Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2224291
C. Lester
ABSTRACT This article examines the Farlam Commission of Inquiry’s official discourse on violence within the context of the Marikana mine massacre. The commission was established in 2012 to investigate the killing of 34 mine workers during a wage strike at the Lonmin platinum mine in South Africa. The commission was tasked with scrutinising the actions of the police, mine management and labour unions involved in the incident. By employing the concept of legalism, this paper analyses the commission’s report and argues that it adopted a legalist perspective on violence, which served to legitimise the prevailing legal framework for collective bargaining while delegitimising the strike action itself. The study highlights Phase Two of the commission’s investigation, which was aimed at examining the underlying sociological causes of the conflict within the mining sector. This phase provided an opportunity to delve into the structural factors that fuelled the dispute. However, despite the potential for a more nuanced exploration of structural violence, the final report of the Farlam Commission ultimately embraced a narrative form and simulacrum of legality that reflected implicit moral and political biases concerning specific forms of violence and social action. The commission struggled to assimilate critiques of the collective bargaining framework into its report, instead maintaining a fidelity to legalism, with practical implications for the type of “truth” and “justice” the commission could promote. The paper contributes to a broader understanding of the complex dynamics between legal frameworks, violence and social justice in contexts of labour disputes and collective action.
{"title":"Legalism in the Marikana Commission of Inquiry Report: Veiling “Sociological Causes” of the Massacre","authors":"C. Lester","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2224291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2224291","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article examines the Farlam Commission of Inquiry’s official discourse on violence within the context of the Marikana mine massacre. The commission was established in 2012 to investigate the killing of 34 mine workers during a wage strike at the Lonmin platinum mine in South Africa. The commission was tasked with scrutinising the actions of the police, mine management and labour unions involved in the incident. By employing the concept of legalism, this paper analyses the commission’s report and argues that it adopted a legalist perspective on violence, which served to legitimise the prevailing legal framework for collective bargaining while delegitimising the strike action itself. The study highlights Phase Two of the commission’s investigation, which was aimed at examining the underlying sociological causes of the conflict within the mining sector. This phase provided an opportunity to delve into the structural factors that fuelled the dispute. However, despite the potential for a more nuanced exploration of structural violence, the final report of the Farlam Commission ultimately embraced a narrative form and simulacrum of legality that reflected implicit moral and political biases concerning specific forms of violence and social action. The commission struggled to assimilate critiques of the collective bargaining framework into its report, instead maintaining a fidelity to legalism, with practical implications for the type of “truth” and “justice” the commission could promote. The paper contributes to a broader understanding of the complex dynamics between legal frameworks, violence and social justice in contexts of labour disputes and collective action.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"35 1","pages":"170 - 192"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82335974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2230175
L. Sinwell
ABSTRACT Thembelihle, an informal settlement to the south-west of Johannesburg, South Africa has experienced a wave of popular protest and grassroots democracy since the African National Congress (ANC) attempted to evict residents in 2002. Drawing from original in-depth interviews and observation, the article highlights the process through which the struggle waged by the Thembelihle Crisis Committee alongside the community has brought state concessions leading to material changes in poor people’s living conditions. In contrast to conventional approaches to the study of protest and popular participation, which focus on organisations as well as the frequency and intensity of protest, this study investigates their politics through the lens of a series of mass meetings: in Thembelihle, residents call these the People’s Parliament. There is ongoing contestation within the community regarding the extent to which the struggle is for the people of Thembelihle only (for housing and electricity) or for the working class more generally. The article argues that social and historical contexts are central for unpacking the meaning of participatory spaces. The conclusion suggests that in the midst of the declining hegemony and crisis of the ANC, it is necessary for both scholars and activists to reimagine the relationship between grassroots politics and the state.
{"title":"The People’s Parliament: Disaggregating Popular Participation and Protest in Thembelihle, South Africa","authors":"L. Sinwell","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2230175","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2230175","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Thembelihle, an informal settlement to the south-west of Johannesburg, South Africa has experienced a wave of popular protest and grassroots democracy since the African National Congress (ANC) attempted to evict residents in 2002. Drawing from original in-depth interviews and observation, the article highlights the process through which the struggle waged by the Thembelihle Crisis Committee alongside the community has brought state concessions leading to material changes in poor people’s living conditions. In contrast to conventional approaches to the study of protest and popular participation, which focus on organisations as well as the frequency and intensity of protest, this study investigates their politics through the lens of a series of mass meetings: in Thembelihle, residents call these the People’s Parliament. There is ongoing contestation within the community regarding the extent to which the struggle is for the people of Thembelihle only (for housing and electricity) or for the working class more generally. The article argues that social and historical contexts are central for unpacking the meaning of participatory spaces. The conclusion suggests that in the midst of the declining hegemony and crisis of the ANC, it is necessary for both scholars and activists to reimagine the relationship between grassroots politics and the state.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"4 1","pages":"193 - 208"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82972845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2226632
I. Moll
ABSTRACT Michel Foucault has put forward a number of concepts, notably “the imaginary”, “discursive formation” and “dispositif”, that have been used by various writers to understand the “fourth industrial revolution” (4IR). This article suggests that such concepts in his early writing (1954–1975) are misleading because they entail the idea that the 4IR is a discourse that acquires “materiality” only to the extent that it is enunciated in various human and social practices. The article goes on to argue that the later Foucault (1976–1980) presents us with much better, realist concepts that help us to understand that “the 4IR” is actually a hyperbolic ideology that perpetuates the myth that we currently live in a 4IR. Various examples of the use of these Foucauldian concepts in these different ways in relation to the 4IR are offered as the argument develops.
{"title":"When Reality Comes Knocking at Your Discourse: Foucauldian Notions of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution”","authors":"I. Moll","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2226632","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2226632","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Michel Foucault has put forward a number of concepts, notably “the imaginary”, “discursive formation” and “dispositif”, that have been used by various writers to understand the “fourth industrial revolution” (4IR). This article suggests that such concepts in his early writing (1954–1975) are misleading because they entail the idea that the 4IR is a discourse that acquires “materiality” only to the extent that it is enunciated in various human and social practices. The article goes on to argue that the later Foucault (1976–1980) presents us with much better, realist concepts that help us to understand that “the 4IR” is actually a hyperbolic ideology that perpetuates the myth that we currently live in a 4IR. Various examples of the use of these Foucauldian concepts in these different ways in relation to the 4IR are offered as the argument develops.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"356 1","pages":"227 - 244"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78442756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2187448
Paliani Chinguwo
ABSTRACT In Malawi, there is a cadre of mid-level health workers called clinical officers (COs) who undertake duties conventionally performed by medical doctors in the wake of an acute shortage of the latter. This paper argues that excessive workload and long hours of work are psychosocial hazards at public hospitals in Malawi that contribute to occupational stress (OS) and burnout among COs. The study from which this paper is derived adopted a qualitative research design with a case study as a research strategy. The study was conducted at four district hospitals and one central hospital, which are state-owned in Malawi. This paper argues, firstly, that before the COVID-19 pandemic, COs experienced OS and burnout due to excessive workloads and long hours of work at public hospitals. Secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the problem of excessive workloads and long hours of work at public hospitals. Thirdly, OS and burnout among COs are associated with various impacts that can be categorised as psychological consequences and physical consequences. The psychological and physical consequences of OS and burnout are manifestations of poor quality of life among COs, which ultimately negatively affects public health. Finally, this paper recommends formulating and implementing comprehensive occupational safety and health (OSH) policies at public hospitals. Among others, these OSH policies should provide frameworks for regularly assessing the impact of OSH hazards on the mental health of hospital staff and then informing the development of appropriate measures for mitigation.
{"title":"How Excessive Workloads and Long Hours of Work Contribute to Occupational Stress and Burnout Among Clinical Officers at Public Hospitals in Malawi","authors":"Paliani Chinguwo","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2187448","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2187448","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In Malawi, there is a cadre of mid-level health workers called clinical officers (COs) who undertake duties conventionally performed by medical doctors in the wake of an acute shortage of the latter. This paper argues that excessive workload and long hours of work are psychosocial hazards at public hospitals in Malawi that contribute to occupational stress (OS) and burnout among COs. The study from which this paper is derived adopted a qualitative research design with a case study as a research strategy. The study was conducted at four district hospitals and one central hospital, which are state-owned in Malawi. This paper argues, firstly, that before the COVID-19 pandemic, COs experienced OS and burnout due to excessive workloads and long hours of work at public hospitals. Secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the problem of excessive workloads and long hours of work at public hospitals. Thirdly, OS and burnout among COs are associated with various impacts that can be categorised as psychological consequences and physical consequences. The psychological and physical consequences of OS and burnout are manifestations of poor quality of life among COs, which ultimately negatively affects public health. Finally, this paper recommends formulating and implementing comprehensive occupational safety and health (OSH) policies at public hospitals. Among others, these OSH policies should provide frameworks for regularly assessing the impact of OSH hazards on the mental health of hospital staff and then informing the development of appropriate measures for mitigation.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"61 1","pages":"5 - 27"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84032276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2198497
S. Fobosi
ABSTRACT The minibus taxi is currently the most common mode of transport in South Africa, particularly for the low-income population living in townships. Minibus taxis are also seen as most people’s only option for mobility. With regards to the public transport system as a whole, the minibus taxi industry accounts for 68% of work journeys, followed by buses and trains. The sector remains, in a structural sense, in the informal economy, but is increasingly subject to overlapping mechanisms of formalisation and informalisation. In 1999, the government launched the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) to formalise or restructure the minibus taxi industry. Part of this programme was to scrap unroadworthy or unlicensed vehicles. However, these annual scrapping targets have not been met. In my research, I have carried out a total of 58 interviews on employment conditions in the industry using qualitative research methods. Many taxi drivers and taxi marshals are placed in precarious conditions on a daily basis. These conditions contradict those set out in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, including the Sectoral Determination of compensation. While the government announced the TRP to formalise the industry, there continue to be difficulties and entanglements with formalising the industry that have adversely affected the impact of the programme. I argue that such pitfalls delay the transformation of the industry.
{"title":"The Minimum Effect of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme on Precarious Working Conditions in South Africa’s Minibus Taxi Sector: An Industry Full of Pitfalls","authors":"S. Fobosi","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2198497","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2198497","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The minibus taxi is currently the most common mode of transport in South Africa, particularly for the low-income population living in townships. Minibus taxis are also seen as most people’s only option for mobility. With regards to the public transport system as a whole, the minibus taxi industry accounts for 68% of work journeys, followed by buses and trains. The sector remains, in a structural sense, in the informal economy, but is increasingly subject to overlapping mechanisms of formalisation and informalisation. In 1999, the government launched the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) to formalise or restructure the minibus taxi industry. Part of this programme was to scrap unroadworthy or unlicensed vehicles. However, these annual scrapping targets have not been met. In my research, I have carried out a total of 58 interviews on employment conditions in the industry using qualitative research methods. Many taxi drivers and taxi marshals are placed in precarious conditions on a daily basis. These conditions contradict those set out in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, including the Sectoral Determination of compensation. While the government announced the TRP to formalise the industry, there continue to be difficulties and entanglements with formalising the industry that have adversely affected the impact of the programme. I argue that such pitfalls delay the transformation of the industry.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"7 1","pages":"28 - 46"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81802855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2206813
Tengetile W. Nhleko, Bianca Tame
ABSTRACT This article focuses on platform domestic workers’ (PDWs’) experiences and their decision to engage in platform leakage—taking platform domestic work offline. We argue that delving into the types of domestic work choices PDWs make reveals their agency with and through digital platforms in response to precarity on the platform and in the domestic sector. The article demonstrates, through an interpretivist case study that included semi-structured interviews with a sample of PDWs in Cape Town and analysis of documents related to their platform company, that platform leakage is an unavoidable and possibly inherent feature of the platform domestic work model. The findings show that PDWs’ experience of platform domestic work as a form of “gig work” is informed and mainly influenced by unemployment and underemployment in the domestic sector rather than its benefits of flexibility for work life balance and fulfilling unpaid reproductive labour needs. Further, the algorithmic management of the labour process shows that flexibility leaves PDWs in a precarious position but also, paradoxically, creates the need and opportunity to engage in platform leakage. As a result, algorithmic management as a form of control over PDWs’ work performance, and its contingence on personalism for reputational ratings, does not always imply the inescapable power of platform companies. We conclude that further research is needed to deepen our understanding of the employment relationship that emerges from platform leakage, particularly how PDWs experience it and the management of it.
{"title":"Taking Platform Domestic Work Offline: Using Platform Leakage to Resist Precarity in South Africa’s Domestic Sector","authors":"Tengetile W. Nhleko, Bianca Tame","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2206813","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2206813","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article focuses on platform domestic workers’ (PDWs’) experiences and their decision to engage in platform leakage—taking platform domestic work offline. We argue that delving into the types of domestic work choices PDWs make reveals their agency with and through digital platforms in response to precarity on the platform and in the domestic sector. The article demonstrates, through an interpretivist case study that included semi-structured interviews with a sample of PDWs in Cape Town and analysis of documents related to their platform company, that platform leakage is an unavoidable and possibly inherent feature of the platform domestic work model. The findings show that PDWs’ experience of platform domestic work as a form of “gig work” is informed and mainly influenced by unemployment and underemployment in the domestic sector rather than its benefits of flexibility for work life balance and fulfilling unpaid reproductive labour needs. Further, the algorithmic management of the labour process shows that flexibility leaves PDWs in a precarious position but also, paradoxically, creates the need and opportunity to engage in platform leakage. As a result, algorithmic management as a form of control over PDWs’ work performance, and its contingence on personalism for reputational ratings, does not always imply the inescapable power of platform companies. We conclude that further research is needed to deepen our understanding of the employment relationship that emerges from platform leakage, particularly how PDWs experience it and the management of it.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"43 1","pages":"47 - 66"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91133895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2192520
S. Manka, M. Mapadimeng, Ramosotho Mokgadi
ABSTRACT This study examines changes in food consumption patterns within African communities, with specific reference to the Barolong Boo Ratshidi community in the Northwest Province of South Africa. The study uses a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews conducted with members of this community (or participants) to understand their views of food and consumption patterns. It also sought to understand the participants’ understanding of the factors behind these changes and their effects as well as their understanding of the meanings underlying indigenous African foods. It was found that contrary to the widely held view that only the elderly members of communities are endeared to indigenous foods, this is not so because the youth also express preference for these foods while embracing changes that have effect on their consumption. This is so even though many of the youth are ignorant of the cultural meanings of indigenous African foods served on different occasions. Their enthusiasm for these foods is seen as an optimistic basis for future efforts meant to revitalize them.
{"title":"Indigenous Foods in Decline? A Study on Changing Consumption Patterns Within the Barolong Boo Ratshidi Community, Northwest Province of South Africa","authors":"S. Manka, M. Mapadimeng, Ramosotho Mokgadi","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2192520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2192520","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study examines changes in food consumption patterns within African communities, with specific reference to the Barolong Boo Ratshidi community in the Northwest Province of South Africa. The study uses a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews conducted with members of this community (or participants) to understand their views of food and consumption patterns. It also sought to understand the participants’ understanding of the factors behind these changes and their effects as well as their understanding of the meanings underlying indigenous African foods. It was found that contrary to the widely held view that only the elderly members of communities are endeared to indigenous foods, this is not so because the youth also express preference for these foods while embracing changes that have effect on their consumption. This is so even though many of the youth are ignorant of the cultural meanings of indigenous African foods served on different occasions. Their enthusiasm for these foods is seen as an optimistic basis for future efforts meant to revitalize them.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"129 1","pages":"67 - 84"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89198430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2183250
Sogen Moodley, M. Marks
ABSTRACT Despite renewed interest in urban planning since the 1990s, the empirical focus has predominantly been on cities along the Atlantic Rim, with limited scholarly attention placed on African, Asian and Latin American cities. An examination of contemporary discourse and practices of urban placemaking reveals a worrying trend where concerns for, and interventions in, the interests of social equity are losing relevance, with almost no focus on placemaking efforts for the most vulnerable urban groups. While much has been written about urban placemaking and about responses to homelessness, not enough empirical attention has been focused on the intersection between the two. In attempting to fill this gap in the placemaking literature, the paper draws on the authors’ experiences of spontaneous and frugal institutional placemaking at the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre, a space dedicated to providing opioid substitution therapy to Durban’s drug using population since the COVID-19 lockdown. The paper suggests what placemaking for the marginalized could and should look like, emphasizing the importance of creating public spaces of dignity, while engaging meaningfully with a group of diverse stakeholders and neighbours. The importance of having a place that resembles “home” for homeless people with an opioid use disorder, and their re-humanization as a result, is core to the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre. Equally important is how this public space has transformed narratives within the broader urban community regarding homelessness and drug use, making it a potentially replicable model for critical placemaking globally. This is revealed through interviews with beneficiaries, and observational research that focuses on how the space is used. In telling the story of the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre, we invite a rethinking of traditional notions of placemaking, fostering a re-grounding of common understandings around what it means to make vibrant and truly accessible urban places. In so doing, we call for south–north learnings about using common space to enhance public safety and public health, concurrently demonstrating the interconnectivity of urban dwellers across social divides.
{"title":"Healing Places, Healing People: Insights on Spontaneous Critical Placemaking from the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre in Durban, South Africa","authors":"Sogen Moodley, M. Marks","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2183250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2183250","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Despite renewed interest in urban planning since the 1990s, the empirical focus has predominantly been on cities along the Atlantic Rim, with limited scholarly attention placed on African, Asian and Latin American cities. An examination of contemporary discourse and practices of urban placemaking reveals a worrying trend where concerns for, and interventions in, the interests of social equity are losing relevance, with almost no focus on placemaking efforts for the most vulnerable urban groups. While much has been written about urban placemaking and about responses to homelessness, not enough empirical attention has been focused on the intersection between the two. In attempting to fill this gap in the placemaking literature, the paper draws on the authors’ experiences of spontaneous and frugal institutional placemaking at the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre, a space dedicated to providing opioid substitution therapy to Durban’s drug using population since the COVID-19 lockdown. The paper suggests what placemaking for the marginalized could and should look like, emphasizing the importance of creating public spaces of dignity, while engaging meaningfully with a group of diverse stakeholders and neighbours. The importance of having a place that resembles “home” for homeless people with an opioid use disorder, and their re-humanization as a result, is core to the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre. Equally important is how this public space has transformed narratives within the broader urban community regarding homelessness and drug use, making it a potentially replicable model for critical placemaking globally. This is revealed through interviews with beneficiaries, and observational research that focuses on how the space is used. In telling the story of the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre, we invite a rethinking of traditional notions of placemaking, fostering a re-grounding of common understandings around what it means to make vibrant and truly accessible urban places. In so doing, we call for south–north learnings about using common space to enhance public safety and public health, concurrently demonstrating the interconnectivity of urban dwellers across social divides.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"15 1","pages":"85 - 103"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83210976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2183251
David K. C. Cooper
ABSTRACT This Discussion Article examines the exciting, innovative new book (2022) by Owen Crankshaw. It focuses on a summary including some comments on Crankshaw‘s key findings for the Greater Johannesburg Area for 1970–2011. It focuses primarily on his book’s Part 1 on issues of “Occupational Class Structure transformations”, but with some consideration also of Part 2 on geographical housing “Spatial Order transformations” by race and class (the author’s concepts). These core findings on socioeconomic transformations over this 40-year period have very important implications for political debate about the future of South Africa. These debates are vital not only for academics, but equally for public intellectuals and social activists in our country, and also for a wider readership in other countries particularly of the South where such urban inequality questions of class, poverty and social marginalization are fundamental. With this broad audience in mind, empirical findings are summarized and its methodology assessed, in general in very favorable light. Nonetheless, critical questions are raised about the book’s reliance on comparative case studies of cities of the North with little reflection on political implications for “Southern” cities. It is also critiqued for insufficient theoretical consideration of the impact of a global post-1970s, knowledge-based Capitalist Industrial Revolution on the class structure of Johannesburg. Notwithstanding, this is a sociological book of very high scholarship whose findings about post-Apartheid South African transformation are a must-read and must-debate.
{"title":"Transformations of Race and Class in South Africa: Discussion Article of Book on Urban Inequality: Theory, Evidence and Method in Johannesburg by Owen Crankshaw","authors":"David K. C. Cooper","doi":"10.1080/21528586.2023.2183251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2023.2183251","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This Discussion Article examines the exciting, innovative new book (2022) by Owen Crankshaw. It focuses on a summary including some comments on Crankshaw‘s key findings for the Greater Johannesburg Area for 1970–2011. It focuses primarily on his book’s Part 1 on issues of “Occupational Class Structure transformations”, but with some consideration also of Part 2 on geographical housing “Spatial Order transformations” by race and class (the author’s concepts). These core findings on socioeconomic transformations over this 40-year period have very important implications for political debate about the future of South Africa. These debates are vital not only for academics, but equally for public intellectuals and social activists in our country, and also for a wider readership in other countries particularly of the South where such urban inequality questions of class, poverty and social marginalization are fundamental. With this broad audience in mind, empirical findings are summarized and its methodology assessed, in general in very favorable light. Nonetheless, critical questions are raised about the book’s reliance on comparative case studies of cities of the North with little reflection on political implications for “Southern” cities. It is also critiqued for insufficient theoretical consideration of the impact of a global post-1970s, knowledge-based Capitalist Industrial Revolution on the class structure of Johannesburg. Notwithstanding, this is a sociological book of very high scholarship whose findings about post-Apartheid South African transformation are a must-read and must-debate.","PeriodicalId":44730,"journal":{"name":"South African Review of Sociology","volume":"12 1","pages":"104 - 123"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84127770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-03DOI: 10.1080/21528586.2023.2165143
S. Kumswa, Kachollom Best
ABSTRACT Plateau State, Nigeria has experienced multiple ethnoreligious crises including devastating changes to traditional herder–farmer clashes in rural areas. Destruction of lives and property of rural autochthons in crises locations led to internal displacements from their ancestral homes. Families flee to safety, sheltering in makeshift camps under compromising conditions with few basic resources and lost livelihoods. We studied the lived experiences of internally displaced persons (IDP) in a camp, the nature of intergenerational exchange among family members and how the family structure has been affected and thrives in crisis situations. The family resilience framework and the life course theory were employed to understand constraints and agency of displaced families. Qualitative research methods were used to study IDPs living in the Geo-Sciences Camp in Jos. Two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in Hausa with adult female and male occupants, interviews with key informants and observations. FGD transcripts were translated to English, coded and analysed thematically. We found that the conflict had inflicted severe poverty on IDPs. They lost most material possessions, sources of livelihood and became dependent on charity to meet their basic needs. Marital relationships and gender roles changed. Parenting roles were affected in duties of provision, nurture and discipline. Critical aspects of family life were managed by ill-trained volunteers, with major support coming from international non-governmental organisations (INGOs)/non-governmental organisations (NGOs), charitable/faith-based organizations and the public with little government presence. Recommendations include reorganisation of IDP camps prioritising family spaces, robust trauma care services and more proactive governance of IDPs to restore them to secured communities.
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