South‐South Migration and Urban Food Security: Zimbabwean Migrants in South African Cities

The drivers of food insecurity in rapidly‐growing urban areas of the Global South are receiving more research and policy attention, but the precise connections between urbanization and urban food security are still largely unexplored. In particular, the levels and causes of food insecurity amongst new migrants to the city have received little consideration. This is in marked contrast to the literature on the food security experience of new immigrants from the South in European and North American cities. This article aims to contribute to the new literature on South‐South migration and urban food security by focusing on the case of recent Zimbabwean migrants to South African cities. The article presents the results of a household survey of migrants in the South African cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg. The survey showed extremely high levels of food insecurity and low dietary diversity. We attribute these findings, in part, to the difficulties of accessing regular incomes and the other demands on household income. However, most migrants are also members of multi‐spatial households and have obligations to support household members in Zimbabwe. We conclude, therefore, that although migration may improve the food security of the multi‐spatial household as a whole, it is also a factor in explaining the high levels of insecurity of migrants in the city.     

The place of South African philosophy in the future of South African philosophy

The title of my paper reads like an oxymoron if not downright confusion. However, it is not meant to be an oxymoron and it does not betray my private confusion. It is deliberate and perhaps a bit political. These two words “South Africa” rightly conjure up an image of things that are either in the south of Africa or things that are African in the south. I find the first image deserving of attention for my purposes. Juxtaposing the concerns of academic philosophy in South Africa (the country) alongside the ordinary reference of the term South Africa (and resultant expectations), I seek to argue that the practice of philosophy in South Africa does not sufficiently show South African characteristics. I specifically argue that the practice of philosophy in South Africa is far removed from the place in which it operates. While there are historical reasons to explain this state of affairs, the future of philosophy in this place can only be secured by an active renunciation of the status quo accompanied by a deliberate responsiveness to the philosophical needs of South Africa. It is incumbent on the dominant philosophers to make this renunciation and foster deliberate responsiveness.     

The South African State and urbanisation policy: Crisis and response

Towards the end of the 1970s political and economic tensions in South Africa precipitated a crisis of the State. In response to this, the last few years have seen an unprecedented attempt on the part of the government to restructure racial capitalism in South Africa. While reforms have left virtually no aspect of government policy untouched, this paper explores one particular and vital aspect of policy reform: that of urbanisation policy and regional development. It is frequently the case that internationally accepted regional development and settlement strategies, first, are adopted by governments for political rather than for developmental reasons and, secondly, are unable anyway to stimulate processes of regional development. The reasons for this relate not only to the biases which occur in the application of these strategies, but also to a failure to understand or to confront the real and complex developmental problems of the areas in which they are implemented. The case of South Africa clearly demonstrates these issues.     

The South African Family in Transition: Training and Therapeutic Implications

A universal pattern of transition from the extended family to the nuclear family and beyond is proposed. Stages of transition concurrently found among South African families are detailed and examples of resultant pathology are presented. Emphasis is given to specific therapeutic dilemmas facing the South African family therapist. These include the feasibility of intervention in the extended family, the problems associated with intervention across cultural boundaries and the appropriateness of specific therapeutic goals. The current status of training is outlined and the prerequisites for effective service and training are highlighted.     

The anxiety of affect: melodrama and South African film studies

This paper argues that the realist approach typically adopted in South African film studies reduces films to message‐bearing narratives in a way that ignores the specificity of the medium. Conversely, melodrama both as cinematic genre and as expressive register explicitly draws our attention away from issues of right representation to other neglected but essential dimensions of cinema. We argue that, far from being morally reductive or politically quietist, melodrama is a representational mode wholly appropriate to understanding the South African context including the painful stories of its apartheid past. To illustrate this broader critical point we offer an analysis of two films (of 2004) about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) – In My Country and Forgiveness – which, we argue, can only be adequately understood if their uses of the visual and affective strategies of melodrama, which are consonant with aspects of the TRC itself, are acknowledged.     

The South African Feature Film Industry: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Although the South African film industry has the required competency to become a significant player in the international film market, few South African films enjoy commercial success. This paper examines why South African films are not more successful and assesses what government and other stakeholders can do to promote a sustainable and successful film industry. The paper draws on the experiences of the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries to argue that the South African government should not focus solely on the cultural aspects of the film product but should attach more importance to distribution, promotion and audience development.     

The Educational Expectations of South African Youth

Abstract

Educational expectations, in particular the relationship between race/ethnicity and educational expectations, have been understudied in less developed countries. We use data from the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS) to examine the educational expectations of black (African), coloured (mixed race), and white (European ancestry) youth in Cape Town, South Africa. The educational expectations of all three racial groups are high, although coloured youth are less likely than black and white youth to expect to complete postsecondary or postgraduate schooling. Supporting research on educational expectations in the United States and other more developed countries, our findings indicate that socioeconomic status and academic performance matter for educational expectations in South Africa, although their importance varies by racial group. In contrast to U.S. studies that have found effects of family composition for whites only, we found virtually no effects of family composition on the educational expectations of whites or nonwhites. Our findings suggest possible similarities and differences across social contexts in the processes shaping the educational expectations of youth from disadvantaged groups.     

Political violence within army barracks: desertion and loss among exiled Zimbabwean soldiers in South Africa

While studies on soldiers who leave the army have focused on them as perpetrators of political violence in war and peace, little is known about the ways in which soldiers have been subjected to violence. This paper examines the ways in which Zimbabwe National Army deserters who are currently in exile in South Africa experienced politically inspired violence in the army barracks and the ways in which they mediate and reify it through the image of the “torn underwear.” The ‘torn underwear’ signifies the violence experienced in the army barracks but also represents its reification in their present exile condition and the ways in which it is embedded in the body psyche. In analysing the army barracks as a ‘total institution’ and as a ‘surveillance unit,’ the paper, respectively, situates itself in the discussions of Goffman and Foucault, drawing from life history interviews and conversations with deserters who live in exile in South Africa.     

The invention of religion: Aspects of the South African case

This paper examines the role played by popular culture in response to the effects of the unfolding social and political repression on the ordinary Zimbabwean after 2000. The arts is one sector where the Zimbabwean government fostered its repressive hegemony. An urban youth music genre called ‘urban grooves’ rose to prominence during the period under focus here and some of the artists colluded with the government in propagating an anti‐Western imperialism campaign. This paper evaluates the nature of the genre’s performance practices and its role in the government’s anti‐Western imperialism campaign. It also discusses the complexities associated with notions of complicity and resistance as urban grooves artists resisted both Western hegemony, as per the government’s campaign, and subverted the same government’s censorship of the urban youth’s and the general society’s imaginary and other freedoms.     

The professionalism debate in South African public relations

Professionalism is a contentious topic in journals serving a wide range of disciplines, both internationally and in South Africa. However, there is seldom concrete empirical research into professionalism—which limits the usefulness of this debate. In response, the present study empirically investigates the perceptions of South African public relations (PR) practitioners regarding professionalism. The questionnaire-based survey shows that the professionalism problem for PR practitioners in South Africa is twofold. Firstly, the South African PR governing body has not taken ownership of the issues regarding professionalism amongst its members. Secondly, practitioners themselves are making little effort to professionalize their activities. Both parties agree on the importance of professionalization, but claim that the onus is on the other party to promote it. This situation is untenable: professionalization should be actively encouraged so as to maximize the impact of the PR profession in South Africa.     

Donald Molteno and South African liberalism

Donald Molteno: “Dilizintaba ‐ He‐Who‐ Removes‐Mountains” by David Sher, Johannesburg: The South African Institute of Race Relations and The Donald Molteno Memorial Committee, 1979.     

Black Agrarianism: The Significance of African American Landownership in the Rural South

Agrarianism is important in the American mythos. Land represents both a set of values and a store of wealth. In this article, we ask how land matters in the lives of rural, southern, Black farmland owners. Drawing on 34 interviews, we argue that, since the end of slavery, land has continued to operate as a site of racialized exclusion. Local white elites limit Black farmers’ access to landownership through discriminatory lending practices. At the same time, Black farmland owners articulate an ethos in which land is a source of freedom, pride, and belonging. This we term “Black agrarianism.” They cultivate resistance to the legacies of slavery and sharecropping and contemporary practices of social closure. These Black farmland owners, then, view land as protection from white domination. Thus, we demonstrate how landownership is a site for the re‐creation of racial hierarchy in the contemporary period while also offering the potential for resistance and emancipation.     

The Indigenous Knowledge Systems Policy of 2004: Challenges for South African Universities

Abstract

South Africa's Indigenous Knowledge Systems Policy was approved by Cabinet in 2004, and the National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office (NIKSO) was opened in the Department of Science and Technology in 2006. Proposing the integration of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in the arenas of education, commerce, agriculture, the sciences, law, languages, arts, social sciences, and health, the policy document implies several challenges to the idea of knowledge at the postcolonial university, and has significant implications for research and innovation in South Africa. Yet will a dramatically increased budget for research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems bring the kinds of insights and ideas that are needed in order to bring the sciences into dialogue with indigenous knowledge? While arguing for the importance of engaging with the IKS debate, the first part of this paper offers a critique of the conceptual tools contained within the IKS Policy and associated calls for research. The second part of the paper focuses on the question of how universities might approach the task of supporting researchers who are exploring IKS. Arguing that a strong intellectual presence is needed in the implementation of the policy nationally, the paper argues that dedicated IKS research units within universities may be counter-productive to the task of integrating indigenous knowledges with the sciences. However, neither the sciences, nor sociologies of knowledge alone can provide an adequate intellectual home for research on the topic. Rather, if South African universities are to respond productively, there is a need for university executives to remove impediments to teaching and research across faculties and disciplines and between universities, and to stimulate emerging dialogues about the nature of knowledge in the postcolony.     

The Impact of Religious Intensification on Family Relations: A South African Example

Using the example of South African Jewish families in which the daughters became Ultra‐Orthodox, this article examines the reactions and adaptations of mothers to their daughters' religious intensification. A qualitative study in which 15 mothers and 15 daughters were interviewed found that the mothers' initial reactions were primarily positive and ambivalent, with some negative reactions, but over time the mothers became increasingly ambivalent. Overall, mothers and newly observant adult daughters made serious efforts to maintain family cohesion and relationships of mutual respect. The results are explained by the South African context, stress theory, the concept of family resilience, and intergenerational theory.