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Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is arguably one of the most widely represented female figures in South Africa. The images presented of her are not static. Indeed, they are shot through with contradictions which include Mama Africa, Warrior, and Abhorrent Mother. The figure of Madikizela-Mandela is a nexus for different opinions and interpretations; she is a focal point for and of the divisions in South African consciousnesses. Therefore the depictions of this persona provide the reader with a means to analyse the discourses through which she is represented. Such an exploration might also provide South Africans with insight into some of the biases and beliefs generally held more than a decade after the advent of democracy. The South African texts Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog, and The Cry of Winnie Mandela by Njabulo Ndebele, extensively represent Madikizela-Mandela and (re-)mythologise her, and as such each provides interesting comparative material for a discussion of the ideological implications imbricated in each. These texts are also particularly appropriate to use in such a study because the writers, a white woman, and black man respectively, could not be further apart on the continuum of South African cultural identification. The politics of the representations of Madikizela-Mandela can thus be interpreted from opposing social extremes. The Mandela name is a powerful signifier, and often constitutes much of Madikizela-Mandela’s public identity. The power of naming is thus the focus of Chapter One of this dissertation. The romantic ideal of Nelson Mandela and Madikizela-Mandela’s relationship constitutes a major focal point in Ndebele’s work. On the other hand, Krog’s text denigrates Madikizela-Mandela’s refusal to toe the peaceful democratic line. As such, the needs of the public in relation to Madikizela-Mandela are illuminated through the impositions of the authors and characters in these texts.

My dissertation brings a new historical perspective and a theoretical reflection on 1970s French intellectuals’ activism and relationship to power and politics through the history of the Groupe d’Information sur les Prisons (GIP), a group of activists who decided to make the hermetic border between the societal space and the prisons more porous. The GIP, founded in 1970 by Michel Foucault, Jean-Marie Domenach, and Pierre Vidal-Naquet, and including thinkers and writers like Hélène Cixous, Daniel Defert, Gilles Deleuze, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre and Jean Genet, aimed at providing information on carceral conditions in France and in the United States. These intellectuals interviewed prisoners, family members, guards, and published their findings in pamphlets to spread awareness about the inhumane conditions prisoners were forced to live in. Thanks to the work of Artières, Zancarini-Fournel, Harcourt, Zurn and Dilts's work, the GIP slowly emerges from the shadows. However, very few of the Anglophone articles and books dedicated to the group look at the GIP from a French and European historical and philological perspective, underlining the specificity of this group and activism in French intellectual history. My dissertation thus aspires to highlight and better understand the place of the GIP in contemporary French history, history of French activism, prison history as well as in French intellectual history. As the GIP archives are currently being translated into English, my work reveals the historical intricacies of this group with French contemporary events (such as the events of May '68), and its relationship to other forms of activism in the 1970s: feminist activism, legal activism, psychoanalytic activism and global prison activism. In my dissertation, I argue that these overlapping types of activism displaced the main lines between two conceptions of the intellectual in twentieth-century France: l’intellectuel universel and l’intellectuel spécifique. According to me, the GIP, by rejecting the figure of the universal intellectual yet showing the failure of the specific intellectual, discloses a crisis in the mid-70s French intelligentsia, leading on the one side to a new definition of l’intellectuel engagé. My research on the Groupe d’Information sur les Prisons (GIP) draws on a three-tiered methodological approach: close textual analysis of primary source material; interpretation of primary texts through theoretical frameworks; and historical contextualization of both primary documents and broader socio-cultural framework through archival research and testimonies. My original and translation constitute a new perspective on the role of intellectuels engagés— particularly philosophers and key figures of the “French Theory” movement. By reflecting on the concept of engaged intellectual from the 1894 Dreyfus affair to the debates about the Nouveaux Philosophes, my project also brings about a fundamental investigation about the genealogy of the intellectuals —particularly philosophers and the so-called “French Theory”— and their roles in French politics.

Despite Asian Americans’ noteworthy participation in activist movements over the decades, there is little known about the psychological experiences of Asian American activists let alone their activist identity development. Given the limited research about the lived experiences of Asian American activists, a qualitative study was conducted to explore the relationship between Asian American activists’ racial/ethnic identity development and activist identity development. Nineteen individuals, ages 23 to 46, with diverse genders and Asian ethnic backgrounds, completed demographic surveys and semi-structured interviews. Data analyses yielded a multi-part theoretical model for Asian Americans’ Negotiating Activist Commitment which illustrates how multiple dimensions of racial and cultural experiences affect how Asian American activists engage in their activist work, and vice versa. Results showed that individuals’ varied experiences with traditional Asian cultural values and the model minority myth influence the evolution of their racial, cultural, and activist identity development, ultimately shaping their level of commitment to an activist identity and activist-related activities. Study findings not only help to validate pre-existing literature about the racial and cultural experiences of Asian Americans but also offer more nuanced understanding of Asian American identity development as it intersects with activist identity.

MA / Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Consumers are gradually becoming influential actors in the international arena. The 21st century consumer has taken on a new identity, namely that of a citizen-consumer. A rising awareness of the importance of ethical purchasing behaviour has made political citizen-consumers a vehicle through which change in normative behaviour in the capitalist world economy could be attained. Activists have realised the support that political consumers could give to campaigns that strive to achieve norm change. Consumers have the power to hold multinational corporations (MNCs) accountable for unjust practices, and through their purchasing decisions, pressure MNCs to change the manner in which they operate. In order to determine to what extent political consumerism could contribute to international norm change, one has to understand how norms emerge, when norms are accepted and at which point norms become internalised. The theoretical framework of the life-cycle of norms is ideal to test the possibilities that political consumerism holds in the quest for norm change. The application of norm life-cycle framework to case studies provides evidence that political consumerism has already announced itself as a vehicle for change. Campaigns such as the conflict diamonds campaign and the Fair Trade movement have already successfully co-opted consumers to support the goals of these campaigns and have achieved some results in changing the behaviour and policies of MNCs. Political consumers have therefore already embarked on the journey towards norm change, but have not yet been able to bring the norm to internalisation. The study determines which stage in the norm life-cycle political consumerism has managed to reach. Related to this, it asks whether it is in fact possible for activists and political consumers to complete the norm life-cycle and thereby effect norm change to enhance capacity for social justice in capitalism. The study also concerns itself with the persuasion strategies that have been used and could still be used by activists to pursue change in the normative behaviour of consumers and MNCs. Persuasion is central to convincing actors to accept and internalise a new norm. The study situates these persuasion strategies within the norm life-cycle, in order to identify the challenges facing the consumer movement and possible solutions to assist political consumerism to reach its full potential. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die internasionale arena het verbruikers gaandeweg die rol van invloedryke akteurs begin aanneem, naamlik dié van burgerlike-verbruikers. ‘n Toenemende bewustheid van die belangrikheid van etiese aankope het gedurende die 21ste eeu die politieke burgerlike-verbruiker in ‘n akteur omskep, wat normatiewe verandering in die kapitalistiese globale ekonomie te weeg kan bring. Aktiviste het besef dat politieke verbruikers steun aan veldtogte kan verleen wat na norm verandering streef. Omdat verbruikers oor die vermoë beskik om multi-nasionale korporasies (MNKs) vir onregverdige gebruike aanspreeklik te hou deur aankoop besluite, kan hul sodoende MNKs dwing on hul gebruike te verander. ‘n Begrip van die ontstaan en aanvaarding van norme, kan ook help om vas te stel tot watter mate politieke verbruiking tot internasionale norm verandering bydra. Die teoretiese raamwerk van die lewens-siklus van norme is ideaal om die potensiaal van politieke verbruiking te toets. Die toepassing van die norm lewens-siklus op gevallestudies bewys dat politieke verbruiking alreeds as ‘n middel vir verandering uitgekristaliseer het. Veldtogte, soos die konflik diamante veldtog en die “Fair Trade” beweging, het alreeds daarin geslaag om verbruikers te werf om die doelwitte van hierdie veldtogte te steun. Hierdie veldtogte het sodoende daarin geslaag om die verandering van MNKs se gedrag en beleid te bewerkstellig. Politieke verbruikers het hul reeds met die veldtog geassosieer om norm-verandering te laat plaasvind. Die studie het bepaal watter stadium in die norm lewens-siklus politieke verbruiking reeds bereik het, asook of dit moontlik vir aktiviste en verbruikers is om die siklus te voltooi en norm-verandering te laat plaasvind. Hierdie norm-verandering sal ook die vermoë vir die sosiale regverdiging van die kapitalistiese stelsel verbeter. Die studie het ook die aktiviste se oorredingstrategië uiteengesit, asook watter strategië in die toekoms kan gebruik word om die normatiewe gedrag van verbruikers en MNKs te verander. In die aanvaarding van nuwe norme speel oorreding ‘n belangrike rol. Die studie plaas daarom hierdie oorredingstrategië binne die norm lewens-siklus, sodat dit die uitdagings kan identifiseer wat die verbruikers-beweging in die gesig staar. Dit sal daarom vir die studie moontlik maak om werkbare opplossings voor te stel, wat politieke verbruiking tot sy volle potensiaal kan voer.

The focus of this research was to ascertain the indirect effects upon activism of intervening variables and recognized exogenous influences upon activism. In addition, this research also focused upon the differences and similarities of a recruited activist model and spontaneous activist model. Regression and path analysis were used to measure the direct and indirect effects of the exogenous and intervening variables. This research found that when the intervening variables, political interest, political awareness, exposure to media, altruism, and self-interest were introduced to both the recruited and spontaneous models, the direct effects of the variables were enhanced.

There has been a grassroots revival of craftivism leading up to, and following the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This qualitative dissertation explores the experiences of women within three craftivist groups to facilitate a deeper understanding of their conceptions of craft, activism and feminism, the salience of older women within these communities, and how the affordances of new media are potentially reshaping craftivism. Drawing on interview data, as well as offline and online participant observation, this study found that craftivists have highly diverse personal trajectories and understandings of feminism and activism, that older women—many with a lifelong history of activism—play a significant role in craftivist groups, and that participation in craftivism, supported through extensive use of social media and online communication, provides a gateway to civic expression and engagement. Beyond deepening our understanding of craftivism in the current political climate, this research makes significant contributions to scholarship on participatory culture, activism, and civic engagement. While these bodies of research have traditionally been youth-centric, this dissertation adds value by shedding light on the participatory practices of older women in creative online sites.

Given the growing population of undocumented Latina/o/x immigrants who came to the United States as children, there is a need for research that explores the risk and protective factors of their experiences growing up in the United States. As they transition through adolescence, they emerge as adults in a very different world. No longer protected from deportation, they must take more serious risks with employment. Without access to federal financial aid, they face the reality that they may never be able to utilize their college education in the United States. Against these odds, and with the temporary protection of DACA, an increasing number of undocumented childhood arrivals are civically engaged in the immigrant rights movement. Employing a qualitative method based on constructivist and feminist frameworks called Consensual Qualitative Research, this study sought to explore the impact of activism in Latina/o/x DACAmented immigrants’ thwarted transition to adulthood, highlighting the ways in which Latina/o/x cultural values mitigate the impact of activism. The sample consisted of 12 Latina/o/x DACAmented activists, eight women and four men, ages 18-32, from Mexico (n = 10), Guatemala (n = 1), and Dominican Republic (n = 1). The findings in this study not only suggested that protective migration factors, DACA-related privileges, and strong coping skills contributed to Latina/o/x DACAmented immigrants’ decision to become activists, but they also noted that activism has been a protective factor in and of itself. The results also showed the ways in which Latina/o/x cultural values helped them make sense of their unique experiences and were consistent with the values within their activist communities. Existing clinical recommendations, resources, and research methods were highlighted as ways in which mental health providers can apply these findings in their clinical, training, and research practice.

Abstract not available

In the two decades between 1970 and 1990, hundreds of people passed through the ALP branches of Leichhardt Municipality. These were predominantly members of what this thesis calls a 'middle class Left', employed in professions and para-professions like teaching or the public service and motivated, to one degree or another, by the social movements and politics of the late 1960's and early 1970's. This is a social history incorporating the life histories of a selection of these people. It is set against the backdrop of conflicts with incumbent, conservative, working class-based political machines and the political climate of the times. The thesis is in four parts. Part I, the introduction, establishes the point of view of the writer as it shapes what is also a 'participant history'. In this context, and that of the oral history interviews, the introduction addresses the relationship between memory and history. Parts II and III are the body of the thesis and each is lead by a 'photo-essay', recognising the complimentary importance of a visual narrative. Part II sets out the broad political topography of the 1970's and early 1980's. Chapter one describes the middle-classing of the ALP in Leichhardt Municipality, set against a review of the principal literature. It then moves through chapters two to four to examine the three loci of middle-classing: Annandale, Balmain and Glebe. Part III moves on into the 1980's when the middle class Left 'takes power'. It examines, in chapter five, the emerging, sharp, divisions among the Left on Leichhardt Council and in the contests for federal and state parliamentary seats. Chapter six examines the deepening of these divisions in the mid to late 1980's, concluding with the climactic struggle over the Mort Bay public housing project. Chapter seven looks at the diaspora of the Labor Left in Leichhardt at the end of the 1980's as the branch membership declined and many sought out political alternatives to the ALP. Part IV brings the thesis to its conclusion, focussing on the complexities and ambiguities of the middle class Left and drawing out the main socio-political themes of the two decades.