Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

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Browsing Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters) by Department "Department of History"

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    Gold, Politics and Violence: Artisanal gold mining in Kwekwe City, 1980-2022
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Nkomo, Tilda; Skosana, Dineo; Musemwa, Muchaparara
    The study sought to reveal the murky, multidirectional and dynamic political, economic and socio-cultural exchanges that have often followed ‘informalisation’ of natural resource extraction in Zimbabwe. It considered how artisanal mining became a source of everyday social, political and economic contestations. In an economy that is in crisis, and a political terrain characterised by state-sponsored violence, persistent electioneering mode, politics of patronage, artisanal mining –which has directly and indirectly drawn thousands of people – has created new ideas for both the political elite and the general populace about political survival, basic economic sustenance and accumulation. It demonstrated that, for instance, politicians used artisanal mining for vote mobilisation whereas, artisanal miners needed politicians for access to the mines and related activities. As a result, the line between politicians and artisanal miners was increasingly blurred; artisanal mining was now a source of income not only to direct participants but has also benefited downstream formal and informal activities such as vending, transportation, security, among others. Building on literature that has focused on Southern Africa and other regions of the continent, the study considered how artisanal mining has contributed to both building and destroying various aspects of Zimbabwe’s wider society: the growth of new entrepreneurs, the transformation of the rural economy, the destruction of the environment, increased political and non-political violence, among other consequences. It examined everyday interactions between economic, social and political forces, with particular focus on the grassroots.
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    The Periphery is a Crowded Space: Discourses of Inclusion and Exclusion in the Gatekeeping of South Africa’s Nursing Profession. 1874-1957
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-02) Fern, Casey Lee; Phillip, Laura; Devenish, Annie
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    Violence and protest: A historical analysis of ‘violence’ and community protests in Bethanie, c. 1866 to 2018
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-10) Makena, Kefuoe Emmaculate; von Holdt, Karl; Lekgoathi, Sekibakiba P.
    The Bakwena ba Mogopa are a community in the North West Province of South Africa. The capital of this community is Bethanie. In 2018, residents of Bakwena ba Mogopa embarked on a protest. This protest highlighted issues of unemployment, lack of service delivery and underdevelopment. For many, in particular young people, this protest was surprisingly militant. However, for the elders in the community, this reignited memories of the war of Mabidibidi from the late 1920s. This war was about the split of the Lutheran church which resulted in two separate churches, one being the ELCSA and BLC. Moreover, other elders argued that in the 1960s, the conflict within the traditional leadership was also Mabidibidi. This dissertation explores various protests and moments of contention that have manifested in Bethanie and have shaped this rather peaceful community. To provide context for these events, this dissertation looks at the history of Bethanie from 1866 till 2018. For a community that refers to itself as peaceful, perhaps given the events of spectacular protests that have taken place throughout South Africa, this case of Bethanie complicates some of the common understandings of how violent protests manifests.
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    Witchcraft management in the early twentieth century Transvaal
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016) Pearson, Joel David; Delius, Peter; Falkof, Nicky
    Towards the end of the nineteenth century, colonial governments across Africa, including South Africa, promulgated laws which aimed to prohibit the accusation of witchcraft, methods for the detection of witches and witch trials. However, while administrators saw merely superstition in witchcraft beliefs, “repugnant to the standards of civilisation”, many Africans saw an integral element of the social and spiritual order. The policing of witchcraft beliefs became a thorn in the side of colonial rule. This article brings to light some of the deeper historical complexities in policing witchcraft by looking at the application of witchcraft law in the early twentieth century ‐ a neglected period in witchcraft scholarship. Firstly, it examines some prominent discursive constructions of the concepts of “witchcraft” and the “witch doctor” during the early twentieth century, two terms which feature centrally in colonial witchcraft legislation. It argues that these terms were shrouded in a great deal of misconception and, at times, fear. Secondly, it examines instances in which the Transvaal Witchcraft Ordinance No. 26 of 1904 was applied at the Supreme Court level, demonstrating that it was employed in a wide variety of instances which often shared only a tenuous link to poorly defined notions of “the supernatural”. Nevertheless, diviners seem to have been especially prejudiced in the implementation of the law. Finally, archival correspondence derived from Native Affairs Department files dealing with witchcraft are examined to reveal that the job of policing witchcraft was rather more uncertain and ad hoc at the grassroots level than official “civilising” rhetoric may have suggested. While in principle there was no compromising with beliefs in witchcraft, in practice, such beliefs had to be carefully managed by local officials, who were given (often uncomfortably) wide powers of discretion in deciding when and how to employ the force of the law.