Description
Book Synopsis#FeesMustFall, the student revolt that began in October 2015, was an uprising against lack of access to, and financial exclusion from, higher education in South Africa. More broadly, it radically questioned the socio-political dispensation resulting from the 1994 social pact between big business, the ruling elite and the liberation movement.
The 2015 revolt links to national and international youth struggles of the recent past and is informed by Black Consciousness politics and social movements of the international Left. Yet, its objectives are more complex than those of earlier struggles. The student movement has challenged the hierarchical, top-down leadership system of university management and it’s ‘double speak’ of professing to act in workers’ and students’ interests yet enforce a regressive system for control and governance. University managements, while one one level amenable to change, have also co-opted students into their ranks to create co-responsibility for the highly bureaucratised university fi nancial aid that stand in the way of their social revolution.
This book maps the contours of student discontent a year after the start of the #FeesMustFall revolt. Student voices dissect coloniality, improper compromises by the founders of democratic South Africa, feminism, worker rights and meaningful education. In-depth assessments by prominent scholars refl ect on the complexities of student activism, its impact on national and university governance, and offer provocative analyses of the power of the revolt.Trade Review"This book, one of the first on the topic, gives a good sense of the excitement of the 2015 movements, their portentous language and heady ideas, and will be welcomed by those sympathetic to the students. More sober academic or technical discussions provide background to the history of student protest in Africa and the dilemmas of university funding." -William Beinart, professor of Race Relations, African Studies Centre, St Antony's College, University of Oxford
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Introduction; Power redefined - 'what happened to governance?'; Two weeks in October - changing governance in South Africa Susan Booysen; Primary voices - 'the roots of the revolution'; The roots of the revolution Gillian Godsell, Rekgotsofetse Chikane; The game's the same: #MustFall; moves to Euro-America Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh; #OutsourcingMustFall through the eyes of workers Omhle Ntshingila, with workers; Documenting the revolution Gillian Godsell, Refiloe Lepere, Swankie Mofoko, Ayabonga Nase; The revolt - 'rising against the liberators', South Africa in Africa; Standing on the shoulders of giants? Successive generations of youth sacrifice in South Africa David Everatt; Learning from student protest in Sub-Saharan Africa Lynn Hewlett, Gugu Mukadah, Horacio Zandamela, Koffi Kouakou; Unfinished revolutions: The North African uprisings and notes on South Africa William Gumede; Power and class redefined - 'sit down and listen to us'; To win free education, fossilised neoliberalism must fall Patrick Bond; Bringing class back in: Against outsourcing during #FeesMustFall at Wits Vishwas Satgar; Between a rock and a hard place: University management and the #FeesMustFall campaign Patrick Fitzgerald, Oliver Seale Financing universities: Promoting equity or reinforcing inequality Pundy Pillay; Justice, identity, force and rights - 'we came for the refund'; Excavating the vernacular - 'ugly feminists', generational blues and matriarchal leadership Darlene Miller; The South African student/worker protests in light of just war theory Thad Metz; Conclusion; Conclusion: Aluta continua! Editorial collective / Susan Booysen.
