Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the construction, at local level, of collective identities in two Western Cape towns: Stellenbosch and Wellington. Identities are understood to refer to residents' construction of meaning for themselves. The approach was qualitative and used interview and focus group techniques with probes that allowed participants to speak freely about their lives in these towns. Under apartheid, residents were divided by race in these towns. The study aims to identify changes in local identity after apartheid. New identities revolving around issues of security and language appear to be emerging. Simultaneously, old racial identities persist. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing ondersoek die konstruksie, op plaaslike vlak, van kollektiewe identiteite in twee Wes-Kaapse dorpe, Stellenbosch en Wellington. Onder identiteite verstaan ons verwysing na die inwoners se konstruksie van betekenis vir hulleself. Daar is vanuit 'n kwalitatiewe benadering gewerk en die onderhoud en fokusgroep- tegniek met dieptepeilings is gebruik, wat dit vir deelnemers moontlik gemaak het om geredelik oor hulle lewe in hierdie dorpe te praat. Tydens apartheid is inwoners van hierdie dorpe op grond van ras verdeel. Hierdie navorsing is daarop gemik om veranderinge in plaaslike identiteit ná apartheid te identifiseer. Nuwe identiteite wat om kwessies van sekuriteit en taal wentel, skyn na vore te kom. Tegelyk bly ou rasse-identiteite voortbestaan.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Technology: Fine Art, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / The purpose of this research was to investigate the interrogation of Afrikaner culture and identity in the work of Andries Botha (1952) and Marlene de Beer (1957) in the context of Afrikaner nationalism. Anthony Smith’s theory of ethno symbolism (2010) and writings on nationalism by Montserrat Gibernau (1996, 2004a, 2000b) are used as a theoretical framework for an analysis of Afrikaner culture and identity, in the form of Afrikaner nationalism. A qualitative research methodology was used, within an art historical, theoretical and practice led investigation into the interrogation of Afrikaner culture and identity. A reflective approach clarified and made meaningful concepts which relate to both my theoretical and practical work, which are interlinked. De Beer makes use of cultural symbols, in interrogating the position of the female in Afrikaner identity and culture, in the context of South African history. Botha interrogates masculinity and patriarchy in Afrikaner culture and identity through a reference to his father and events and imagery from South African history. A personal exploration of Afrikaner culture and identity, in the context of my family history and life experiences, reveals a persistent questioning of Afrikaner culture and identity, resulting in the formation of an individual identity. Arising from this research, it is evident that there is a need for further research into the possible formation of a multicultural identity post 1994 in South Africa. / M

University of the Witwatersrand Department of Political Studies

When a young white man from the small town of Swartruggens chose the informal settlement of Skierlik to go on a killing spree, this was labelled racist by the media. Only black people lived in Skierlik, and small towns in the North West province had a reputation for being racially divided. This study examined the impact of this event on residents’ identities, specifically because it was widely publicised and discrediting to the town. Problematised places potentially threaten residents’ sense of self. The concept of place-identity was used here from a discursive psychological framework, arguing that self-in-relation-to-place is socially constructed in the conversational space of human dialogue. Thus, this analysis exposed the spoken discourses that maintain and reproduce racialised constructions of place-identity in post-apartheid South Africa. Forty two semi-structured interviews were conducted in either English, Afrikaans or Setswana, during a two-week stay in the town. Despite the literature showing that place-identity threat in problematised places result in residents trying to preserve a positive place-identity, the data in this study shows a different trend. The central argument is that discourses of victimhood are constructed by both black and white residents, but for divergent purposes. White residents argue against negative media versions of Swartruggens, while black residents amplify disadvantage and promote media versions. Indian residents, largely omitted from media reports, maintain a positive place-identity by constructing an ambivalent third space of participant-observer in the town, geographically and socially separate in a black/white divide. The analysis is situated in relevant broader pre- and post-apartheid ideologies. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Discourses about identity framed in terms of questions about autochthons and the Other are on the ascendance in the contemporary socio-political and cultural milieu. Migration, by virtue of its transgression of national boundaries and bounded communities, stands as a contentious site with respect to the politics of identity. South Africa is one case in point, where migrants – particularly those of African origin – have been at the centre of a storm of Otherization, which climaxed in the May 2008 attacks (now widely termed ‗xenophobic attacks‘). ―Amakwerekwere”, as African migrants in South Africa are derogatively referred to, face exclusionary tendencies from various fronts in South Africa. Using language as an entry point, this thesis investigates how Zimbabwean migrants – who by virtue of a multifaceted crisis in their country have a marked presence in South Africa – experience and navigate the politics of identity in Johannesburg. Through a multi-sited ethnography, relying on the triangulation of participant observation and interviews, the thesis focuses on Ndebele and Shona speaking migrants in five neighbourhoods. Framing the analysis within an eclectic theoretical apparatus that hinges on Bourdieu‘s economy of social practice, it is argued that each neighbourhood is a social universe of struggle that is inscribed with its own internal logic and relational matrix of recognition, and each ascertains what constitutes a legitimate language and by extension legitimate identity. This relational matrix is undergirded by a specific distributional and evaluative structure with corresponding symbolic, economic and socio-cultural capitals (embodied practices) that constitute the requisite entry fees and currency for belonging, as well as the negative capitals that attract designations of the strange and the Other. Zimbabwean migrants‘ experiences as the Other in South Africa take on diverse and differentiated forms. It was observed how experiences of Otherness and being the Other are neither homogenous nor static across the different social universes that make up Johannesburg; rather they are fluid and shifting and occur along an elastic continuum. Consequently the responses of migrants are also based on a reading of – and response to – the various scripts of existence in these different social universes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Diskoerse oor identiteit, uitgedruk in terme van vrae oor autochthons en die Ander, is aan die toeneem in die huidige sosio-politieke en kulturele milieu. Migrasie, wat met die oortreding van nasionale grense en begrensde gemeenskappe geassosieer word, is 'n omstrede terrein met betrekking tot die politiek van identiteit. Suid-Afrika is 'n goeie voorbeeld hiervan, waar migrante – veral dié van Afrika-oorsprong – in die middel van 'n storm van Anderisering beland het. Hierdie situasie het 'n hoogtepunt bereik in die Mei 2008-aanvalle – nou algemeen bekend as "xenofobiese geweld." "Amakwerekwere", soos Afrika-migrante in Suid-Afrika neerhalend beskryf word, word vanuit verskeie oorde in Suid-Afrika gekonfronteer met uitsluitingstendense. Die tesis gebruik taal as beginpunt vir 'n ondersoek oor hoe Zimbabwiese migrante – wat as 'n gevolg van 'n veelsydige krisis in hul land 'n merkbare teenwoordigheid in Suid-Afrika het – die politiek van identiteit in Johannesburg ervaar en navigeer. Deur middel van 'n multi-terrein etnografie, wat staatmaak op die triangulering van etnografiese waarneming en onderhoude, word Ndebele- en Sjonasprekende migrante in vyf woonbuurte ondersoek. Gebaseer op 'n eklektiese teoretiese apparaat, hoofsaaklik gewortel in Bourdieu se ekonomie van sosiale praktyk, word voorgestel dat elke woonbuurt 'n sosiale universum van stryd is waarop 'n eie interne logika en verhoudingsmatriks van herkenning ingeskryf is, en dat elkeen sy eie legitieme taal en by implikasie, eie legitieme identiteit het. Hierdie verhoudingsmatriks word ondervang deur 'n spesifieke verspreidings- en evalueringstruktuur met ooreenstemmende simboliese-, ekonomiese-, en kulturele-kapitaal (beliggaamde praktyke), wat dien as 'n soort inskrywingsfooi of geldeenheid vir insluiting, sowel as die negatiewe kapitaal wat toeskrywings van andersheid en die Ander aantrek. Zimbabwiese migrante se ervarings as die Ander in Suid-Afrika neem verskillende vorme aan. Daar is waargeneem hoedat ervarings van Andersheid in die verskillende sosiale kontekste van Johannesburg nie homogeen of staties is nie, maar eerder vloeibaar en skuiwend op 'n elastiese kontinuum. As 'n gevolg is die gedrag van migrante ook gebaseer op 'n lesing van – en reaksie op – die verskeie spelreëls van hierdie verskillende sosiale omgewings.

Masters thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities School of Human and Community Development Discipline of psychology for the degree of Master in Educational Psychology University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / The study sought to give voice to the subjective experiences of NEETs (youth not in employment, education or training), often viewed as risk taking, apathetic and a strain on the economy and to think about their identities differently. The aim was also to provide ways to forge new versions of themselves in the future, allowing the participants an opportunity to ‘read the world’ differently and to think about new possibilities, through recollecting the past and exploring their present place in the world. This study utilised participatory action research and narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of a group of NEETs in a township in South Africa, and together with the researcher were involved in active engagement with their social worlds, through photographic documentation and in-depth interviews. The data were analysed using thematic and narrative analysis. The focus of the narrative analysis was to understand the meaning that the participants made of their own experiences, and the thematic and visual analysis focussed on understanding their context, their interaction with place and people in forming their identities, and the opportunities and versions of identities that they thought were possible in the future. The significance of these findings points to the past and the effects of South Africa’s history on youth identity. However, despite the structural constraints that impact on youth growing up in disadvantaged townships, and the impact that these constraints have on their identities, these youth have found ways to challenge the stereotypes that define their lives, and in different ways offer glimmers of hope for their futures. Their identities, though impacted by their interaction with their environment and the people in their context, are remarkably complex and encouraging. Furthermore, this study provided insight into the issues facing ‘at risk’ youth, and allows for new possibilities for their issues and concerns to be addressed. / GR2017

Thesis (Ph.D. (History)) --University of Limpopo, 2009 / Key to this study is the history of Makgabeng, mainly focusing on creation of rural communal identities in that area. Defining identity will be an important aspect for this study in which a deduction will be made on how the Makgabeng communities viewed themselves and were also viewed by those outside their area. The various aspects which shaped and led them to view themselves and be viewed that way over time will all be explained. The history of Makgabeng was never included in the mainstream just like the history of most of the previously marginalised communities in South Africa. The early history of such communities was documented by Europeans, while those communities did not participate in the production of their own histories and the history of South Africa in general. The history of indigenous communities has been told from the other people’s perspectives resulting in huge gaps as well as distorted, prejudiced and subjective accounts of the past. The past of these indigenous communities was mostly preserved in oral traditions and oral history. Therefore, one of the principal aims of this study is to work towards filling the gaps as well as attempting to rectify distortions and myths prevailing in the current texts which were made by authors alien to the indigenous people.

Developing an identity with self-esteem and a sense of self-worth is a child’s fundamental right (Vandenbroek, 2001). To encourage identity formation children need to ask and answer questions such as: ‘Who am I?’, ‘Where do I belong?’ and ‘Is it ok to be who I am?’ A child’s identity is shaped largely by his/her experiences with regards to relationships and belonging within communities and familial structures. However, South Africa faces a host of problems, including poverty, violence, HIV/AIDS, all of which contribute to the breakdown of these familial and community structures. Utilising a participatory action framework, this research aims to provide insight into how children living in a disadvantaged community negotiate identity and belonging. This insight into children’s perceptions of identity and belonging is useful for identifying resources within the community which promote a positive sense of identity and belonging, and also to identify areas where support and intervention are required.

This report is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of masters by coursework and research report in the faculty of humanities in the university of Witwatersrand / This thesis explores the different ways that identities are negotiated and renegotiated in different spaces. It intends to unearth the contradictions, tensions and complexities that occur as a result of racialised subjectivities. This study unpacks the socially constructed term "Coconut" and challenges the existing dominant discourses that speak of "Coconuts" as inauthentic Black people who have lost touch with their heritage.What it means to be Black today in South Africa is being contested and there is resistance towards binary and rigid understandings and conceptualizations of blackness. In the intersection of race and class, class is often the silent signifier of distinction and difference post-apartheid but proves to be significant in understanding the different nuanced lived experiences of the Black subject. This thesis is specifically interested in how the inability to comprehend or communicate in an African language further complicates and adds another layer of complexity to not only the lived experiences of Black monolinguals proficient in English only, but also to their personal sense of self. Being a "Coconut" is experienced in conflicted and precarious ways. On the one hand it is experienced with alienation and rejection and in other contexts, it holds significant value and serves as social cultural capital necessary for maneuvering social, political and economic spaces. Key words: Identity, Coconut, Blackness, Class, Cultural capital, Monolinguals, Language, Accent, Racial subjectivity / GR2017

A research report submitted to the faculty of humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Applied Ethics for Professionals / The following paper examines the moral justification for affirmative action within South African sport, more specifically the forms pertaining to “preferential treatment” and “reverse discrimination”. The paper begins with an articulation of the nature of our sport as well as that of affirmative action, which in turn lays the foundation for my moral justification. South African sport, it seems, must share centre stage in our country’s reconciliation and nation-building process if we are to faster realise a substantively equal and non-racial society. I argue that by appropriately bringing about the right kind of integration in South African sport we can create a better country for all by reducing, inter alia, our racial and class disparities, racial prejudices and racism. That said, there appears to be a greater moral significance that comes from using “preferential treatment” and “reverse discrimination” in South African sport, as opposed to their complete absence. / MT2018