'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migration

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dc.contributor.advisorFuh, Divineen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSokutu, Litha Buhle Zukileen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-24T09:06:32Z
dc.date.available2017-01-24T09:06:32Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBased on fieldwork done in the city centre of Cape Town over two months, coupled with multiple conversations that stem as far back as 2011, this dissertation explores the spirit of ambition and desire, known in Xhosa as 'imfuno'. Articulated as a unit of study, I explore the concept of imfuno and how it manifests itself in the social lives of a group of migrant labourers in Cape Town, particularly in a post-apartheid South Africa loaded with personal expectations, wants and needs. Drawing on theoretical models of covert strategy, politics of suffering and dynamics of social change, this thesis postulates that people's notions of themselves, their aspirations and life-goals are not only interconnected, but also can become driving forces that allow them to withstand and negotiate denigrating socio-economic conditions. Using Cape Town as a site of study, existing as a microcosm for the legacy of apartheid and the history of separation at large in South Africa, the thesis elaborated on notions of space, and how through examining the construction of space, claims of belonging and alterity are created. The way in which my informants were aware of this spatial planning in the city, and were able to strategize around for the purpose of finding meaning and self-actualization, forms a thematic filament in this monograph. Throughout the discussion is the idea of existing in a social system that informants clearly acknowledge as oppressive in light of recent political shifts. Each of the four chapters elaborates of the multi-contextual presence of imfuno, and how it expands and contracts as social actors' expectations mutate as larger macro structures play a role. Like many other post-colonial monographs by anthropologists such as Bank(2011), this dissertation takes a observes and analyses 'classic' works in migration studies and argues for a fluid, constantly changing discourse around the migration and mobility field in anthropology.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSokutu, L. B. Z. (2016). <i>'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migration</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Anthropology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22966en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSokutu, Litha Buhle Zukile. <i>"'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migration."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Anthropology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22966en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSokutu, L. 2016. 'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migration. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Sokutu, Litha Buhle Zukile AB - Based on fieldwork done in the city centre of Cape Town over two months, coupled with multiple conversations that stem as far back as 2011, this dissertation explores the spirit of ambition and desire, known in Xhosa as 'imfuno'. Articulated as a unit of study, I explore the concept of imfuno and how it manifests itself in the social lives of a group of migrant labourers in Cape Town, particularly in a post-apartheid South Africa loaded with personal expectations, wants and needs. Drawing on theoretical models of covert strategy, politics of suffering and dynamics of social change, this thesis postulates that people's notions of themselves, their aspirations and life-goals are not only interconnected, but also can become driving forces that allow them to withstand and negotiate denigrating socio-economic conditions. Using Cape Town as a site of study, existing as a microcosm for the legacy of apartheid and the history of separation at large in South Africa, the thesis elaborated on notions of space, and how through examining the construction of space, claims of belonging and alterity are created. The way in which my informants were aware of this spatial planning in the city, and were able to strategize around for the purpose of finding meaning and self-actualization, forms a thematic filament in this monograph. Throughout the discussion is the idea of existing in a social system that informants clearly acknowledge as oppressive in light of recent political shifts. Each of the four chapters elaborates of the multi-contextual presence of imfuno, and how it expands and contracts as social actors' expectations mutate as larger macro structures play a role. Like many other post-colonial monographs by anthropologists such as Bank(2011), this dissertation takes a observes and analyses 'classic' works in migration studies and argues for a fluid, constantly changing discourse around the migration and mobility field in anthropology. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - 'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migration TI - 'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migration UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22966 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/22966
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSokutu LBZ. 'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migration. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Social Anthropology, 2016 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22966en_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.title'Imfuno neeMbawelo': ambition, desire and aspiration in South African post-apartheid migrationen_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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