By Jordan Griffiths In a recent article Khaya Dlanga looked at race relations in our country 20 years on and presented the argument that in his view black people have made more of an effort towards the process of integration. He cited how black South Africans move to white suburbs, learn English and Afrikaans and […]
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Posted inEquality
Over the last decade, 17 million more children are learning in sub-Saharan Africa
By Pauline Rose Sub-Saharan Africa often hits the headlines for the wrong reasons — and this is just as much the case in education as in other areas. Failure of schooling to keep pace with population growth means that the region is now responsible for more than half of the 57 million children out of school. […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Spaces of power and spaces of gentleness
Today we experienced two kinds of space that are diametrically opposed, or mutually exclusive. The first was the palace and gardens of Versailles, known as the residence of a succession of French kings, of whom Louis XIV and Louis XVI are probably the best known (the latter with his equally well-known queen, Marie-Antoinette, who was […]
Posted inHealth, News/Politics
What good is tradition if we lose a penis?
Recently a young man lost his penis. The member in question was lost during an initiation ritual and when he attempted to ask the elders what to do about it (raising the matter in a public forum) he allegedly received a beating. The reason he got this beating? Because by speaking out the initiate was […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
A queer understanding of community?
By Matthew Clayton* & Thorne Godinho** It should come as no surprise that South Africa’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex community is stratified along similar race and class lines as the rest of South African society. The big umbrella that is the LGBTI term actually falls short of being big enough to cover white […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
I love Paris in the springtime…
How many people still know that song, I wonder. Or the one where Dean Martin sings “Oh, what I’d give for a moment or two, under the bridges of Paris with you … ” The point is that Paris is, and has been for a long time, one of — if not THE — most […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
South Africa at 20: Storms behind the rainbow
April 27 marks the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s first democratic elections. Most of us remember those iconic images of citizens queuing up in long, snaking lines to vote Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) into power. It was an extraordinary moment, replete with hope and pregnant with expectation, enough to supply years’ […]
Posted inEquality
Africa, gay rights and how culture shifts
By Gedion Onyango In a previous post, “Africa: The link between gay rights, chieftaincy and patronage”, I made a sociological analysis of gay legislation status in sub-Saharan Africa, and encouraged more research into the issue. The responses I got were interesting. The commentators’ views broadened my perspectives and more explanations from me are in order. […]
Posted inEquality, General
Biology is not destiny
South African men’s lives have changed remarkably little over the last few centuries — according to the bulk of my undergraduate students. Such an understanding seems common knowledge in the communities from which most of my students are drawn. Since time immemorial, the dominant narrative goes, South African men have “always” been breadwinning heads of […]
Posted inGeneral
We are not all intellectuals
South African artists seem to be outraged by anyone who questions or challenges intellectual capabilities in the sector. I allegedly made a provocative comment about the distinction between an artist and an intellectual. I argued that, generally, local artists are good in what they do and have won awards all over the world. I suggested […]
Posted inGeneral
Why people are such inherently conflicted beings
While preparing for a seminar on the roots of contemporary theory among the ancient Greeks, the Hellenistic Romans and early Christian thinkers, I was struck by the way that the different, and divergent, strands of the cultural legacy of the West (as well as of other cultures globally which share some of these roots) explain […]
Posted inNews/Politics
An interview with Agang’s chief operating officer
Andrew Gasnolar, a youthful 28-year-old from Gardens in Cape Town, is the new chief operations officer for Agang SA. A lawyer, Mandela-Rhodes Scholar and World Economic Forum Global Shaper, I chatted to him about his new job, politics, and whether I should vote for Agang SA. What made you take up this post? I have […]