Oproep om referate: 8ste Kollokwium oor Afrikaans (Universiteit Gent)

Horizons of political/poetical contestation: Suid-Afrikaanse interseksionele perspektiewe oor dissiplines en tale heen

20 en 21 November 2024

Hoofsprekers: Christi van der Westhuizen en Anastasia de Vries

Interseksionaliteit is vandag ’n bekende teoretiese vertrekpunt in die studie van die geesteswetenskappe reg oor die wêreld. Suid-Afrika is geen uitsondering nie, sê Moletsane en Reddy (235). Dié teorie se vroeë wortels kan teruggespeur word na die die werk van swart Afro-Amerikaanse feministiese pioniers in die 19de eeu. Sedertdien het dit as teoretiese invalshoek suksesvol die akademiese toneel betree. In hierdie konteks is inleidende bydraes gelewer deur vooraanstaande skrywers soos bell hooks, Kimberlé Crenshaw (wat die term bedink het), en Patricia Hill Collins met haar konsep van die “matrix of domination” (12). In die 21ste eeu is interseksionaliteit steeds alomteenwoordig in die werk van toonaangewende akademici soos Jennifer Nash en Anna Carastathis. Laasgenoemde wys op die voortgesette en miskien selfs toenemende relevansie daarvan, aangesien “oppressive power relations have become increasingly mystified, inequalities seemingly more intractable, and institutions seemingly more difficult to transform” (3).

'n ‘Interseksionele’ benadering poog om die impak van verskillende magstrukture uit te wys deur die onderlinge verbondenheid van veelvuldige sisteme van sosiale kategorisering bloot te lê wat mense se lewens en ervarings beïnvloed en vorm. Interseksionaliteit vereis ’n verskuiwing in denke oor identiteite en word beskryf as “difficult work” (Nash), maar ook as die “most important contribution that women’s studies have made so far” (McCall 1771). Dit is ’n analitiese hulpmiddel wat die verstaan van sosiale verskynsels, van interpersoonlike sowel as kulturele aard, vergemaklik (Collins en Bilge 7). ’n Interseksionele benadering is dus in werklikheid ’n alledaagse praktyk – ’n manier hoe ons as individue ons lewens en interaksies met ander mense en verskillende instellings navigeer.

Alhoewel die tradisie van interseksionaliteit in die Globale Noorde ontwikkel is, kan ’n interseksionele lens, beide as ’n kritiese, teoretiese konsep en in die praktyk, ’n nuttige hulpmiddel wees om magstrukture in alle gebiede wat deur ongelykhede gekenmerk word, te ondersoek. In die konteks van Suid-Afrika argumenteer Moletsane en Reddy (235) dat “while the country has a rich (and celebrated) diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, sexuality, language and so on, these markers also highlight the deep inequalities that characterise human relations in the country”. Voorts vind Shefer (382) dat die multidimensionele vorme van  onderdrukking hardnekkig voortduur in post-apartheid Suid-Afrika. Gevolglik het navorsers soos Christi van der Westhuizen, Amanda Gouws, Barbara Boswell, Desiree Lewis en Gabeba Baderoon ’n Suid-Afrikaanse interseksionele perspektief aangeneem. Tans word ’n spesiale uitgawe van Tydskrif vir Letterkunde ook oor feminismes en Suid-Afrikaanse letterkunde voltooi. Boonop het die Zuid-Afrikahuis in Amsterdam onlangs Footnotes bekendgestel, ’n aanlynreeks oor interseksionele navorsingstrategieë in Suidelike Afrika.

Ons oproep om referate is vir voorstelle wat sulke Suid-Afrikaanse interseksionele tendense aanspreek, en wat die heterogene manifestasies wat dit histories en vandag aanneem, ondersoek. Geïnspireer deur Carastathis (141) glo ons dat interseksionaliteit nie net op persoonlike vlak verstaan moet word nie, maar ook as ’n “horizon of political contestation”. Ons moedig diversiteit aan in terme van navorsing uit akademiese domeine deur ’n interdissiplinêre standpunt te onderskryf. Alhoewel interseksionaliteit ’n lang geskiedenis het in kritiese rasstudies en vrouestudies, kan dit geïmplementeer word in ’n wye verskeidenheid van velde wat wissel van literatuur (Gqola) en taalkunde (Levon) tot geskiedenis (Hendricks et al. ), kuns (Ankyiah en Bamfo), musiekologie (Decoste), teaterwetenskappe (Wijesiri), regte (Schiek), sosiologie (Choo en Ferree) en politieke wetenskap (Hughes). Benewens tradisionele referate sal ons meer kreatiewe of visueel-georiënteerde bydraes, paneelbesprekings en onderhoude oorweeg. Ons kollokwium sal in ’n hibriede formaat plaasvind met beide aanbiedings wat in persoon gelewer word en aanlyn bydraes, wat soveel mense moontlik sal toelaat om deel te kan neem en dit by te kan woon. Ons beplan die publikasie van (’n seleksie van) die aangebode referate in ’n spesiale uitgawe van die akademiese tydskrif Gender Questions.

Abstrakte 

Dien asseblief abstrakte/opsommings in vir referate van 20 minute in Afrikaans, Nederlands of Engels. Die opsommings moet ’n van maksimum 500 woorde wees en teen 30 April 2024 aan
afrikaans@ugent.be gestuur word. Vir meer inligting oor die kollokwium of alternatiewe aanbiedingsvoorstelle, kontak asseblief die organiseerders, Martina Vitackova (martina.vitackova@ugent.be) en Lieselot Tuytens (lieselot.tuytens@ugent.be). 

Aanbevole bronne

Boswell, Barbara. And Wrote My Story Anyway: Black South African Women's Novels as Feminism. Wits U P, 2020.

Gouws, Amanda. “Feminist Intersectionality and the Matrix of Domination in South Africa.” Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity vol. 31, no. 1, 2017, pp. 19-27.

Lewis, Desiree & Gabeba Baderoon. Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa. Wits U P, 2021.

Moletsane, Relebohile & Vasu Reddy. “The National Development Plan as a Response to Poverty and Inequality in South Africa.” Poverty & Inequality: Diagnosis, Prognosis, Responses. State of the Nation, edited by Crain Soudien, Vasu Reddy & Ingrid Woolard. HRSC Press, 2019, pp. 235-352.

Shefer, Tamara. “Narrating Gender and Sex in and through Apartheid Divides.” South African Journal of Psychology vol. 40, no. 4, 2010, pp. 382-95.

Van der Westhuizen, Christi. "Race, Intersectionality, and Affect in Postapartheid Productions of the ‘Afrikaans White Woman’." Critical Philosophy of Race vol. 4, no. 2, 2016, pp. 221-238.

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Call for papers: 8th Colloquium on Afrikaans and South African Studies (Ghent University)

Horizons of Political/Poetical Contestation: South African Intersectional Perspectives across Disciplines and Languages

20–21 November 2024

Keynote speakers: Christi van der Westhuizen and Anastasia de Vries

In current times, intersectionality takes on various guises all over the world. “South Africa is no exception,” state Moletsane and Reddy (235). From the 19th century, where the early roots of intersectionality can be traced to African American black feminist pioneers, it successfully entered the academic scene. In this context, inaugural contributions emerged from leading authors such as bell hooks, Kimberlé Crenshaw, who is credited with the coinage of the term, and Patricia Hill Collins with her “matrix of domination” (12). Well into the 21st century, intersectionality is still ubiquitous with scholars like Jennifer Nash and Anna Carastathis. The latter points out its continued and perhaps even increasing pertinence since “oppressive power relations have become increasingly mystified, inequalities seemingly more intractable, and institutions seemingly more difficult to transform” (3).

An ‘intersectional’ approach seeks to unpack structures of power by laying bare the interconnectedness of multiple systems of social categorisation that impact and shape people’s lives and experiences. Requiring a shift in thinking about identities, intersectionality has been described as “difficult work” (Nash), but also as the “most important contribution that women’s studies have made so far” (McCall 1771). It is an analytical tool that facilitates the understanding of social phenomena, such as the interpersonal and cultural domains of power (Collins and Bilge 7). Intersectionality, however, is just as much an everyday practice, a way of how we as individuals navigate our lives and interactions with other people and various institutions.

Although the dominant tradition is situated in the Global North, an intersectional lens, both as a critical concept and practice, can provide a useful tool to scrutinise power structures in all regions characterised by inequalities. In the context of South Africa, Moletsane and Reddy (235) argue that “while the country has a rich (and celebrated) diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, sexuality, language and so on, these markers also highlight the deep inequalities that characterise human relations in the country." Shefer (382) finds that the intersecting and multidimensional forms of oppression persist tenaciously in the postapartheid era. Consequently, scholars such as Christi van der Westhuizen, Amanda Gouws, Barbara Boswell, and Desiree Lewis and Gabeba Baderoon have adopted a South African intersectional perspective. Currently, a special issue of Tydskrif vir Letterkunde is being completed on feminisms and South African literatures. Moreover, the Zuid-Afrikahuis in Amsterdam recently launched Footnotes, an online series on intersectional strategies in Southern Africa.

Our call for papers invites proposals that address such South African intersectional trends, and that consider the heterogeneous manifestations these can assume, both historically and contemporarily. Inspired by Carastathis (141), we believe that intersectionality should be understood not only on a personal level but as a “horizon of political contestation”. We encourage diversity in terms of academic domains by adopting an interdisciplinary stance. Although intersectionality has a long history in critical race studies and women’s studies, it has been implemented in diverse fields ranging from literature (Gqola) and linguistics (Levon) to history (Hendricks et al.), art (Ankyiah and Bamfo), musicology (Decoste), theatre sciences (Wijesiri), law (Schiek), sociology (Choo and Ferree) and political science (Hughes). Besides traditional paper presentations we will consider more creative or visually orientated contributions, panel discussions, and interviews. Our colloquium will take place in a hybrid format with both live presentations and online contributions, allowing as many people as possible to participate and attend. Publication of (a selection of) the presented papers in a special issue of the academic journal Gender Questions is intended.

Abstracts

Please submit your abstracts for 20-minute papers in Afrikaans, Dutch or English of max. 500 words to afrikaans@ugent.be by 30 April 2024. For more information about the colloquium or alternative presentation proposals please get in touch with the organisers, Martina Vitackova (martina.vitackova@ugent.be) and Lieselot Tuytens (lieselot.tuytens@ugent.be).

Recommended reading

Boswell, Barbara. And Wrote My Story Anyway: Black South African Women's Novels as Feminism. Wits U P, 2020.

Gouws, Amanda. “Feminist Intersectionality and the Matrix of Domination in South Africa.” Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity vol. 31, no. 1, 2017, pp. 19-27.

Lewis, Desiree & Gabeba Baderoon. Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa. Wits U P, 2021.

Moletsane, Relebohile & Vasu Reddy. “The National Development Plan as a Response to Poverty and Inequality in South Africa.” Poverty & Inequality: Diagnosis, Prognosis, Responses. State of the Nation, edited by Crain Soudien, Vasu Reddy & Ingrid Woolard. HRSC Press, 2019, pp. 235-352.

Shefer, Tamara. “Narrating Gender and Sex in and through Apartheid Divides.” South African Journal of Psychology vol. 40, no. 4, 2010, pp. 382-95.

Van der Westhuizen, Christi. "Race, Intersectionality, and Affect in Postapartheid Productions of the ‘Afrikaans White Woman’." Critical Philosophy of Race vol. 4, no. 2, 2016, pp. 221-238.