Social relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town

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dc.contributor.advisorFuh, Divineen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorQhobela, Tsoarelo Sylviaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-28T04:10:02Z
dc.date.available2015-05-28T04:10:02Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation is focused on the (re)configuration of social relations around a communal tap. It looks at the different ways in which fetching water from a communal tap brings life within an impoverished community in Cape Town, South Africa. I examine how the people of Imizamo Yethu who are located in a constrained and heavily populated geographical space, where movement and sociality are limited, take advantage of the tap space to (re)build relations through various social interactions. Water, one of the elements basic to human needs, activates hope in the midst of suffering, while stabilising residents’ uncertainties. During a four month ethnographic study of life within this community, I participated in and observed the daily practice of fetching water, and the interactions around one of the community’s taps. Building on the idea of water as a total social fact, and also conviviality as theoretical frame, I argue that water is as much a giver of life as it is a catalyst for social living. Water provides an opportunity for residents to meet, exchange stories, and seek survival strategies, further strengthening communal bonds. Through water and the social relations that it (re)configures, residents activate dignity.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationQhobela, T. S. (2014). <i>Social relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Anthropology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12944en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationQhobela, Tsoarelo Sylvia. <i>"Social relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Anthropology, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12944en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationQhobela, T. 2014. Social relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Qhobela, Tsoarelo Sylvia AB - This dissertation is focused on the (re)configuration of social relations around a communal tap. It looks at the different ways in which fetching water from a communal tap brings life within an impoverished community in Cape Town, South Africa. I examine how the people of Imizamo Yethu who are located in a constrained and heavily populated geographical space, where movement and sociality are limited, take advantage of the tap space to (re)build relations through various social interactions. Water, one of the elements basic to human needs, activates hope in the midst of suffering, while stabilising residents’ uncertainties. During a four month ethnographic study of life within this community, I participated in and observed the daily practice of fetching water, and the interactions around one of the community’s taps. Building on the idea of water as a total social fact, and also conviviality as theoretical frame, I argue that water is as much a giver of life as it is a catalyst for social living. Water provides an opportunity for residents to meet, exchange stories, and seek survival strategies, further strengthening communal bonds. Through water and the social relations that it (re)configures, residents activate dignity. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - Social relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town TI - Social relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12944 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/12944
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationQhobela TS. Social relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Anthropology, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12944en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentSocial Anthropologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherSocial Anthropologyen_ZA
dc.titleSocial relations around a communal tap : an ethnography of conviviality in Imizamo Yethu, Cape Townen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSocScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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