This dissertation provides an overview of international migration and its relation to development... more This dissertation provides an overview of international migration and its relation to development, with specific reference to the issue of health professional migration from the global South to the global North. It aimed to assess the migration intentions and migration potential within a sample of recently qualified health professionals within South Africa through an online survey. Registers comprised of 4804 psychologists and medical practitioners were used to invite participation in an online survey. A low response rate of only 132 respondents was obtained. The analysis included scale validation and multiple regression analyses in order to assess four criterion variables, namely: "long-term migration plans"; "migration timeframe"; "concrete migration plans"; and "short-term migration plans". "Long-term migration plans" was significantly predicted by non-professional factors, such as safety and stability, citizenship salience, information and a comparison with a destination country according to personal factors, such as personal safety and general conditions. "Migration timeframe" was significantly predicted by information and the expected professional prospects within South Africa. "Concrete migration plans" was significantly predicted by information and a comparison with a destination country according to professional factors, such as income levels, job satisfaction and professional prospects. The multiple regression model for "short-term migration" proved to not be significant, with no significant predictors. These findings imply that policy interventions must address multiple levels beyond merely improving professional conditions, which is a common strategy for the management of health professional migration. It is clear from this study that the phenomenon of migration is a complex and dynamic issue at local, regional, national and global levels.
Anti-racism has nurtured many visions of post-racism futures. All this talk and political action ... more Anti-racism has nurtured many visions of post-racism futures. All this talk and political action relies on and reproduces discourses of racism. While much of this discursive force lies in what is said, we argue that a haunting quality of racism may arise from what is unsaid. This includes the multifarious points of connection between the present and the past. We are all implicated, albeit unevenly. This article describes the phenomenon of spectral racism that arises from such implicature. We develop a discursive account of its constitution in acts of dialogical repression, and we consider some of the social psychological and political ramifications of haunting racism. We illustrate our arguments by an analysis of the way the prohibition against the use of the k-word echoes the toxic past and zombifies racism via psychological enticement.
As competent social actors, we individually and collectively leave things unsaid that might threa... more As competent social actors, we individually and collectively leave things unsaid that might threaten to disrupt the status quo. In this article, we outline an understanding of the unsaid and extend its implications to include what we call ‘repressed silences’ or silences about which we do not speak. Drawing on a diary-interview study involving five domestic labour dyads comprised of a white employer and a black worker, we examine silences topicalised by participants, how the unsaid stands in contrast to what could/should have been said and finally how these silences constitute a form of repressed silences. We demonstrate how the topic of paid domestic labour and its labour-related roles, rights and responsibilities are silenced – and the silence itself is not spoken of – among participants, thereby (re)producing the status quo of South Africa’s (racialised) inequalities and hierarchies.
I am a stay-at-home-mom who moonlights as an academic (literally during moonlight hours). God has... more I am a stay-at-home-mom who moonlights as an academic (literally during moonlight hours). God has given me the work of caring for my 3 little girls and the work of this thesis, both of which I am grateful for. However, my thesis work could not happen without considerable help from others in the work of caring for my children. I am incredibly grateful for my wonderful team of babysitters, especially Grandpa and Grandma Schladenhauffen and Nana and Oupa Murray. I also deeply appreciate the communities that have supported, encouraged and shown interest in both of these works, specifically my church family at Church on the Ridge, the staff within the psychology department and the extended Murray family clan. Of special note among my caring friends are Jane, Sarah, Donné, Karmini and Debbie. Of course, this study would not have been possible without the involvement of the 5 employers and 5 workers who participated in this study. Thank you for your willingness to write and speak about yourselves in a way that allowed me to learn so much! I would like to thank Prof Kevin Durrheim for his endless patience, support, mentorship, enthusiasm and clarity of thought during his supervision of this project. I am thankful for my husband, Adrian, whose strong arms (literally and figuratively) carried me through this process. And finally, to my girls: Michaela Faith, Gabriella Lee and Genevieve Reese. My hope is that the issues that I address in this thesis will seem strange to you one day because they will no longer be issues at all and that your participation both in domestic labour and in South Africa will be marked by justice and care.
This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-w... more This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-world relationship in the context of domestic labour in post-apartheid South Africa. Ten individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with five black employees and five white employers. These interviews were transcribed using the conventions of conversation analysis. Both groups engaged in particular rhetorical strategies, with differing effects. The employees constructed their own mind to account for their context and to position themselves as having some degree of self-determination. The employers externally motivated their practices by constructing their context and the minds of others to avoid internal accountability and produce self-justification. The analysis provides insight into ideologies that are present within the race relations of post-apartheid South Africa. Literature review South Africa, as a racially diverse nation, is embedded in a history of segregation, racial conflicts and power struggles, many of which have been crystallized within the domestic labour context (Gaitskell, Kimble, Macohachie, & Unterhalter, 1983). Gaitskell et al. (1983, p.88) further note that "the racist and colonial character of the relationship is very strong…[and resonates] with the overall structures of racial domination in South African society". The system of apartheid also placed whites with a distinct economic advantage through policies and practices, which further accentuated political and social distance between blacks and whites (MacDonald, 2006). In his exploration of South Africa's racialised history, MacDonald (2006) shows how whites manipulated racial diversity to place themselves socially, politically and economically above all other races within the 'logic' of white supremacy. However, despite this produced supremacy, whites were also deeply dependent on the black population to carry out much of the manual labour within the work force. Because blacks were the majority of the population and because they were economically disadvantaged by their social and political position, black labour was (and continues to be) seen as disposable (Brown & Reynolds, 1994; Cock,
When the heady days of social transformation begin to recede into history, they often leave behin... more When the heady days of social transformation begin to recede into history, they often leave behind a sense of bitter disappointment over lost opportunities. This has certainly been the case in South Africa. The struggle for change had been informed by cultivated ideals of justice, equality and nonracialism, as expressed in the Freedom Charter of 1955. The process of change was glorious: the liberation movements were unbanned; leaders including Nelson Mandela were released from prison; joyous protests erupted nationwide and democratic elections followed; resulting in the formation of a representative government and the scrapping of apartheid legislation. Thereafter began the gradual process of reshaping the ideology and demography of the economy, the social body, and public and private institutions. But the post-apartheid reality has continued to be marked by deep injustices, inequalities, violence, racial division and conflict (Tshishonga 2019). The murmuring of discontent is as loud as ever. It is carried through the air via disparate voices of protest: fallist movements, 1 factionalism, taxi wars, service delivery protests and the resurgent right, to name but a few. The murmuring is also felt in the ground, reverberating through the reality of unemployment, murder, gender-based violence, racist attacks, hate speech, unequal access to health, education and social services, income inequality, xenophobia, and so on. Pain, anger, guilt, shame, desperation, disappointment and insecurity make a toxic brew of post-apartheid affect (Nyamnjoh 2016). This chapter sets out with the ambition of explanation. What went wrong? South Africans had good leaders, international support, good economic years and a majority who were genuinely committed to change. How was it possible to fail so badly? One avenue of enquiry, we propose, is the way new patterns of segregation emerged from the ruins of apartheid. These took shape from the substance of apartheid. Townships remained poor and blackalbeit with newly acquired municipal services in many instances. Mushrooming informal settlements on the urban periphery also remained deeply poor and black, and became increasingly pan-African. The old urban centres, once the high-value real estate of capital and consumption, fell into ruin and decay as the white inhabitants withdrew their persons and
The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of diffe... more The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of different groups tends to improve intergroup attitudes, particularly when such interaction occurs under facilitating conditions (e.g., when it involves participants of equal status interacting cooperatively). This in turn
The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of diffe... more The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of different groups tends to improve intergroup attitudes, particularly when such interaction occurs under facilitating conditions (e.g., when it involves participants of equal status interacting cooperatively). This in turn
ABSTRACT This article makes a contribution to literature on “white-talk”. Existing literature sho... more ABSTRACT This article makes a contribution to literature on “white-talk”. Existing literature shows how whiteness has been defended by criticizing black people, culture and government in subtle (and not so subtle) ways that allow speakers to deny racism. In contrast to denial, we focus on how white South Africans confess to feeling guilty for their privilege in comparison with their domestic workers. Confessions of guilt are ways of taking ownership of white privilege, while accountability is achieved by intragroup comparisons with whites whose standards and practices are not motivated by appropriate guilt. We conclude by reflecting on the costs of such confessions of guilt, namely in propping up whiteness and maintaining extant power structures.
ABSTRACT Domestic labour in South Africa has historically been a site of racial inequality which ... more ABSTRACT Domestic labour in South Africa has historically been a site of racial inequality which has continued into the post-apartheid era despite extensive transformation efforts. This article argues that silence presents an avenue for understanding how such racial hierarchy has persisted. We present a qualitative case study of a domestic labour dyad utilising the diary-interview method to analyse the presentation of labour troubles and the perceptions, interpretations, and implications of the unsaid regarding such troubles. Drawing from the data, we demonstrate how intimacy is foregrounded in talk, while domestic labour activities and domestic labour itself go unsaid. We conclude that the intimate nature of domestic labour allows participants to speak about their relationship in ways that make the labour relationship and its racial inequalities become invisible in talk, making it a difficult institution to challenge and change.
This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-w... more This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-world relationship in the context of domestic labour in post-apartheid South Africa. Ten individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with five black employees and five white employers. These interviews were transcribed using the conventions of conversation analysis. Both groups engaged in particular rhetorical strategies, with differing effects. The employees constructed their own mind to account for their context and to position themselves as having some degree of self-determination. The employers externally motivated their practices by constructing their context and the minds of others to avoid internal accountability and produce self-justification. The analysis provides insight into ideologies that are present within the race relations of post-apartheid South Africa.
This dissertation provides an overview of international migration and its relation to development... more This dissertation provides an overview of international migration and its relation to development, with specific reference to the issue of health professional migration from the global South to the global North. It aimed to assess the migration intentions and migration potential within a sample of recently qualified health professionals within South Africa through an online survey. Registers comprised of 4804 psychologists and medical practitioners were used to invite participation in an online survey. A low response rate of only 132 respondents was obtained. The analysis included scale validation and multiple regression analyses in order to assess four criterion variables, namely: "long-term migration plans"; "migration timeframe"; "concrete migration plans"; and "short-term migration plans". "Long-term migration plans" was significantly predicted by non-professional factors, such as safety and stability, citizenship salience, information and a comparison with a destination country according to personal factors, such as personal safety and general conditions. "Migration timeframe" was significantly predicted by information and the expected professional prospects within South Africa. "Concrete migration plans" was significantly predicted by information and a comparison with a destination country according to professional factors, such as income levels, job satisfaction and professional prospects. The multiple regression model for "short-term migration" proved to not be significant, with no significant predictors. These findings imply that policy interventions must address multiple levels beyond merely improving professional conditions, which is a common strategy for the management of health professional migration. It is clear from this study that the phenomenon of migration is a complex and dynamic issue at local, regional, national and global levels.
Anti-racism has nurtured many visions of post-racism futures. All this talk and political action ... more Anti-racism has nurtured many visions of post-racism futures. All this talk and political action relies on and reproduces discourses of racism. While much of this discursive force lies in what is said, we argue that a haunting quality of racism may arise from what is unsaid. This includes the multifarious points of connection between the present and the past. We are all implicated, albeit unevenly. This article describes the phenomenon of spectral racism that arises from such implicature. We develop a discursive account of its constitution in acts of dialogical repression, and we consider some of the social psychological and political ramifications of haunting racism. We illustrate our arguments by an analysis of the way the prohibition against the use of the k-word echoes the toxic past and zombifies racism via psychological enticement.
As competent social actors, we individually and collectively leave things unsaid that might threa... more As competent social actors, we individually and collectively leave things unsaid that might threaten to disrupt the status quo. In this article, we outline an understanding of the unsaid and extend its implications to include what we call ‘repressed silences’ or silences about which we do not speak. Drawing on a diary-interview study involving five domestic labour dyads comprised of a white employer and a black worker, we examine silences topicalised by participants, how the unsaid stands in contrast to what could/should have been said and finally how these silences constitute a form of repressed silences. We demonstrate how the topic of paid domestic labour and its labour-related roles, rights and responsibilities are silenced – and the silence itself is not spoken of – among participants, thereby (re)producing the status quo of South Africa’s (racialised) inequalities and hierarchies.
I am a stay-at-home-mom who moonlights as an academic (literally during moonlight hours). God has... more I am a stay-at-home-mom who moonlights as an academic (literally during moonlight hours). God has given me the work of caring for my 3 little girls and the work of this thesis, both of which I am grateful for. However, my thesis work could not happen without considerable help from others in the work of caring for my children. I am incredibly grateful for my wonderful team of babysitters, especially Grandpa and Grandma Schladenhauffen and Nana and Oupa Murray. I also deeply appreciate the communities that have supported, encouraged and shown interest in both of these works, specifically my church family at Church on the Ridge, the staff within the psychology department and the extended Murray family clan. Of special note among my caring friends are Jane, Sarah, Donné, Karmini and Debbie. Of course, this study would not have been possible without the involvement of the 5 employers and 5 workers who participated in this study. Thank you for your willingness to write and speak about yourselves in a way that allowed me to learn so much! I would like to thank Prof Kevin Durrheim for his endless patience, support, mentorship, enthusiasm and clarity of thought during his supervision of this project. I am thankful for my husband, Adrian, whose strong arms (literally and figuratively) carried me through this process. And finally, to my girls: Michaela Faith, Gabriella Lee and Genevieve Reese. My hope is that the issues that I address in this thesis will seem strange to you one day because they will no longer be issues at all and that your participation both in domestic labour and in South Africa will be marked by justice and care.
This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-w... more This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-world relationship in the context of domestic labour in post-apartheid South Africa. Ten individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with five black employees and five white employers. These interviews were transcribed using the conventions of conversation analysis. Both groups engaged in particular rhetorical strategies, with differing effects. The employees constructed their own mind to account for their context and to position themselves as having some degree of self-determination. The employers externally motivated their practices by constructing their context and the minds of others to avoid internal accountability and produce self-justification. The analysis provides insight into ideologies that are present within the race relations of post-apartheid South Africa. Literature review South Africa, as a racially diverse nation, is embedded in a history of segregation, racial conflicts and power struggles, many of which have been crystallized within the domestic labour context (Gaitskell, Kimble, Macohachie, & Unterhalter, 1983). Gaitskell et al. (1983, p.88) further note that "the racist and colonial character of the relationship is very strong…[and resonates] with the overall structures of racial domination in South African society". The system of apartheid also placed whites with a distinct economic advantage through policies and practices, which further accentuated political and social distance between blacks and whites (MacDonald, 2006). In his exploration of South Africa's racialised history, MacDonald (2006) shows how whites manipulated racial diversity to place themselves socially, politically and economically above all other races within the 'logic' of white supremacy. However, despite this produced supremacy, whites were also deeply dependent on the black population to carry out much of the manual labour within the work force. Because blacks were the majority of the population and because they were economically disadvantaged by their social and political position, black labour was (and continues to be) seen as disposable (Brown & Reynolds, 1994; Cock,
When the heady days of social transformation begin to recede into history, they often leave behin... more When the heady days of social transformation begin to recede into history, they often leave behind a sense of bitter disappointment over lost opportunities. This has certainly been the case in South Africa. The struggle for change had been informed by cultivated ideals of justice, equality and nonracialism, as expressed in the Freedom Charter of 1955. The process of change was glorious: the liberation movements were unbanned; leaders including Nelson Mandela were released from prison; joyous protests erupted nationwide and democratic elections followed; resulting in the formation of a representative government and the scrapping of apartheid legislation. Thereafter began the gradual process of reshaping the ideology and demography of the economy, the social body, and public and private institutions. But the post-apartheid reality has continued to be marked by deep injustices, inequalities, violence, racial division and conflict (Tshishonga 2019). The murmuring of discontent is as loud as ever. It is carried through the air via disparate voices of protest: fallist movements, 1 factionalism, taxi wars, service delivery protests and the resurgent right, to name but a few. The murmuring is also felt in the ground, reverberating through the reality of unemployment, murder, gender-based violence, racist attacks, hate speech, unequal access to health, education and social services, income inequality, xenophobia, and so on. Pain, anger, guilt, shame, desperation, disappointment and insecurity make a toxic brew of post-apartheid affect (Nyamnjoh 2016). This chapter sets out with the ambition of explanation. What went wrong? South Africans had good leaders, international support, good economic years and a majority who were genuinely committed to change. How was it possible to fail so badly? One avenue of enquiry, we propose, is the way new patterns of segregation emerged from the ruins of apartheid. These took shape from the substance of apartheid. Townships remained poor and blackalbeit with newly acquired municipal services in many instances. Mushrooming informal settlements on the urban periphery also remained deeply poor and black, and became increasingly pan-African. The old urban centres, once the high-value real estate of capital and consumption, fell into ruin and decay as the white inhabitants withdrew their persons and
The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of diffe... more The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of different groups tends to improve intergroup attitudes, particularly when such interaction occurs under facilitating conditions (e.g., when it involves participants of equal status interacting cooperatively). This in turn
The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of diffe... more The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) proposes that regular interaction between members of different groups tends to improve intergroup attitudes, particularly when such interaction occurs under facilitating conditions (e.g., when it involves participants of equal status interacting cooperatively). This in turn
ABSTRACT This article makes a contribution to literature on “white-talk”. Existing literature sho... more ABSTRACT This article makes a contribution to literature on “white-talk”. Existing literature shows how whiteness has been defended by criticizing black people, culture and government in subtle (and not so subtle) ways that allow speakers to deny racism. In contrast to denial, we focus on how white South Africans confess to feeling guilty for their privilege in comparison with their domestic workers. Confessions of guilt are ways of taking ownership of white privilege, while accountability is achieved by intragroup comparisons with whites whose standards and practices are not motivated by appropriate guilt. We conclude by reflecting on the costs of such confessions of guilt, namely in propping up whiteness and maintaining extant power structures.
ABSTRACT Domestic labour in South Africa has historically been a site of racial inequality which ... more ABSTRACT Domestic labour in South Africa has historically been a site of racial inequality which has continued into the post-apartheid era despite extensive transformation efforts. This article argues that silence presents an avenue for understanding how such racial hierarchy has persisted. We present a qualitative case study of a domestic labour dyad utilising the diary-interview method to analyse the presentation of labour troubles and the perceptions, interpretations, and implications of the unsaid regarding such troubles. Drawing from the data, we demonstrate how intimacy is foregrounded in talk, while domestic labour activities and domestic labour itself go unsaid. We conclude that the intimate nature of domestic labour allows participants to speak about their relationship in ways that make the labour relationship and its racial inequalities become invisible in talk, making it a difficult institution to challenge and change.
This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-w... more This article explores how people rhetorically position themselves through constructing the mind-world relationship in the context of domestic labour in post-apartheid South Africa. Ten individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with five black employees and five white employers. These interviews were transcribed using the conventions of conversation analysis. Both groups engaged in particular rhetorical strategies, with differing effects. The employees constructed their own mind to account for their context and to position themselves as having some degree of self-determination. The employers externally motivated their practices by constructing their context and the minds of others to avoid internal accountability and produce self-justification. The analysis provides insight into ideologies that are present within the race relations of post-apartheid South Africa.
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