4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions
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Item Young Black Women’s Experiences of Negotiating Dominant Cultures in Corporate South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Makube, Mpho; Bradbury, JillThis study was interested in understanding how young Black African women, through their subjective experiences and the stories they tell about themselves have developed particular (professional) identities and how they negotiate or resist the raced, gendered and class identities. It also aimed to understand their experiences of marginalisation in the corporate/private sector. A qualitative study was conducted where five Black African women between the ages of 25 and 40 from Johannesburg, South Africa, participated in narrative interviews. An adaptation of Wengraf’s (2011) Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM) as well as thematic analysis were used to understand the stories of the women’s career journeys. The key findings of the study were that assimilating the values and norms of the dominant class during their schooling years facilitated their transition into tertiary institutions and the workplace. During the recruitment process and once employed, participants felt the assimilative pressure to conform to the dominant culture or risk being excluded or unemployed. Internships and graduate programmes were seen as crucial stepping stones into the workplace. Participants oscillated between feelings of belonging and alienation throughout their career journeys but reported that having supportive managers increased their sense of inclusion and belonging. They also experienced a sense of precarity due to the gendered wage gap and a pervasive sense of job insecurity. There is a need for organisations to understand how women are differently included in the workplace, to provide greater mentorship to those who are starting out, and to have an appreciation of the subtle ways in which the dominant culture works to leave some young women behind.Item A Narrative Inquiry into the Sense of Belonging, Alienation and Exclusion of Immigrant Students(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-03) Mpata, Sarah; Graham, TanyaSouth Africa is still perceived as a critical higher education destination in Africa, as evidenced by the influx of student migration from neighbouring countries and sub-regions post-apartheid. However, despite possessing diverse knowledge and skills that have the potential to add value to the knowledge production of the country, region and around the globe, many immigrant students still face an array of psychosocial challenges when they come to South Africa to study. This study was crafted through Narrative Inquiry and Critical Race theoretical lenses to explore and understand the experiences of 6 postgraduate immigrant students from DRC, Malawi and Zimbabwe currently studying at the University of the Witwatersrand to identify how these experiences have facilitated or hindered a sense of belonging. The study intends to further contribute to the existing body of knowledge to help improve the lives and well-being of students in culturally diverse communities. A convenient purposive sample drew from a pool of immigrant students fitting the diversity and context of the study. The findings revealed a general impression of diverse experiences from immigrant students. However, many similarities identified in the elements of institutional discrimination, xenophobia and Afrophobia remain significant barriers to the success of immigrant students belonging, primarily manifesting through cultural and language barriers, individual differences in adaptation, social support and diversity inclusion initiatives, access to psychological support and counselling, Racism, Xenophobia and Afrophobia, prejudice and discrimination. Some participants also experienced language barriers and challenges related to institutional support based on how the immigrant student came into the country or was admitted into the institution vis a vis self-sponsorship, government-sponsored, or university scholarship and immigration status also revealed how individuals felt a sense of belonging or excluded. The study concludes that addressing these issues will help improve immigrant students' psychological well-being in their learning environment.Item Paradise on Earth as a Motto, the Price of Happiness. What Happens to the Body in Late Capitalism(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-01) Salmon, Audrey; Gillepsie, Kelly; Andrew, David; Sakota-Kokot, TanjaIsn’t it now guaranteed that ‘paradise’ can be accessible during our lifetime? Haven’t you read, heard, or seen this somewhere yet? I have. Consequently, without thinking, I fully embraced this promise. Paradise is here and there, paradise is this and that, paradise is everything, everywhere. Nonetheless it happens to be a sort of cornucopia eventually resulting in no choice. It is a repetitive and merciless empty promise. Paradise on Earth is a brutal and transformative repetition colonising bodies. Forty thousand and one times the word paradise is written down. Forty thousand and one times is the core of the thesis. It is the thesis, and it forms and materialises brutality. It forms and materialises transformation. It attempts to figure and identify the specific effect of this specific condition on the body while paradoxically trying to give a voice to this same fainting body. Paradise, can you hear, see, touch it or even dream about it? The first image that comes to my mind is comforting. A smile even lifts the corners of my mouth, the object of my desire being almost here. Sadly, paradise on Earth’s ubiquity only reminds us of our failures. Up to today it is still haunting. All the way along, repetition happens to be an organ of torture as much as salvation. This research intends to take us through the work of diagnosis, and the embodied entanglement in these conditions under late capitalism.