Browsing by Author "Mangcu, Xolela"

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    The sociological imagination of S.E.K Mqhayi: towards an African Sociology
    (2014) Schoots, Leo Jonathan; Mangcu, Xolela
    What areas of social life do our existing social theories allow us to understand, and what areas of society leave us baffled, unsettled and unable to respond? This paper will argue that we are in need of new interpretive tools to allow us to understand the areas of our social world that have previously been excluded from academic view by our colonial and apartheid history, and even by progressive liberal and Marxist responses to apartheid. By first surveying the intellectual history of sociology’s emergence as a discipline and its formations in South Africa, I will argue that we are unable to effectively think about large areas of the African cultural and social world within our society. In search of alternatives this paper will explore the work of the prolific early 20th c. intellectual, S.E.K. Mqhayi. Mqhayi was a product of the complex social hybridity of his time, but oriented this hybridity towards amaXhosa and African people. By looking at his various mediums of writing I will argue that Mqhayi offers powerful insight into the complexities of the changing social world of his time and that his methodologies -- so different from those of academic sociology -- give us powerful insights into an African tradition which can revitalise contemporary social inquiry.
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    South African social theory : Steve Biko
    (2015) Esterhuizen, Charlton; Mangcu, Xolela
    The complexity and dynamism of society provides the sociologist with interesting challenges. The methods and instruments we use to study and understand society have to evolve with the same dynamism. This minor dissertation investigates sociological theory in South Africa. The primary aim of this dissertation is to determine if one can produce or derive sociological theory from the work of black South Africans, specifically Steve Biko. To this end one has to disseminate the idea of sociological theory and consider how it is constructed. It is also important to highlight the contextual and progressive nature of theory. To illustrate this, I briefly outline the development of sociology as an academic discipline. In addition I consider the implications of macro and micro theory, paying particular attention to Marxism and Weberianism. This is exemplary in terms of showing the contextual relevance and the progressive thinking which inform social theory. It is widely acknowledged that Comte, Marx, Durkheim and Weber were the founding fathers of sociology. I consider the contributions of Ntsikana, Tiyo Soga, Anton Lembede, Pixley Seme and finally Steve Biko as a means of demonstrating the potential local intellectual to inform a new social theory The nature of this research dictated the use of a qualitative research design. The review of literature and biographical accounts were used to construct the lineage of South African intellectuals. The key intellectual considered in this paper is Steve Biko. The source of the data was his salient work: "I Write What I Like". Thematic analysis was used to analyse the relevant texts, mainly the Miles Huberman approach. This allowed me to identify the key analytical constructs of Steve Biko's work. These analytical constructs would be the foundation of a possible sociological theory.
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    Steve Biko in the intellectual history of the Eastern Cape
    (2013) Mangcu, Xolela
    This audio lecture locates the ideas of the late Black Consciousness leader, Steve Biko, within a long trajectory beginning with the Khoi-Khoi and San wars of resistance in the Northern Cape. For anyone with an interest in the life of Steve Biko and SA history.