Browsing by Author "Phillips, Ashwin Lorenzo"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    In a surveillance and regulation of protest movements in a democratic liberal society: exploring the lives of Fees Must Fall activists at Stellenbosch University.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Phillips, Ashwin Lorenzo; Francis, Dennis; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The year 2015 marked the beginning of the Fees Must Fall movements in South Africa, this thesis explores the lives of student activists at Stellenbosch University, through the lens of surveillance and regulation. This research has extended for the entire duration of the Fees Must Fall campaign at Stellenbosch University, encompassing interviews, data analysis and participation observation. The core of this thesis looks at the surveillance and regulation of students, by overlaying the idea of the panopticon from theorists Michele Foucault and George Orwell, over the lives of the student activists. Through the lenses of surveillance this thesis explores issues beyond mere surveillance and regulations but encapsulate multiple issues which surfaced during the protests. It looks beyond how students were watched, but looks at the treatment of students, how they were impacted, affected, and retaliated against this surveillance. Through the lens of surveillance, I looked at how the student activist groups were not just watched but what impact it had on the group and individuals, causing social paranoia and a breakdown in the groups trust. Moreover, it looks at how power has taken many forms throughout the campaign, but also how complex power relations are between the two groups. The thesis also shows how through these complex power relations that power can shift and how the activists at Stellenbosch University used sousveillance to shift the power relations but also hold the university accountable for their own actions, using social media campaigns and hashtags. I explored how surveillance and sousveillance played a role in shaping a new age in protesting and how narratives are shaped through this new age of protests . Furthermore, it delves into the countries deep racial history and compare the continuities of lives of apartheid activists and Fess Must Fall activist, and how the idea of the swart gevaar still exists at a place like Stellenbosch University. By understanding the tensions with regards to the way the university produces an image of an ideal student and how when this is translated into reality, racial tensions arise. This thesis looks at vast topics around surveillance but also transformation, as surveillance has become a part of the issue of transformation. This thesis was written in a post Fees Must Fall society but speaks to the continuity of the failure of higher education.