Department of Anthropology/Sociology

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A sociological study of ideology among the Herero of central Namibia
(University of the Western Cape, 1984) van Rooyen, Johann Willem Friedrich; Welz, S.E; Du Pisanti, S.E
The concept of ideology: as portrayed in the works of various social theorists, is comprised of a wider Yet related, range of meanings and connotations. Despite its lack of semantic precision, the concept is of value for sociological analysis and is of special relevance in the theories of Marx and Weber, both on a descriptive as well as explanatory level. In an attempt to test these two theorists I postulates in a substantive setting, the chief ideological and material influences which have affected the socio-culturaI development of the Herero of central Namibia are surveyed and related to some modern social structures peculiar to them. The study indicates that ideological and material factors have indeed both variously been responsible for significant social adaptations that have occurred in Herero society in recent times. The findings suggest that material impulses have far outweighed ideological stimuli in importance for the greater part of recorded Herero history. It is only since the end of World War II that ideological variables seem to have predominated as causal agents of social change.
'n Psigo-Sosiale Studie van Tienerswangerskappe in die Noordelike Stadsgebiede van die Kaapse Skiereiland
(University of Western Cape, 1990) Todt, Aletta Elizabeth; du Toit, J.B.
Die verskynsel van tienerswangerskap kom in alle samelewingsvorme voor en toon 'n steeds stygende toename in alle w�relddele sodat dit deur sommige outeurs as epidemies beskou word (Chelala, 1988: 22). Dit vorm deel van die toename in bevolkingsgetalle en die sogenaamde bevolkingsontploffing. Gevolglik word die demografiese tendense be�nvloed en so vorm tienergeboortes 'n belangrike bydrae tot bevol_kingsgroei Die studie van tienerswangerskappe kan egter nie in isolasie benader word nie. Dit vorm deel van 'n kringloop van verwante samelewingsverskynsels wat oorsaaklik of gevolglik mag wees, byvoorbeeld bevolkingstoename en ander demografiese tendense, armoede, swak behuisingstoestande, drankmisbruik en dwelmverslawing, gebrekkige voeding en onderwys, om maar net 'n paar te noem. In hierdie studie sal daar gepoog word om aan te dui dat tienerswangerskap in verband gebring moet word met die interaksie van 'n verskeidenheid van dinamies interafhanklike psigo-sosiale verskynsels. Verder sal daar ondersoek ingestel word om te bepaal watter psigo-sosiale faktore spesifiek by die voorkoms van tienerswangerskap betrokke is.
With shouts of Afrika!�: The 1952 textile strike at good hope textiles, King William's town
(Social Dynamics, 1990) Minkley, Gary
This paper, through a detailed examination of one of the biggest and most significant strikes in the East London region, suggests its importance lies both in the events and processes of the strike itself, and in its longer term impact on political traditions of union and popular struggle. It argues that a dynamic relationship developed between a newly emergent industrial working class in the textile industry, and an equally rapidly established local ATWIU, and local ANC branch. This resulted in the merging of a pattern of worker discontent and strike action with the ANCs Defiance Campaign in particular, and in so doing, the nature and direction of the strike was transformed. Finally it is argued that the defeat of this �mass� strike of defiance by the textile workers, laid the patterns and built the disillusions of future labour struggles in the region. � 1990 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
A socio-historical analysis of education/in the / third world and its implication)lfor rural development
(University of Western Cape, 1993) Ernstzen, June; Prah, Kwesi Kwaa; Ellis, J. H. P.
The greater part of the analysis relates to the needs of the Third World, with an emphasis on Africa (as opposed to the entire Third World). Within the African context, these needs should be seen against a background created by political, economic and demographic changes. Throughout the educational process the concept of education as learning, and not simply as schooling, has had important implications for development, in particular rural development.
Aid to Lesotho: dilemmas of state survival and development
(University of the Western Cape, 1995) MATLOSA, KHABELE TEBOHO; VALE, PETER
This thesis discusses the triangular relationship of aid, state and development since Lesotho's independence. It builds on three key hypotheses. First, during the preadj ustment period aid entrenched bureaucratic state power, but this changed with the adoption of the adjustment programme which only facilitates state survival. Secondly, hemmed in by external developemts and internal political and economic crisis, the state is caught between survival and shrinking resources. Thirdly, given the above, development has remained elusive inspite of the infusion of aid at highly preferential terms. Since the Cold War, aid issues have undergone three phases. Until the 1960s, donor concerns focussed primarily on economic growth. Growth with redistribution or the basic needs approach dominated aid disbursement up to the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, aid has been influenced predominantly by the IMF/World Bank orthodoxy of adjustment. Much of the debate on aid to Africa generally and to Lesotho specifically has revolved around whether aid develops or underdevelops recipient countries. The view that aid bolsters state power is not new. This study argues, however, that this may not be the case under adjustment conditions. Aid facilitates state survival in the context whereby donors mount a systematic offensive agianst dirigisme and economic nationalism. As they do that, the locus of economic production and interaction is shifted to private agents and autonomous social movements and the role of the state is cut back. Donor confidence, therefore; shifts from states to markets. The implications of these processes for the Lesotho state and prospects for development form the central thrust of this study. Non-probability purposive sampling was used for data collection. This approach rests on qualitative research methodology. Respondents were chosen on the basis of their position and influence on decion-making processes that impinge on the interface amongst aid, state and development. Primary data sources are clustered into three categories: Government; Donor agencies and embassies; and Non-governmental Organisations.
An analysis of the contact patterns perpetuating the transmission of tuberculosis in two high incidence communities in the Cape Town Metropolitan area
(University of the Western Cape, 1997) Classen, Collette Natasha; Ellis, J.H.P
Biomedicine positively maintains that tuberculosis transmission occurs due to close contact with a diseased individual (Coovadia and Benatar, 1991). Consequently, this refers to a direct mode of transmission where individuals are at direct risk of becoming infected. It is often taken for granted that when one speaks of contact within the context of tuberculosis, one is necessarily referring to contact or interactions among tuberculosis patients and people in the community with whom they have contact of any nature. It is then assumed that tuberculosis is transmitted in this manner. However, there are also indirect modes of transmission which are often neglected to be explored, but have an equally serious effect on transmission in high incidence areas. This paper also addresses other contact patterns that are also role-players in the tuberculosis epidemic.
The politics of UMOYA: Variation in the interpretation and management of diarrheal illnesses among mothers, professional nurses, and indigenous health practitioners in Khayelitsha, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 1997) Guma, Mthobeli Phillip; Farquhar, Judy
This study deals with the social interpretation of childhood diarrhea among the Xhosa speaking people of the Western Cape in South Africa. It highlights how in the Western Cape political consciousness and moralist discourses strongly influence relationships between different health care systems and the production of continuing conflicts around problems of health care delivery. It is argued that if meaningful relationships could be found between socially based health-seeking strategies and biomedical classifications of enteric and other diseases of women and children, they could facilitate the provision of more equitable, effective and widely acceptable health care. Furthermore, it compares the etiological explanations of childhood illness signs and symptoms of mothers and health practitioners of two kinds, i.e., professional nurses trained in biomedicine and indigenous African health practitioners (IHPs). The comparison focuses particularly on the interpretation of stool quality and associated symptoms. For stool quality the study refers to the color and texture of children's feces that mothers and health practitioners identify and associate with distinctive conditions of affliction. The study found these descriptive categories do not exhaust the variety of interpretations known to Nguni people in the area. There is variation, even ambiguity, in the interpretation of commonly understood illness categories and with respect to diarrheal illnesses, knowledge remains contested between mothers and professional nurses. Moreover, the availability of a wide range of therapeutic options m Khayelitsha diversifies the mother's causal explanations. It was found this diversity in causality and management of illnesses is manifested in the quality of children's stools, "green" feces in particular. Here too, different hues are not separable from the media in which they appear. Their interpretations draw on senses of value, ideas, social histories, different forms of power, systematic knowledge, and a great variety of other forms of significance that are embedded in the concrete domains of everyday life. In addition to the notion of isuntu,(that is humaneness) the study more importantly reveals that among Nguni of the Western Cape a tripartite relationship of umoya,(vital force) inyongo,(gallbladder) and ithongo (ancetral dream) is the dynamic philosophical component that describes Nguni experiences of health and illness. vi https://etd.
Impact of social interactions in the community on the transmission of tuberculosis in a high incidence area
(BMJ Publishing Group, 1999) Classen, Collette N; Warren, Robin; Richardson, Madeleine
Tuberculosis (TB) is transmitted by close contact with an infectious person. It is assumed that close contact occurs amongst household members and that contact outside the house is �casual� and does not play a major role in the transmission of TB. This study was conducted in an impoverished area with a high incidence of TB and a low HIV seropositive prevalence. Thirty three households with 84 TB patients were identified between February 1993 and April 1996 and the transmission of TB was studied by combining Mycobacterium tuberculosis fingerprinting with in depth sociological interviews.
The body in hospitalization. a study of doctors, nurses and patients in a Cape Town teaching hospital
(University of the Western Cape, 1999) Gibson, Diana Mari; Humphreys, A.J. B
South Africa's health transformation blueprint is designed to replace apartheid's inequities and instill instead a new utilitarian approach by the health care sector. This study gives attention to the medical gaze and the body in hospitalisation. At macropolitical level the study focuses on the ways in which the new health policy impacted on power relations and multi-levelled subject positions of medical and nursing staff, as well as on patients in a hierarchy of spaces such as in the wards, in the institution and at a national level, in terms of policy implementation and the reconstruction of the health care services. It shows that policy and institutional discourses and arrangements were embedded in a regime of visuality which discursively homogenised people from different cultural realities. Yet, at the same time biases related to constructions of bodies in relation to class, age, gender and 'value' continued to exist. At the level of hospital protocols and structure the thesis examines the social, political and conceptual frameworks that conveyed, allowed or disallowed particular meaning to the institution. It describes the formal, dominant discourses and processes in the wards and show how these impacted on everyday interaction and relations of power, autonomy, authority, conflict and resistance. The study shows that for patients there often was a disjuncture between policy and practice, as biomedical practitioners and policy makers struggled to define the scope and implementation of health care services in response to pressures for change and concomitant fluctuation. By problematising the notion of the medical gaze and by giving attention to discourses and practices, which were not legitimated by it, the study draws attention to realities that were deemed largely irrelevant by western medical epistemology, such as subjective experiences and knowledge, which, though lacking the same legitimation as the gaze, did not disappear but only become less visible. In this way the study widens the social context in which medical practice can be perceived and understood within a transforming South African health care system.
Opportunities of muslim female socio-political interaction in Shariah legislation in the northern Nigerian provinces
(University of the Western Cape, 2001) Martin-Isaacs, Wendy; Gottschalk, Keats
This paper identifies the reasons for the lack of Hausa women's political participation and how women can self-determine regarding social change within their patriarchal societies, by focusing on the socio-cultural factors of religion, age, marital status, and education. The research method is literature based - field research concerning the social realities of Hausa women, interviews with Hausa women regarding their interpretations of their socio-political realities and the interpretation of religious material. Interpretations of Islamic scholars of the socio-religious material of the Qur'an and Ahadith addressed in its historical sphere yet contemporary environment. Findings within the variables were (a) that although Hausa follow the Maliki school of Islamic thought, the infiltration of Wahhabism permeates the religious ideology and culture influencing the position of women b) age determines the position of women within Hausa communities and accords them respect and greater freedom of movement once post-menopausal; (c) most adult women are between marriage and divorce and usually in polygamous relationships, as the rate of divorce increases more women fear being financially destitute and socially outcast as prostitutes for seeking financial security; (d) education for girls differs from that of boys but there is an increase in the attendance at Islamiyah schools which serves as a contemporary method to promote gender ideologies. These results are not unique to Hausa communities, but are a construct of the realm of male dominance and tyranny. There is much emphasis on the natural and biological differences between the sexes and the elaboration of prejudice through social and political institutions.
At the limits of spatial governmentality: A message from the tip of Africa
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2002) Robins, Steven
Urban studies scholars drawing on Foucault�s analysis of govern-mentality have investigated how urban social orders are increasingly moreconcerned with the management of space rather than on the discipline ofoffenders or the punishment of offences (Merry, 2001). This paper examines the�rationality� and efficacy of spatial governmentality in post-apartheid CapeTown, and shows how the city has increasingly become a �fortress city� (Davis,1990), much like cities such as Los Angeles, Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. These�global cities� are increasingly characterised by privatised security systems inmiddle class suburbs, shopping malls and gated communities (Caldeira, 1999).These spatial forms of governmentality draw on sophisticated security systemscomprising razor wire and electrified walls, burglar alarms and safe rooms, aswell as vicious guard dogs, neighbourhood watches, private security companies,and automated surveillance cameras.
Driekopseiland and the 'rain's magic power': history and landscape in a new interpretation of a Northern Cape rock engraving
(University of Westen Cape, 2002) Morris, David Roger Neacalb?nn McIntyre; Humpreys, A.J.B
The rock engraving site of Driekopseiland, west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape is distinctively situated on glaciated basement rock in the bed of the Riet River, and has a wealth of over 3500 engravings, preponderantly geometric images. Most other sites in the region have greater proportions of, or are dominated by, animal imagery. In early interpretations, it was often considered that ethnicity was the principal factor in this variabilty. From the 1960s the focus shifted more to establishing a quantative definition of the site, and an emperical understanding of it within the emerging cultural and environmental history of the region.
Our memories of the liberation war: How civilians in post war Northern Namibia remember the war.
(University of the Western Cape, 2003) Akawa, Martha; Becker, Heike
This research looks at the gap that exists between public representation and personal narratives of the Namibian liberation war. Having observed the absence of private narratives in the grand national memory, I address the questions of how civilians remember the war of liberation and how that shapes their lives in postcolonial Namibia. I am interested in how civilians remember and how they relate the memories and the experience of the past, how they locate themselves in public history and their perspectives on national memory and commemorations. The Namibian government has reconstructed the liberation struggle as one where all Namibians fought against colonialism, but it has excluded and suppressed the memories of ordinary citizens of the country. I conclude that national memory is one-sided as it has not included the memories of all Namibians. The civilians have fought and contributed towards the attainment of independence, but their contributions are neither acknowledged nor rewarded.
Positive Muslims: a critical analysis of Muslim AIDS activism in relation to women living with HIV/AIDS in Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2003) Ahmed, Abdul Kayum; Faculty of Arts
This research critically analysed Muslim approaches to five women with HIV/AIDS in Cape Town focussing particularly on the approach of 'Positive Muslims' - an awareness-raising and support group for Muslims living with HIV/AIDS. The central question of this thesis dealt with the impact of the norms, values and practices of Cape Muslims on the approach of Positive Muslims to women living with HIV/AIDS. It is suggested that while norms and values articulated in religious texts inform the ideological approach of the organisation's AIDS prevention model. This is due to the pragmatic approach adopted by Postive Muslims which recognises that the articulated norms and values do not always conform to the practices of Cape Muslims.
Possible causes of Divorce in Asmara
(University of the Western Cape, 2003) Beshir, Nuredin Bushra; Spicer, Sharyn
This research project seeks to account for some of the causes of divorce in Asmara Eritrea. The existing law in this country recognizes adultery, desertion and cruelty as serious grounds for divorce. However, this research, which is based on a sample of forty divorced respondents from both genders, reveals a wider spectrum of reasons for divorce. According to these findings, marital conflict related to money matters was the most frequently cited reason for divorce within the sample. This was followed by in-law difficulties, infidelity, spousal violence and lack of love, respectively. The next most frequently cited reason for divorce was behaviour incompatibility and a lack of effective communication amongst conflicting couples. On the other hand, the sexual side of marriage was the least cited marital problem resulting in divorce, followed by childlessness and heavy drinking. In between ranked behaviour incompatibility and lack of effective communication between conflicting couple. Essentially this study adopts a subjective perspective. It reflects respondents' versions of why their marriages failed. It does however attempt to position the subjective experiences of the respondents within the context in which they lived. The latter includes economic hardship due to the recurrent war and the prevalence of traditional double standards and dominations that favour males. Because of these, gender was a significant social category in the study, which has resulted in differences in reporting patterns. Women respondents were mainly concerned with the issue of money matters, in-law trouble, infidelity, the use and abuse of alcohol and violence by husbands. Men on the other hand were interested in authority, sex and love matters in their marriages. These findings more or less parallel Levinger's (1966; cited in Schulz, 1982) research findings. However, there were in some cases marked differences in the reporting pattern along gender lines, and in the over all picture. What was found to be the most significant reason for divorce in the eyes of the women who took part in the present study (such as in law problems) was among the least of marital complaints in the above quoted literature. In summation, this thesis shows divorce as a significant sociological category in Asmara. In this locally unexplored area of study, it reveals not only some of the major areas of marital conflict that lead to divorce, but also the trend of divorce in the city.
Respectable Mothers, Tough Men and Good Daughters Producing Persons in Manenberg Township South Africa.
(University of the Western Cape, 2004) Salo, Elaine Rosa; Kratz, Corinne A.
This ethno a h explores the mean in s of personhood and agency in Maneberg a township located on the Cape Flats, in Cape Town South Africa. The township was a site of relocation for people who were classified coloured during the apartheid era and who were forcibly removed from newly declared white areas in the city in the 1960s I argue that despite the old apartheid state's attempts to reify the meaning of colouredness through racial legislation,\the residents of Manenberg created their own meanings of personhood, agency and community within the bureaucratic, social and economic interstices of the apartheid systems Yet at the same time they also reinstated the very structural processes at the heart of their racial and gendered subjugation. I indicate how the cohesiveness of the Rio Street community in Manenberg, the survival of its residents and their validation as respectable mothers, tough men and good daughters hinged on and effloresced from a moral economy that articulated with the structural location of coloured women in the apartheid economy and racial bureaucracy. I draw upon the writings of Fortes (1969), Giddens (1984) and Karp (1995) to elaborate upon the concept personhood in Manenberg. I show how the local understandings of personhood provide residents with agency, whilst connecting the latter to township history and apartheid social structure, thereby illustrating its limits. The concept personhood captures the duality of existence of Manenberg residents and maps out their negotiation and contestation about personhood and agency. I use Hobart (1990) and Kratz (2000) to indicate that lagency in Manenberg is complex and is situationally determined~Finally I utilise the theoretical insights of Donham (1999) to indicate that Manenberg's social, economic and historical location in the South African context allows for several notions of personhood to prevail in the township. These notions are grounded in the multiple, interconnected, hierarchically ordered, competing cultural and economic systems of production at the local, national and global levels. This complex location of Manenberg residents generates multiple constructs of inequality, power and agency that impinge upon each other and that are reflected in the contestations about personhood in diverse township spaces.
A critical analysis of the effects of tourism on cultural representation: a case study from Leboeng
(University of the Western Cape, 2004) Mamadi, Masete; Becker, Heike; Faculty of Arts
Cultural tourism is a vehicle for economic growth. Cultural representations are made in order to make the cultural tourism sector a more vibrant one. Given this argument, research in cultural tourism should take a critical stance in the analysis of cultural representations. An understanding of the meaning of culture is necessary to analyse the comparison of daily life with cultural representations. Observing the daily lives of host communities creates a conductive environment for realising and understanding the gaps between tourists experiences and the daily realities of the host communities. This research analysed how people represent their culture to tourists through the sale of crafts and dance performances. The research was carried out in Leboeng village, on the border between Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, near the small town of Ohrigstad.
AIDS activism and globalisation from below: Occupying new spaces of citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa
(Institute of Development Studies, 2004) Robins, Steven; von Lieres, Bettina
Former President Nelson Mandela, Bono, Peter Gabriel and other superstars stood together on the stage at Greenpoint StadiuminCape Town in front of billions of television viewers around the world, watching the �46664�music extravaganza in support of the fight against AIDS in Africa. AIDS is clearly a global pandemic and responses to it have inevitably been on a global scale. At the same time, the disease has highly localised aspects to it. AIDS activists have had to address both the global dimensions and the local specificities of this epidemic.
Respectable mothers, tough men and good daughters. producing persons in Manenberg township South Africa.
(University of Western Cape, 2004) Salo, Elaine Rosa; Kratz, Corinne A.
This ethnography explores the meanings ofpersonhood and agency in Manen�berg, a township located on the Cape Flats, in Cape Town South Africa. The township was a site of relocation for people who were classified coloured during the apartheid era and who were forcibly removed from newly declared white areas in the city in the 1960s. I argue that despite the old apartheid state's attempts to reify the meaning of colouredness through racial legislation, the residents ofManenberg created their own meanings of personhood, agency and community within the bureaucratic, social and economic interstices of the apartheid system. Yet at the same time they also reinstated the very structural processes at the heart of their racial and gendered subjugation. I indicate how the cohesiveness of the Rio Street community in Manenberg, the survival of its residents and their validation as respectable mothers, tough men and good daughters hinged on and effioresced from a moral economy that articulated with the structural location of coloured women in the apartheid economy and racial bureaucracy.
Coping with violence: institutional and student responses at the University of the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2005) Sass, Bridgett Virginia; Gibson, Diana; Faculty of Arts
This thesis is based on research conducted at the University of the Western Cape, a previously ?coloured? university with its beginnings rooted in the political tensions in South Africa. The university is geographically disadvantaged since it is situated on the Cape Flats, which is viewed as a potentially violent area with high crime rates. The study focuses on students who stay in in- and off-campus residences since they are exposed to potential violence when they move inside as well as outside the campus and residence vicinity. In addition to semi-structured interviews conducted with students from the university, I draw on my own experiences as a student having lived in on- and off-campus residences at the university. In this thesis I investigate the tactics students use to stay safe in the face of potential violence in student residences and also in the vicinity of the university. I refer to violence in the same way as Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois (2004) do - as falling on a continuum along with other forms of violence which include structural violence, torture, genocide, political violence, state violence, symbolic violence, sexual violence and colonial violence. When students move outside of campus and residences they fear being robbed, murdered or sexually violated. Students also felt that if this should happen to them, others present will not step in to help them. The tactics students use to stay safe outside and on campus include moving in numbers, staying away from deserted or specific places at certain times, walking fast with a serious facial expression, and greeting oncomers. In residences women particularly feared going to ablution areas at certain times of the day because of stories they heard about sexual violence taking place in showers. The tactics they used to stay safe from that involved taking showers during ?peak? hours. However, a lack of trust which students have in residential administrators impedes the safety students experience in residences. I questioned how students can feel safe outside residences when residential organisation leaves their safety precarious. Overall I found that awareness of potentially dangerous spaces, through stories, the news media or witness, informed students? tactics of safety. Furthermore, this thesis explores the relevance of formal campus services in response to violence in the everyday lives of students who live in in- and off-campus residences. I discuss the changes that have taken place in terms of campus security, and how the meanings of safety, play an important role in the ways the university as an institution responds to violence. The meanings of safety and security also translate into specific safety interventions, which I found to focus more on perpetrators of violence from ?outside?, that on perpetrators of violence on the ?inside?. In the institution?s dealings with sexual violence I also explore how perceptions of sexual violence and relationship dynamics influence the infection of HIV/AIDS, and the university?s approach to dealing with this threat to students? safety.

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