African Studies Institute - Seminar Papers

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Sebatakgomo: Migrant organization, the ANC and the Sekhukhuneland Revolt
(197-?) Delius, P.
In the 1940s and 1950s in reserve and trust area from the Zoutpansberg to the Ciskei bitter battles were fought against first Betterment Schemes and then Bantu Authorities. Communities believed - with good reason - that these state initiatives posed a mortal threat to their residual, but cherished, economic and political autonomy. These episodes are usually treated under the rubric of rural or peasant resistance but the centrality of migrant labour to the South African political economy has always undermined simple divisions between town and countryside. A closer examination shows that in virtually every instance of resistance urban-based migrant organizations played vital roles. Yet this is difficult to explain for groups like the Zoutpansberg Cultural Association, the Bahurutshe Association or the Mpondo Association step almost entirely unheralded onto the stage. We have the barest idea of the long history of migrant organization which preceded their part in these events. It has also become commonplace in the literature on 'rural resistance' to suggest that the ANC, while not entirely insensitive to rural issues in the 194Os and 1950s, nonetheless failed to establish effective rural organization and played at best a marginal role in the various revolts. This conclusion is partly based on the sparseness of Congress branches in the countryside. But it has been arrived at without any systematic attempt to examine a crucial question. Did migrants and their organizations provide a partly unseen but effective bridge between the ANC, the SACP and rural politics? These gaps in our understanding of 'rural resistance' will not easily be filled . This article, however, attempts to provide some illumination of these issues by means of a study of the role of migrants in the Sekhukhuneland Revolt of 1957 — 1961. To give some indication of the destination of the argument, the evidence suggests that a movement established in 1954 from within the ANC and the SACP - Sebatakqqmg - won widespread migrant support and played a key role in organizing and sustaining the resistance in the eastern Transvaal. The journey to this conclusion will, however, be long and prone to detour - for in order to be able to explain the interaction between migrants, the ANC, and rural conflict in the 1950s it is necessary to trace the changing patterns of Pedi employment and association from at least the 1930s.
Populists and patriarches: The transformation of the captaincy at Griqua Town, 1804-1822
(1964-09-03) Kinsman, Margaret
The purpose of this essay is to trace, as far as is possible, the development of the agricultural faction at Griqua Town in the 1810s and 1820s and to illuminate its efforts to transform the settlement's administration. To do so, I shall first examine the origins of the Griqua community and describe the nature of the political system it evolved north of the Orange River. Next, I shall attempt to outline the development of agriculture at Griqua Town and various outstations, the growth of a agriculturalist faction, and the increasing efforts of this group to secure an administration which catered to its needs. Finally, I shall study how, although the new regime under Waterboer generated staunch and even violent opposition, it was able to shift its focus to encouraging agricultural production.
Urban-industrialisation among the ‘Bantu’ in the Republic of South Africa
(1967) Alverson, Hoyt S.
Time series analysis of migratory stabilization: a research technique for quantifying individual and group patterns of cyclic migration, with special reference to sub-Saharan Africa
(1967) Alverson, Hoyt S.
Rituals of an African Zionist Church
(1967-10) Berglund, A. I.
Politics in Swaziland, 1960 to 1968: A selection of reports in the Times of Swaziland
(1968) Ndwandwe, Sishayi Simon
This collection of newspaper reports constitutes a personal record of what was said between 1960 and 1968 through the forum of the Times of Swaziland, the only newspaper in the country. (Izwi lama Swazi folded up long ago). Editorials have been omitted, chiefly for reasons of copyright, and the selections made are concerned with the actions of political groups rather than the opinions of individuals.
Transvaal and Natal Iron Age settlement revealed by aerial photography and excavation
(1968) Mason, R.J
In 1820 John Campbell visited a thriving Iron Age settlement built by the Hurutse tribe at that time under the regent Liqueling, and known as Kurrichane or Kaditshwene (spelling uncertain), believed to be near the present town of Zeerust in the S.W. Transvaal. … In 1828 Robert Moffat, travelling to the east of Kurrichane, described remains of innumerable, recently destroyed settlements similar to Kurrichane. Moffat’s record was the start of Iron Age research in the Transvaal. Most, or all, of the Iron Age structures discussed in the present paper probably predate the tribal wars of the 1820's. My subject in the present paper is confined to Iron Age structures.
Some aspects of education in South Africa
(1968-12) Tunmer, Raymond; Muir, R. K
Since the time of Athens and Sparta, it has been argued that the future of any state depends very much on the amount of interest and energy that is devoted to education in the state. It is now realised that finance must also be added to this list. Despite the fact that this realisation has a long history, there are few educationists in any country in the world who are satisfied with the amounts of interest, energy and finance which are devoted to education. South Africa is no exception. In this series of papers, stress will be laid on education for Non-White peoples for two reasons. The first is that less is known about their problems. The second is that if South Africa is to continue to prosper, much will depend upon the products of the country's Non-White schools. The aim in this introductory paper will be to show how great this dependence is already, and how it is likely to increase in the future. Material will be taken from a recently published report on "Education and the South African Economy", (1) as this brings together in one volume much new material. The central theme of this report can be expressed in this way: "Over the past thirty-five years the rate of economic growth in South Africa has been remarkably steady, apart from normal cyclical fluctuations, at an average of 4 1/2 per cent per annum, after allowing for the falling purchasing power of money". (2)
Land and politics in the Transvaal in the 1880s
(1972-04) Cornwall, R.
It is evident that the population of the South African Republic did not constitute a single homogenous group, devoid of variation in wealth, education and life-style. The diversity of Afrikaner society has frequently been overlooked by historians however, and the courses of social differentation completely ignored. The State Archives at Pretoria do contain some enormous collections of largely unused material however, which for all their superficial dullness embody a vast amount of detailed and valuable data relating to this very problem HAD one the time and equipment to analyse in detail the information which is to be found in the land-registers, estates, death notices and wills, there can be no question but that the result would represent a most notable contribution to the social and economic history of South Africa. If in addition it were possible to collect the petitions, ballot papers and voting list, many of them still extant then another dimension could be superimposed. These would however, be projects of vast size, and although they will, hopefully, be attempted in the future, for the present we shall have to be satisfied with a more modest harvest of information. There is no expectation that however complete, the bare bones of statistical data will answer all of our questions. They can only be used to suggest the patterns of life extending beyond the range of the livelier facts called from volksraad minutes, newspapers, petitions, private correspondence and reminiscences. The major part of this paper will be concerned with the social and economic diversity reflected in landownership and in particular with its causes, general and local. No claim is made to completeness in dealing with the origins of the phenomenon, and attention is paid largely to that material which illustrates aspects of the problem which have been previously neglected. Practical considerations obviously restrict the scope of all research, and for the purposes of this paper most of the evidence relates to the district of Wakkerstroom.
Colonialism, underdevelopment and class formation in East Africa
(1972-04) Brett, E.
Apartheid as ideology
(1972-05) Stadler, Alfred William
Writers on South African race policy frequently distinguish between the ‘administrative-repressive’ structure and the ‘utopian’ or 'declamatory' aspects of apartheid, between the ongoing processes of racial discrimination and the ideal of total territorial separation between the races. (2) Van Den Berghe argues that the contradictions between the "idealist" and "realist" strains in apartheid may be resolved, "insofar as each operate at a different level. The answer lies in the old dilemma of means versus ends that is inherent in the exercise of power." This kind of argument conceals the problematic nature of apartheid. The fact that politicians' actions frequently diverge from their expressed intentions is not in itself very interesting. It is the construction which political actors place upon the relationship between means and ends which reveals the nature of ideological assumptions. In South Africa, the consciousness of a dichotomy between the ongoing activities of the political order and the professed objectives of the regime reveals the contradictions of the South African situation.
The under-utilisation of labour in the Ciskei and Transkei: Introduction
(1972-06) Maree, Johann
A neglected problem of the South African political economy is the unemployment of Africans. This paper is an attempt to shed some light on the problem or, rather, to point out that it is indeed a problem. It is based on a study that attempted to define and measure African unemployment.
The political function of some religious movements in South Africa
(1972-08) Schutte, A.G.
A title such as the above conveys some general meaning. The statement: ' The church has a profound influence on South African political life' is fairly evident and may mean changing, reinforcing or manipulating the established political order. It may even mean working towards the abolishment of this order. It is in this relatively neutral sense the term: ‘function’ will be used below. The interrelationship between politics and religion found in the Church - State relationship is usually institutionalized. Emergent religious movements have not reached the degree of institutionalization of a church. Consequently their relationship with the governing body will not yet be routinized. Yet they may have a profound influence in challenging the legitimacy of established political authority. We therefore have to postulate a much more general use of the word 'function' which possibly includes 'disfunction' and non-institutionalized elements. When speaking of ‘function’ we are furthermore dealing with the political consequences of social action by religious bodies This raises the problem of the orientation of social action. Is it consciously directed towards the sphere of politics or do the actions performed have unintended political consequences? In order to answer this question it is essential to differentiate between 'function' and 'intent' of social action. These concepts represent two different perspectives on social action. 'Function' indicates an interrelationship objectivated by the scientist, whereas 'intend' in a sociological sense, reflects the expectations an actor has of the effects of his own action. When 'function' overlaps with 'intent', a certain action has intended consequences, or, in Merton's terms, (1) a manifest function. When this is not the case, the consequences are unintended and the function latent. Intent, as noted, refers to the effects/ consequences of the action performed. In Alfred Schutz's (2) terms intent would include a projection of a future state to be achieved. This state is envisaged by the actor in terms of a completed action.
Political parties in Botswana: Some observations
(1973-02) Wiseman, John A.
Perhaps I could begin by stressing the tentative nature of the paper which I shall be presenting to this seminar. In the main this is due to the inadequacy of source material, relating to Botswana, available in Britain. The country is small (in terms of population) and poor, a situation which does not encourage the generation of much in the way of primary material, especially outside the governmental sector. With one or two exceptions the secondary material concerning Botswana seems to be based on the promise that the most important factor concerning the country is its relationship with the rest of Southern Africa. Thus it is regarded as a rather small pawn in the wider struggle with usually little more than a cursory glance at its internal politics. I am at the moment planning a trip to Botswana for the purposes of field work later in the year, but for the present I acknowledge that there are serious gaps in the paper I shall put before you. In most cases I shall attempt to point to the omissions myself. In spite of this I believe that the paper may be of interest, not only to those few who have a particular interest in Botswana, but to the much wider number who accept that the study of new states is of vital relevance to our understanding of politics. This account rejects the notion of any "single explanation" of the party system in Botswana: it rejects single variable determinism or even dominancy as a core explanatory factor. Thus it regards as simplistic any attempt to use one variable (e.g. tribe, class, region etc.) as a sensible method of understanding the nature of political parties or their interactions, analytically positioned as "party system". What is more, this account argues that the same method cannot be used to explain all the parties, even after allowance has been made for different content variables.
History of Jewish Workers Club
(1973-03) Adler, Taffy
Jewish socialists have been ignored in writing the history of Jewish South Africa. They were important for the formation of the left in this country. The Jewish Workers Club (JWC), founded in the 1890's, was a social meeting place for impoverished Jewish immigrants. It also acted in their interests against employers. Few Jews were at one stage militantly anti-capitalist, and therefore anti-Zionist. Even if their membership was small, their influence at particular times in South Africa's history, was widespread and significant. It was important as part of a general struggle, a struggle which, for the JWC, had its height in the anti-fascist conflicts of the 1930's and the attempts then to permit black South Africans to participate in the governing of their country in its economic and political aspects.
Worker consciousness in Black Miners: Southern Rhodesia, 1900-1920
(1973-04-2) Van Onselen, C.
Black strikes, prices and trade union organisation 1939-1973
(1973-05) Hewson, David
In this paper we will examine the situation in which strikes by Black workers take place and their relationship to trade union organisation. Hopefully we will be able to tease out the strands of relationship between the essential components: between; prices, strikes and labour organisation. We should attempt to answer the following questions: are strikes basically the result of increases in the prices of essential commodities (particularly food); can strikes by African workers be seen as defensive action to re-establish real wages; how far does relative deprivation of Black workers result in trade union organisation and what are the optimum conditions for the formation and growth of African trade unions.
Trade Unionism in South Africa: An interview report
(1974-02) Greenberg, Stanley
"Trade Unionism in South Africa" is a "working paper" of the most preliminary sort. I add that caveat not as a protection against criticism or quotation, but as genuine indication on the state of this research. This paper is based on interviewing still in progress (20 of 30 interviews are completed). The incompleteness is compounded by the mails and distance. Only six of the interview transcripts were available to me at the time of writing. The remainder were reconstructed from scattered notes and memory. Hence, my assessment of the labour movement is based on the roughest sorts of impressions and only limited access to my own data. I have imposed an artificial constraint on this paper which is not a consequence of the mails or incompleteness. I have decided to exclude nearly all historical analysis, choosing instead to concentrate on the interview material. A large percentage of my time in the last year has indeed been devoted to the examination of Trades and Labour Council records, reports and correspondence of TUCSA, various Commissions of Inquiry (particularly into industrial legislation), the role of labour in the Pact Government and subsequent governments, including the post-1948 Nationalist Government. While these materials will prove central to my later work and any future publication, they will little inform this discussion. I am afraid this report is a 'self-interested attempt on my part to make sense of some fairly diffuse, but exciting interviews.
Afrikaner nationalism, white politics and political change in South Africa
(1974-03) Van Zyl Slabbert, H.
By political change is meant a change in the constitution of groups and individuals who effectively control political decision-making in South Africa, The size and diversity of such groups and number of individuals can either decrease, - in which case there is an increase in authoritarianism, - or increase, - in which case there is a move towards a decentralization or diffusion of political control. A clear distinction must in this case be made between interest groups, socio-economic and demographic processes, external or internal to South Africa, that exert direct or indirect influenoe on the taking of political decisions and the groups and individuals who effectively control and are responsible for such decisions. This is simply another way of stating that more often than not there is a discrepancy between the pressures for change and the decisions taken to cope with such pressures..... This paper would like to emphasize the strategic significance of Afrikaner Nationalists in relation to the problem of political change in South Africa. As a group they control effective political decision-making within White politics and therefore within South Africa in general...
Major patterns of group interaction in South African society
(1974-03) Savage, Michael
Although recent historians have stated "the central theme of South African history is interaction between peoples of diverse origins, languages, technologies, Ideologies and social systems, meeting on South African soil", scant attention has been paid to such interaction by social scientists. Instead, most work in such disciplines has been segmentary, and focuses on the Internal arrangements or attitudes of one group rather than on the relationships that that group has to other groups or to the wider society. This in itself may be one reflection of the polarities of the society that have influenced the pattern of social research itself. The result however, is that outside of the work of historians, there has been insufficient study of the consequences of interaction between the different groups in the population. Yet, such interaction is one vital key to an understanding of the social structure. In this paper, an attempt will be made to overview the most important patterns of group interaction across the lines - ( political, ethnic, economic and class - that so clearly demarcate the major groups in South African society. The primary focus in this exploration of the contact and cleavages between such groups will be the present, with some attempt to indicate emerging trends.

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