Social problems that are identified by government policy are articulated in ways that confer the responsibility of their management onto the state. In this way, policy reform serves as a means to justify political rule, as the ‘answers’ to policy failures are located within the realm of state intervention. This role of policy is maintained by the traditional definition of policy as it enables policies to be presented as the outcome of ‘necessary’ actions taken by state institutions to better the wellbeing of citizens. Since 1994, mainstream research on basic education policy in South Africa has employed traditional understandings of policy and its function. In doing so, these inquiries have failed to question the very idea of policy itself. They have also neglected to identify the productive role played by policy in the practice of power. To illuminate the necessary limits of policy reform, an alternative approach to analyse basic education policy is necessary. This thesis premises policy as discourse and advances a governmentality analysis of basic education policy during the first fifteen years of democracy (1994-2009) in South Africa. By drawing on the work of Michel Foucault, the study argues that government – ‘those actions upon the actions of others’ – during this period in South Africa was informed by both a liberal and a neo-liberal mentality of rule. The tensions between these two rationalities contributed to the continuation of apartheid’s socio-economic inequalities in the postapartheid era; an outcome buttressed by the contradictory impulses within basic education policy. By considering policy as a productive translation of governmental reasoning, the boundaries of intervention for future policy reforms are highlighted. These show that the inequalities that were perpetuated during the first fifteen years of democracy justify policy responses similar to those responsible for their production

Almost fifteen years after democracy, issues of 'race' still hold daily South African life firmly in its grip. Following calls from foremost South African theorists on 'race', such as Sarah Nuttall, this thesis moves beyond a study of crude 'racism', to the more complex consideration of 'race' as an embedded ideological social formation within the spatial context of Rhodes University. Using analytical concepts such as 'silencing' and 'ritual' the thesis weaves an understanding (1) of how particular powerful representations of institutional history are produced and made dominant, and (2) how seemingly innocuous performances of institutional identity are key to reproducing 'racial' dominance within Rhodes' student life. This ultimately manifests in the production of a deeply 'racialized' commonsensical understanding of the 'most' legitimate and authentic representation and ownership of institutional space. The thesis delves into dominant representations of Rhodes University'S history, considering how these help produce and reproduce 'racial' dominance through, for instance, the production of defining apolitical narratives of 'excellence'. Central to the dominant apolitical institutional history is the production of silences about the past. History, I argue, is less compelling in any revelation of 'what happened' than in illustrating the production of silences used to enable the appropriation of a particular history as the sole relevant history. The 'inheritors of the past', those who are able to lay authoritative and representative claim to it, it is argued, ultimately claim ownership over institutional space. I argue too, that the dominant practices and performances of daily institutional life (re)produce the institutional space as a space of 'racial' dominance. Ritualized performance of the dominant institutional identity produces ownership of institutional space through making some articulations of 'Rhodes identity' more acceptable, legitimate and authentic than others. The dominance of 'drinking culture' in Rhodes student life produces a particular 'racialized' institutional identity as most legitimate. 'Racial' dominance is instituted, consecrated and reproduced through the ritualistic performance of 'drinking culture', which ultimately produces a superior claim of ownership over the institutional space through the reiteration of racial domination that these performances of institutional identity powerfully symbolize.

Magister Theologiae - MTh / The purpose of this investigation is to discuss the relevance of Black theology in light of the emergence of reconstruction theology. It offers a critical survey of a range of contributions on this issue, questioning whether scholars who have used Black theology as a form of self description should shift emphasis, from the paradigm of liberation to reconstruction. The significance of this study has to be understood within the context of the proposal to redirect African theological initiatives from liberation theologies to reconstruction theology. The basis for this call was the end of apartheid in South Africa, which signalled the independence of all countries on the African continent. / South Africa

The enormous social, economic, and political government-led societal transformation South Africans have experienced over the past 15 years have brought about numerous societal and identity changes. The aim of the present study was to explore how dominant (White participants) and non-dominant (Black participants) groups experiencing the government-led societal transformation process deal with perceptions of intergroup differences based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) and related field research. Social Identity Theory predicts that in the presence of intergroup differences group members irrespective of their status position will apply identity management strategies to either improve or maintain their status position. The relationships between perceptions of intergroup relations and identity management strategies as proposed by Social Identity Theory were tested studying 170 second year Rhodes University psychology students. Sixty participants indicated themselves as Black South Africans (representing non-dominant group) and 110 participants identified themselves as White South Africans (dominant group). The results revealed that dominant and non-dominant groups differ systematically regarding the functional interaction between beliefs about the intergroup situation and identity management strategies. The results of the study indicate too, that ingroup identification differentiates between individual and collective strategies irrespective of the group’s status position.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This research project, in which social welfare constitutes the central focus of study, is undertaken within the broad field of development studies. The basic concern of the study is to determine the role and the place of social welfare in a post-apartheid South Africa. The study therefore seeks to produce some of the policy-making knowledge and a framework for formulating alternative social policies. With the emergence of the post-apartheid South Africa, social welfare as a system, and social policy in particular, finds itself at a water-shed. For many years social welfare has been practised on a racially-differentiated basis. Social policies were firmly rooted in the prevailing political ideology of apartheid. During its formal inception in the 193Q's, the primary objective of social welfare was to solve the Poor White problem. Currently we have reached a critical turning point in the history of our country. The establishment of an inclusive democracy should have a direct impact on the welfare of all citizens. In this new context we have to deal with mass poverty - the basic human needs of many South Africans not being met - and extreme inequalities. Meanwhile we are saddled with different models of welfare based on the fragmented social policies of the past. Various themes pertaining to social welfare are examined with the view to proposing some solutions to the dilemma. Theories of development constitute the frame of reference for the analysis and development of alternative social policies. Applying these theoretical foundations, a special study is made of the emergence and structuring of social welfare in South Africa. In an empirical study the views of stakeholders in the field are gathered using qualitative methodology. Theories of development, the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the idea of social welfare as a system to meet human needs, and the views of stakeholders, form the basis for the development of alternative social policies in the post-apartheid South Africa. Using this conceptual framework and analysis of contemporary realities, certain policy proposals are examined for their appropriateness to address post-apartheid challenges. The study demonstrates that a paradigm shift is absolutely necessary in order to deal with emerging realities in South Africa. This paradigm shift entails that social welfare adopt a developmental approach within an integrated policy framework.

Years of political and economic mismanagement have brought South Africa to a critical turning point. After the demise of Apartheid and already during the transition to democracy, far-reaching efforts have been undertaken to achieve reconciliation, socioeconomic equality, and build sustainable peace in the county. However, the structural patterns of segregationist ideologies have only changed marginally, leading to a status in which the legacy of Apartheid determines South Africa’s future. Depending on the psychodynamic choice of dealing with the past traumata, as well as the government’s ideological tendency, there are different future scenarios. In this thesis, the conflict transformation policies in the fields of security, social and economic well-being, justice and reconciliation, and governance and participation are evaluated through an input-output analysis, to answer to which extent these measures are effective or not. This is done by considering transnational processes and developments, objectives in past and current conflicts, as well as by working out possible future scenarios. The result of the evaluation is that, with minor exceptions, the current approaches to conflict transformation are not effective, and different measures must be taken urgently to avert South Africa’s downfall.

Student Number : 7805464 - MA dissertation - School of SLLS - Faculty of Arts / This dissertation interrogates Anne Landsman’s The Devil’s Chimney. The novel is narrated by the poor-white alcoholic, Connie, who imagines a story about Beatrice, an English colonist living on a farm in the Little Karoo. Connie, who is a product of the apartheid era, interweaves her own story with that of Beatrice’s and, in this way, comes to terms with her own memories, her abusive husband and the new South Africa. Connie deploys the genre of magical realism to create a defamiliarised farm setting for Beatrice’s narrative. She thus challenges the stereotypes associated with the traditional plaasroman and its patriarchal codes. These codes are also subverted in Connie’s representation of Beatrice, who contests her identity as the authoritative Englishwoman, as constructed by colonial discourse. In addition, Beatrice’s black domestic, Nomsa, is given voice and agency: facilities denied to her counterparts in colonial and apartheid fiction. Nomsa’s relationship with Beatrice is also characterised by subversion as it blurs the boundaries between colonised and coloniser. In this regard, the text demands a postcolonial reading. Connie, in narrating Beatrice’s and Nomsa’s stories, reinvents their invisible lives and, by doing so, is able to rewrite herself. In this, she tentatively envisions a future for herself and also potentially ‘narrates’ the nation, thus contributing to the new national literature. The nation is inscribed in the Cango caves, whose spaces witness the seminal episodes in Beatrice’s narrative. In these events, the caves ‘write’ the female body and women’s sexuality and the text thus calls for an engagement with feminism. The caves also inscribe South African history, the Western literary canon, the imagination and Landsman’s own voice. Hence, the caves assume the characteristics of a palimpsest. This, together with the metafictive elements of the novel, invites an encounter with postmodernism.

Thesis (M.A. (Political Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / During the apartheid era in South Africa, Black women were mostly oppressed members of the population. They faced the triple whammy oppression of race, sex and class which prevented them from living their lives freely. These categories of oppressions overlapped into the democratic dispensation. Although South Africa has become a democratic Republic, Black women continue to experience the triple whammy oppression of racism, sexism and classism. These oppressions are prevalent among Black women in the Mankweng community of Limpopo Province, resulting in different types of social issues. This development has motivated Black communities to employ Womanist theory or Womanism to eradicate the triple whammy oppressions and social issues that have morphed into challenges in the communities. This theory considers the element of equality from different aspects of life in the society. The aim of this study was to explore the triple whammy oppression and its role in making Mankweng Community in Limpopo Province of post-apartheid South Africa an unsafe environment. The study utilised semi-structured interviews to collect and collate data. Collected data established that Black women and men have different and similar views on the triple whammy oppression and social issues that contribute to unsafe environments for Black women in Mankweng Community of Limpopo Province. The study further established that Black women are mostly the victims of oppressions and social issues. The study further recommends that black men must be educated about the importance of women and that the philosophy of Ubuntu must be practiced in the communities of Black people in order to have safe environments for everyone.

Recent events have brought about the realization that purposeful advancement in South Africa depends on wide-ranging educational reforms consistent with the demands of a complex multicultural society. This necessitates the development of theoretically-sound policies informed by, and grounded in, the specific historical and cultural milieu in which it is to be conceived. Within this context, a particular concern is that little is known about the educational needs of the Indian community at this juncture. This concern is also evinced by a multitude of interests within this minority group. Al though this investigation focuses on Indian responses to dominant policy orientations, it conceptualizes the South African education dynamics in its entirety and interrelatedness and not as a conglomerate of isolated parts. In sum, this dissertation endeavours to examine some critical concerns as it affects the provision of education for people of Indian origin in a postapartheid South Africa. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Comparative Education)

The premise of the research concerns negative spatial legacies and questions doubting the existence of the true post-apartheid city in South Africa. The study describes the socio-spatial structure of the functional urban core of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM). An empirical analysis, a unique segregation-desegregation classification, a relative socio-economic classification and three continuity-discontinuity hypotheses was used to compare past and present socio-spatial characteristics. Structural racial-residential segregation is evident along with high levels of socio-economic inequality. Spatial polarisation of societal attributes has created a clear north-west and south-east divide in the study area. The study area is described as one with a central-south citadel (inhabited by the wealthy) and a dynamic periphery (diverse but relatively deprived). Current socio-spatial characteristics can be attributed to strong spatial legacies, ineffective policy interventions and underlying socio-spatial influences that inhibit true inclusivity and equality in the study area. / Geography / M. Sc. (Geography)