The focus of this article is on contemporary slavery with some remarks about the past. I am not an expert on the subject, but one does not need to be to speak out against suffering and abuse. I believe that people ought to pay attention to and fight against modern slavery. Please do follow some […]
Michael Francis
I have returned to South Africa.
I now teach Economic History and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I am happy to be back after a couple years away. I had been teaching anthropology at a Canadian University, but Africa called and I returned.
Posted inGeneral
Africans do not (often) keep dogs as pets
Actually many Africans do keep dogs and it is not just the white Africans that do so. There are stereotypes that abound, but like many stereotypes they do not exist in a vacuum. Many Zulu people do not have dogs as pets. Some of the rural peoples do have dogs that they keep for hunting […]
Posted inGeneral
Culture can and does change
The words custom, culture and tradition are often invoked to shut down debate and discussion instead of used as a meaningful way of explaining a practice, belief or to understand historical events or legacies. The furore surrounding the feast and celebration known as Ukweshwama has raised some interesting points about the sanctity of culture and […]
Posted inLifestyle
Ethical farming III — stuffed and starved
I decided to write another blog on the topic to further clarify my position on a few issues and to adopt a more conciliatory tone. Too many people are worried about being wrong, they say nothing or refuse to change their position no matter how untenable. Reading the comments and debating with some of the […]
Posted inLifestyle
Ethical farming, part two
I decided to write a follow-up piece to my last blog about the meat industry. I wish to clarify a few points and add to the debate some more information that is often unclear or misused. I do make a clear distinction between different types of farms and different farming practices. There are too many […]
Posted inGeneral
Farming meat is not evil, and I support the seal hunt
I read with disdain a Thought Leader blog that called the farming of meat “evil”. I have just returned to Canada and I visiting my parents on the farm and it is killing time. I say this to be provocative and honest about what we do. The chickens and turkeys are fully grown and we […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Farm attacks and moral panics
I am often one to criticise the media for generating unwarranted fears. I see the swine flu “epidemic” as one clear example of media hype being larger than the real problem. South Africa is perceived to be one of the most violent countries in the world with the crime and violence widely reported in the […]
Posted inGeneral
From whence the Zulus came and where the Bushmen went
It is a constant refrain heard in South Africa that the Zulus and the “black” Africans come from the north. This “fact” is so skewed in the way in which it is used and is poorly understood by most so I wish to clarify a few points about the arrival of the Bantu-speaking Africans in […]
Posted inTech
Web 2.0: A brave new world?
I admit I have a love affair with the internet. There are naysayers who see the demise of “real” communities and lament the loss of “authenticity”. Some of the criticism reminds me of the sci-fi novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. To borrow some text from Neil Postman who compares Orwell and Huxley in […]
Posted inGeneral
The race debate is a dead end
I’m an anthropologist and I study humans and in particular am fascinated by how they see themselves and create often strange and even contradictory things called “identity”. Most of us, and I would argue all of us, actually have multiple identities. And the answer is yes; this does create a rather schizophrenic species of great […]
Posted inGeneral
Media panic worse than any pig flu
While any death should be seen as a tragedy I am finding the media panic surrounding the swine flu to be maddening. Right now the swine flu appears to have a kill rate that is less than the normal flu. The threat of it mutating into a mass-killing strain is the same threat of the […]
Posted inGeneral
The Huntley story and re-racialisation of SA
South Africa continues to be one of the most polarised nations on earth with race still being one of the most contentious issues. Brandon Huntley’s story merely points this out once again. The ruling party and indeed many people in the country still use apartheid-era categorisations. Instead of fighting for a non-racial South Africa far […]