Browsing by Author "Young, Gert"
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- ItemSouth African land reform as peacebuilding: integrating perspectives from social identity theory and symbolic politics in a peacebuilding conceptual framework(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Young, Gert; De Jager, Nicola; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study considers land reform as an essential part of the South African transformation. In particular it considers land reform as having the potential to impact social relations and therefore as an initiative that has the potential to either normalize or further entrench conflictual social relations. In order to address this conflictive potential the study suggests that land reform should be considered and conducted in terms of a peacebuilding framework. The study argues that existing approaches to peacebuilding are lacking in their integration of Social Identity (as represented by Social Identity Theory and Self-categorization Theory) and Symbolic Politics concepts (as developed from Symbolic Interactionism and the notion of Symbolic Politics in Murray Edelman’s heritage) in their conceptual frameworks. Lederach’s (1997) comprehensive peacebuilding framework, it is argued, offers sufficient conceptual complexity to integrate these ideas in peacebuilding thinking and practice. The absence of the application of these concepts is apparent in current research on South African land reform, an initiative seen as a necessary transformation process but one characterized by intergroup conflicts. Existing literature exhibits limited exploration of the complex social identities and symbolic interpretations that are prevalent in land reform, especially those represented by the perspectives of current land owners. These limitations, it is argued, can be addressed by application of concepts from the Social Identity perspective and a Symbolic Politics perspective. The purpose as well as limits of the research are indicated by the following research questions: 1) How do land owners experience land reform, particularly in terms of their social identities and the symbolic dimension of politics? 2) How can these experiences be explained in terms of the Social Identity and Symbolic Politics perspectives? 3) What can these perspectives contribute to a peacebuilding framework for land reform? The research questions are pursued through an ethnographic case study using qualitative data collected from 2011-2014 from 42 individual, semi-structured interviews with land owners in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The individuals interviewed are all land owners that are actively involved in agriculture. Their involvement ranges from large scale commercial practices that incorporates an extensive agri-business dimension to small scale, family-owned commercial farming enterprises. The agricultural activities they are involved in include fruits, forestry, livestock and game farming. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za The key findings are that 1) land reform reflects complex interpretive processes as seen by the fact that land owners rely on various identity categories and meanings when assessing land reform; 2) land owner categorization preferences are less explicitly based on racial categories and more on role/function categories, although examples of both are found in the data; 3) as such they consider the land reform context less in terms of racial relations (white/black) and more in terms of relationships between ‘farmers’, ‘government officials’ and ‘claimants’ with a strong negative sentiment towards ‘government officials’ and a more sustainable sentiment towards ‘claimants’; 4) land reform represents a form of identity threat to land owners and as such has significant implications for their categorization, identification and social comparison processes and thus for their long term social relations; 5) apart from the threats perceived, land owners find significant structural reassurances in the political and legislative frameworks that are intended to govern land reform; 6) existing research on land reform also needs to take the perspectives of land owners into account if a peaceful resolution to land reform challenges are to be found; 7) the Social Identity and Symbolic Politics perspectives can, at least conceptually, be integrated in a peacebuilding framework such as that proposed by Lederach (1997).
- ItemWhat makes a good first-year lecturer(AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2009) Leibowitz, Brenda; Van Schalkwyk, Susan; Van der Merwe, Antoinette; Herman, Nicoline; Young, GertIntroduction: The first year is an important stepping-stone in the career of the undergraduate student. Lecturers of first-year students play an important role in guiding students into this new phase of their lives. Much research has focused on the challenges facing new students, especially struggling, or non-traditional students. However, to our knowledge, little has been written about the attributes of the lecturers who actively promote student learning during this phase. The contribution of lecturers of first-year students has tended to be downplayed, especially at ‘research-led’ universities. Our work in Stellenbosch University’s First-year Academy (FYA), an initiative to promote the holistic learning experience of all first-year students at the University, gave us an opportunity to explore this issue. The exploration was based on a sub-activity of the FYA, which aimed to encourage the academic achievement of first-year students and to acknowledge the work of lecturers of first-year students. The activity involved inviting the 30 top-performing students across the University to a dinner hosted by the University’s Rector. These students each nominated the lecturer who, in their view, made the most significant contribution to their academic success. The students were required to write a letter to the lecturer, explaining why he or she had had an impact on the student’s academic performance. The lecturer, in turn, was required to write a letter of support and encouragement back to the student. These letters were then exchanged during the dinner. This initiative was extremely successful and well received, particularly among the academic community. The conversations that emerged during and after the event served as a catalyst for the study.