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Constructing Activist Identities in Post-Apartheid South Africa

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Constructing Activist Identities in Post-Apartheid South Africa Constructing Activist Identities in Post-Apartheid South Africa Claire Kelly Thesis Presented for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Psychology UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN February 2013 Town Cape of University The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University Acknowledgements They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well it takes the same to write a PhD thesis. This work would not have been possible without the following people. The National Research Foundation of South Africa and the Mellon Foundation for funding significant tracts of the time it took to complete this thesis. The Fulbright Programme for providing me with a year to read and write in the USA, David Goldberg and the University of California Humanities Research Institute for hosting me and my dearest Linda Halopoff and John Rosendhal for being my family while I was there. My transcribers Leigh and Emma for rescuing me from transcription purgatory. My colleagues Lwando and Philip for being so damn funny and Theresa for being so supportive. My friends and family who have tolerated my absence and always made me feel very clever for doing this: little Skye, Brian, Cecile, Mandy, Amy, Bron, Nige, Sam Waterhouse, Sam Pearce, Do and Tracey get special mention. Town My mentor, teacher, inspiration and greatest encouragement, Melissa Steyn. My dear friend Emma. Not only a brilliant proof readerCape but my favourite person to think with. My boss Medee Rall for being so generous and understanding,of and for being another brilliant proof reader. My supervisor, Don Foster, for his guidance, wisdom, compassion and patience. I am deelpy indebted. My beloved parents, who always told me I could do whatever I put my mind to. Seems they were right. My little beagle, Ruby,University who although asleep for most of it, was at my feet every long night. My partner, Vic, who has brought me more cups of tea than I can count, allayed my fears and doubts and has been my biggest fan every step of the way. And finally, all the participants of this study who not only shared so generously of themselves but inspired the work in the first place. This work is about them and because of them, and I am deely grateful to have shared in their stories. Abstract With the understanding that every generation shares a generational consciousness, which locates individuals not only in a common geographical location, but also a historical one, this study uses social- constructionist accounts of collective identity, narrative inquiry and positioning theory to trace the moral careers of twenty-six young, middle-class activists, based in Cape Town, South Africa. In doing so it explores the relationship between their activism and identities, and how this relationship is contingent on the social and political context of post-apartheid South Africa. The first part of this study provides an account of the dynamics of political community formation amongst this group of activists, how they generate a shared understanding of the world, how they construct borders of belonging and influence, and how these borders sometimes mirror broader social cleavages in post- apartheid in South Africa. The second part examines how participants draw on two major narratives, or morality plays, with which to construct their activist identities. The most significant of these is ‘the Struggle’, the story of the struggle against apartheid. The other is the ‘the TAC Method’, the story of the Treatment Action Campaign’s stuggle for the treatment of those living with HIV and AIDS. These narratives serve not only as valuable cultural resources, but relativeTown positioning within them as an important legitimation of their activist identities. Finally, the third part examines how this positioning, within ‘the Struggle’ narrative, is mediated by the sociality explored in the first section, most notably in relation to familial ties and race. Cape of It concludes that who we are matters in relation to what we do, especially when what we do is activism. In a country like South Africa where the social cleavages are so deep, this is a crucial consideration for both activists and scholars of activism alike. University Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction 1. Shifting Landscapes: ‘New’ Struggles, ‘New’ Identities .............................................................................6 2. Activism & Identity ......................................................................................................................................9 3. This Study ...................................................................................................................................................11 4. Limitations & Values ..................................................................................................................................12 5. Outline ........................................................................................................................................................13 Chapter 2 – Of Change & Continuities: The Historical & Political Context of Post-apartheid South Africa 1. Shifting Economic & Social Context .........................................................................................................15 2. Shifting Identity Projects ................................................................Town............................................................19 3. From Revolution to Rights: The Evolution of Social Movements in Post-apartheid South Africa............22 4. Chapter Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................28 Chapter 3 – Defining the Universe of Political DiscourseCape 1. Defining the Universe of Political Discourse .............................................................................................30 1.1 Decentring Class: Engaging a Politics ofof Recognition ........................................................................32 1.2 The Personal is Political: The Feminist Challenge .............................................................................33 2. Emergent Repertoires of Political Action ...................................................................................................36 2.1 Cultural & Critical Activisms ..............................................................................................................37 2.2 The Advent of Cyberactivisms ..............................................................................................................41 2.3 Life Politics & Intimate Citizenship .....................................................................................................43 3 Defining Activism / Activists ......................................................................................................................46 4 Chapter ConclusionUniversity ................................................................ .....................................................................47 Chapter 4 – Activism & Identity 1. Locating Identity in South African Studies on Activism: An Overview ....................................................48 1.1 Anti-apartheid Activist Studies .............................................................................................................49 1.2 Post-apartheid Activist Studies ................................................................................................................60 2. Theorising the Relationship between Activism & Identity: An Overview .................................................62 3. Collective Identity & Narrative: An Integrated Theoretical Foundation ....................................................65 3.1 Collective Identity: A Social Constructionist Account .........................................................................67 3.2 Collective Identity, Social Movement Community & Social Networks ................................................69 3.3 (Collective) Identity & Narrative .........................................................................................................71 4 Chapter Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................71 1 Chapter 5 – Narrative & Activist Identity: A Theoretical Framework 1. The Field of Narrative Inquiry: Major Cleavages ......................................................................................74 1.1. Event vs. Experience Centered Approaches ........................................................................................75 1.2 Humanist vs. Post-structuralist Accounts ............................................................................................76 2. Culturally-orientated Approach to Narrative Inquiry .................................................................................77 2.1. Master & Counter Narratives .............................................................................................................79 2.2. Morality Plays .....................................................................................................................................80
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