cape, 2015) Omomowo, Kolawole Emmanuel; Adesina, JimiThe broader conception of poverty as �quality of social reproduction� demonstrates the delicate nature of the interaction between the institutions of the family/household, the economy and the state. These institutions interact in the dispensation of individual, productive and collective consumptions important for social well-being and social reproduction in society. The gap in the configuration of these consumptions relationship opens the space for the institution of micro-credits to thrive in South Africa to the detriment of adequate �quality of social reproduction� especially for people living in �poverty range� or �precarious prosperity�. The lack of comprehensive social policy regime provides the recipe for the consumption of micro-credit at the desperate, need and choice dimensions, in order to close the gap between income and consumption needs to facilitate social reproduction of concerned family/households. Micro-credit consumption is viewed as an individual response, in the absence of collective consumption in the form of social policy, to smoothen individual consumption, and to cater for the strain or challenges of social reproduction. The implications of this, for concerned family/households, are imperative to how poverty is perceived, hence, the question �the lords of poverty�? In addition to the income and expenditure conception of poverty, the understanding of poverty dynamics will be enriched by engaging with the method through which the poor and �precarious prosperous� (people living within �poverty range�) respond to the gap between their income and expenditure to finance shortfalls in their consumption needs. The relief sought from micro-credit (the focus of this study) to finance the gap in consumption needs can alleviate poverty, and at the same time perpetuates it through chronic indebtedness. The patronage of micro-credit in the form of cash loan, retail goods credit and informal micro-credit in the way people living within the �poverty range� live their lives, as well as the activities of micro-credit institutions are highlighted in this study. Consumer credit consumption has become such a permanent feature of the social reproduction efforts of individual households in South Africa that it is crucial to understand the broader institutional interaction that may account for this. Further, it is important to understand how the patronage of consumer credit impact on the need that prompted it in the first place and other implications that may speak to the quality of social reproduction of households. These are the core problematics that are engaged in this study. The relationship between poverty (as well-being) and the consumption of micro-credit is considered within the broader framework of political economy. The effects of predatory institutions, such as microcredit, could be significant for the quality of social reproduction of households.Item Sociology curriculum in a South African University: a case study(2012) Nyoka, Bongani; Adesina, JimiThis study sought to investigate the alleged problem of ?academic dependency?, on the part of South African sociologists, on western scholarship. The stated problem is said to undermine South African sociologists? ability to set their own intellectual and epistemological agenda. Sociology in South Africa is characterised by two issues: ?negations? and theoretical ?extraversion?. In the light of the foregoing claim, the study sought to investigate the underlying epistemological features of sociology curriculum in one of the South African universities. In investigating these issues, the thesis relies on the notion of ?authentic interlocutors? put forward by Archie Mafeje. Literature on transformation of the social sciences in (South) Africa was reviewed. Methodologically, the study assumes a qualitative approach. In order comprehensively to understand the problem under investigation, in-depth interviews were conducted along with a review of course outlines of the selected department of sociology; these, in turn, were subjected to content analysis. Interviewees included, respectively, academic members of staff and postgraduate students. The study concludes by highlighting the ?ontological disconnect?, on the part of South African sociologists, not only with their immediate environment but the rest of the African continent. In maintaining this view, it argues that their ontological and epistemological standpoints only succeed in highlighting their cultural affinity with Euro-American perspectives. The said ontological disconnect and cultural affinity, it is argued, lead to extraverted curriculaItem State, democracy and development: An exploration of the scholarship of professor (Archie) Monwabisi Mafeje(University of the Western Cape, 2016) Funani, Luthando Sinethemba; Adesina, JimiThe departing point of the thesis is that the neglect of African's intellectual heritage within the South African Universities and in public discourse undermines the ability of the post-apartheid government to set its developmental agenda and maximize its democratic potential. The thesis highlights the neglect of Professor Mafeje's scholarly contribution as an example of this neglect and argues that an engagement with his scholarly output might have differently shaped the debate on the thematic issues that are covered in this study. Against this backdrop, this study explores Mafeje's scholarly works in the areas of state, development and democracy, specifically focusing on the insight that we can garner from his scholarly works that will allow us to re-examine the challenges of development. In this context Mafeje's work is examined and situated within the social history of his milieus. The study employs social constructionism to explore the scholarship of Professor Mafeje. An important aspect of this theoretical framework is social embeddedness. Brunner (1990:30) has argued that it is culture, not biology that shapes human life and mind. The important aspect of this approach is that it acknowledges that the way we commonly understand the world, the categories and concepts we use, are historically and cultural specific. Mafeje's ideas make sense when located within complex social contexts in which they were produced. Because he was not producing knowledge in a vacuum, an understanding and appreciation of his ideas must be located within the social history that produced them.