Bibliography: pages 233-237. / The rapid industrialization which transformed South African Society after the discovery of minerals, had a profound impact on the lives of most South Africans. The process of urbanization escalated during and after the Second World War because of better wages and job opportunities in the urban areas. South African urbanization was characterized by the brutal manner in which the state dealt with the Black people. The White middle and working classes' fear of being engulfed by this Black tide led to the multi-pronged strategies which were devised to contain and co-opt the Africans, hence the creation of townships like Langa. This study looks at how the journey from the rural areas to the cities became part of the 'making of Black working class'. Material conditions in the cities were characterized by social squalor and overcrowding. Ghetto-like conditions created ethnic identities and working class culture, consciousness and community struggles came to reflect capitalist domination in the twentieth century township of Langa. Many residents in the township indulged in leisure pursuits such as dance and music which had their origins in the rural areas and this indicated an important cultural resource which they adhered to so as to cope with the alienating and corrosive compound and hostel life. Some of the residents found pleasure in leisure pursuits whose roots and ethos could be traced to the Victorian period such as cricket, soccer and rugby. All these leisure pursuits however, came largely to be influenced by the realities of township life and the general national and economic exploitation. The working class in Langa was not a homogeneous block as there were intense struggles between the migrants and immigrants over township space and resources. Therefore festivals and sporting activities played an important part in the cultural history of Langa township's effort to create "communities". The last part of the study looked at how the conditions in the city led to the realization by the dominated classes that the solution towards the alleviation of the conditions that they were confronted with was through the formation of structures which aimed at overthrowing institutions of oppression, such as the pass laws.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/15984 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Molapo, Rachidi Richard |
| Contributors | Nasson, Bill, Bickford-Smith, Vivian |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Historical Studies |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | application/pdf |
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