Sexual identity and transformation at a South African university
Loading...
Date
2007
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
Despite the proliferation of policies ostensibly protecting all persons’ rights,
and mounting critical academic debate and scholarship on sexuality and
sexual orientation, sexual orientation in the academy remains a site of
deep contestation. The first section of this paper discusses the national legal
framework as a basis from which the state’s new social engineering uses liberal
human rights as tools for the democratic transformation of society. In the
second section, by focusing on the University of the Western Cape, my critique
examines the persisting evidence of prejudice and homophobia in South
African society alongside seemingly progressive policymaking and intellectual
debate. I consider the centrality of national law and policymaking in the
restructuring of the higher education environment and assess the extent to
which the new education, labour, and other national policies and legislative
measures substantively change the climate and culture of higher education
institutions. In developing this critique, I map out some of the everyday
struggles which may often be marginalised by an over-emphasis on national
and institutional policymaking for change.
Description
Keywords
Sexual identity, Transformation, Homophobia, Higher education
Citation
Hames, M. (2007). Sexual identity and transformation at a South African university. Social Dynamics: A journal of African studies, 53(1): 52-77