tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/good-reads-23612/articlesgood reads – The Conversation2015-12-22T05:22:10Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/512792015-12-22T05:22:10Z2015-12-22T05:22:10ZWant to understand the decolonisation debate? Here’s your reading list<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105753/original/image-20151214-9515-br507i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of student protests against fee hikes, racism and for the decolonisation of curriculum. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In 2015 the decolonisation debate, epitomised by the <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-03-26-rhodesmustfall-protest-spreads-to-other-campuses">#RhodesMustFall</a> campaign, took centre stage in South Africa. The protests sought to remove all vestiges of racism and <a href="http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/opinion/decolonise-africas-mind/">colonialism</a> from university campuses. Below is my selection of the top five books that those interested in decolonisation might find helpful.</em></p>
<p><strong>1)</strong> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Theory-South-Euro-America-Evolving-Imagination/dp/1594517657">Theory from the South: Or, How Euro-America is Evolving toward Africa</a> by Jean and John Comaroff. The book subverts the hallowed notion that knowledge comes from the global North, while the global South only provides the data. </p>
<p>The Comaroffs argue that it is the global South, particularly Africa, that is at the vanguard of global trends. They highlight themes relating to personhood, porous national boundaries and individual versus cultural rights. </p>
<p>They also reflect on democratic one-party states and offer critical perspectives on history as well as economic changes and political activism. In all, African perspectives offer innovative theoretical “scaffolding” to address global issues including xenophobia, economic downturn, democracy and HIV/AIDS. </p>
<p><strong>2)</strong> <a href="http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/clc/1938849">Southern Theory: The Global Dynamics of Knowledge in Social Science</a> by Raewyn Connell describes southern theory from places such as Australia, Latin America, and Asia. She argues that while theory from the global North is universally accepted, southern theory is labelled according to its geographical place of origin. It is thus made out to be applicable only in those spaces. </p>
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<p>Connell also argues that the oligopolistic publishing industry relies on a few “celebrity” authors. Almost all of them come from the North and write in globally dominant languages. While this shows the cards stacked firmly against intellectuals from the so-called periphery, Connell asserts that such authors still have agency.</p>
<p><strong>3)</strong> <a href="http://www.ohioswallow.com/book/African+Intellectuals+and+Decolonization">African Intellectuals and Decolonization</a> is an anthology edited by Nicholas M. Creary. The essays explore themes relating to the struggle to decolonise African knowledge and the roles that African and Africanist intellectuals play in that struggle. </p>
<p>The first part unpicks representation and retrospection. It debunks commonly held perspectives that Africa’s decolonisation has failed or that it is all-encompassing. The second part explores perspectives on the struggle to decolonise African publics.</p>
<p>The third explores the decolonisation of knowledge. It reveals ways in which the tradition of Western metaphysical thought served to support colonialism and continues to impose Eurocentric values and norms onto African contexts.</p>
<p>Distinctly different African contexts are thus made to fit European models and are essentially misunderstood. The book’s abiding theme is the call from African scholars for African scholarship out of African contexts.</p>
<p><strong>4)</strong> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Decolonizing-Methodologies-Research-Indigenous-Peoples/dp/1848139500">Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples</a> by Linda Tuhiwai Smith. This offers a passionate discussion of the ways in which Eurocentric research methodologies and theories have affected indigenous communities. These communities are often put under a microscope, not unlike flora and fauna. </p>
<p>The book maps the historical implications of research from the global North. The second part describes indigenous methodologies coming out of work done by indigenous researchers and their communities. </p>
<p>The last two chapters, added to the second edition, describe the implications of choosing this kind of research and what it means to link research to activist scholarship.</p>
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<p>The book is written for indigenous researchers, but has also been well received by projects such as <a href="http://ccms.ukzn.ac.za/projects/rethinking-indigeneity.aspx">Rethinking Indigeneity</a> which I’m working on. </p>
<p>The first book from the project, by Keyan <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Where_Global_Contradictions_are_Sharpest.html?id=P_aTuPARGAkC&redir_esc=y">Tomaselli</a>, argues that the periphery is, in fact, the prism through which Northern methodological contradictions are best brought to the surface.</p>
<p><strong>5)</strong> Then there is the great granddad from whence much of the above discussion derives: Ngugi’ wa Thiong’o’s <a href="http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/kenya/ngugi1.htm">Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature</a>. </p>
<p>Many of the works published on decolonisation originate from Ngugi’s idea of decolonising the African mind. Imperialism, he writes, has left its mark on the minds of the previously colonised. They personalise what was once far off and different and become detached from their immediate surrounds and culture. </p>
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<p>Africans are groomed for such thinking from childhood in colonial and missionary schools. They see Africa, its languages, cultures, traditions and practices as backward, dark, evil and generally disdainful. </p>
<p>The continent is carved up in terms of imperial markers and its peoples are identified in terms of their colonisers. Tragically, African leaders in the postcolony wish for the return to colonial rule, with themselves as the new masters.</p>
<p>Ngugi argues that African intellectuals bear responsibility for popularising the decolonisation struggle. The liberation of African minds is the ultimate goal.</p>
<p>The decolonisation <a href="https://theconversation.com/search?date=all&language=en&page=2&q=Rhodesmustfall&sort=relevancy&type=all">struggle</a> continues. The protests it has sparked in recent times should motivate us to take stock of its progress.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51279/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shanade Bianca Barnabas received funding from the National Research Foundation during her PhD research. </span></em></p>Many works published on decolonisation originate from Ngugi wa Thiongo’s idea of decolonising the African mind. Imperialism, he writes, has left its mark on the minds of the previously colonised.Shanade Bianca Barnabas, Post doctoral research fellow, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/521692015-12-18T04:41:54Z2015-12-18T04:41:54ZGetting to grips with why race is still a divisive issue in South Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106573/original/image-20151217-8065-rh8ody.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young South Africans are angry with the failure of the country to deal with racism.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The title of South African newspaper editor Ferial Haffajee’s book, <a href="http://panmacmillan.co.za/book-author/ferial-haffajee/">What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?</a>, is provocative on many levels. The title alone is likely to evoke an emotional and visceral reaction from people across the colour divide. </p>
<p>Responses could range from: “good, that will solve all our problems”, to: “yes, then we will see how things deteriorate”.</p>
<p>The timing of the book, and the topic, speak to deepening, divisive <a href="https://www.nelsonmandela.org/uploads/files/POSITION_PAPER_ON_RACE_AND_IDENTITY_FINAL_DRAFT.pdf">race consciousness</a> in South Africa, 21 years after the dismantling of apartheid.</p>
<p>The author describes 2015 as a tumultuous year in the country’s history, punctuated by <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/university-fees">protests</a> and <a href="http://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/132398-here-is-where-south-africas-racists-chat-online.html">racist</a> incidents and attacks.</p>
<p>In grappling with controversial sociopolitical issues around antagonistic <a href="http://www.ijr.org.za/uploads/IJR_SARB_2015_WEB_002.pdf">race relations</a> in South Africa the author draws from her personal, sometimes intense experiences and insights.</p>
<p>She shares her story as a black women, and successful journalist, forging a space in an emerging democracy. For <a href="http://whoswho.co.za/ferial-haffajee-2616">Haffajee</a>, the political is <a href="http://www.biznews.com/transformation/2015/05/25/city-press-editor-ferial-haffajee-i-am-a-critical-patriot/">intensely personal</a>. It is the weaving together of these two strands that gives the author’s perspectives and insights great impact.</p>
<h2>White privilage holds centre stage</h2>
<p>The central thrust of the book is compelling. It argues that black South Africans, especially the new generation of young, black <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2015/04/29/south-african-born-frees-still-in-chains-irr">“born frees”</a>, are obsessed with whiteness and white privilege.</p>
<p>What emerges from the author’s reflections, discussions and research, is that angry – often polarising debates – about the ideology of whiteness now dominate national conversations and social media platforms. They also featured prominently in the enraged voices of the recent wave of <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/university-fees">student protests</a>.</p>
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<p>The author taps into the psyche of the new generation of influencers through roundtable discussions and conversations with key young thinkers, pacesetters and elites. </p>
<h2>Debunking the myths</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://rhodesmustfall.co.za/">#Rhodes Must Fall</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/university-fees">#Fees Must Fall</a> student movements started out as causes relating to specific student issues. But they have escalated into a multiplicity of concerns. </p>
<p>The narratives that dominate the public space have morphed into intractable deeper questions about <a href="http://www.ijr.org.za/uploads/IJR_SARB_2015_WEB_002.pdf">social justice and inequality</a>. These are underpinned by the grand narrative of entrenched white supremacy in South Africa. </p>
<p>She goes on to say that this grand narrative, shared intergenerationally across race groups and manipulated for political expediency, is gaining traction. </p>
<p>Haffajee argues that this angry fixation on whiteness is limiting, backward looking, constrains agency, and is disempowering on many levels.</p>
<p>She debunks the many myths and distorted perceptions in the public domain concerning white dominance and power. The main storyline of this “false consciousness” is that whites and blacks perceive their numbers as roughly equal. Therefore, transferring the power of whiteness to black people would provide the panacea for the country’s woes. </p>
<p>These distorted narratives belie the statistical evidence that whites are a declining small minority, down from 10.95% of the population in 1996 to <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022014.pdf">8.4% in 2014</a>.</p>
<p>And there would be little impact on distribution if the wealth of white people was nationalised and their resources distributed to black South Africans.</p>
<h2>What still needs to be done</h2>
<p>Haffajee recognises that South Africa is not truly transformed. She emphasises that white privilege and arrogance, informed by apartheid, colonialism and patriarchy, are still deeply entrenched, sharing her personal encounters with these.</p>
<p>She asserts that acknowledgement by whites of their privilege and an apology for the past is both necessary and desired by black South Africans. </p>
<p>What she cannot understand is how “freedom’s children” – the new generation of bright, articulate, motivated and educated young black people – define themselves. They see themselves as a disempowered minority seemingly confronted with the distorted perception of an overwhelming and oppressive white majority. </p>
<p>She argues that this means they have lost sight of the many gains that have been made since the advent of democracy; the rapid mobility of a growing black middle class, a substantial welfare net and a better life for many.</p>
<p>The disempowering narrative is played out against what the author describes as a powerful “black political kingdom” where the governing ANC controls extensive swathes of the economy and polity. It rules with a massive support, has huge financial muscle with spending capacity of R500 billion a year.</p>
<p>The author harbours deep conflict about the self-limiting discourse. The white dominance narrative is clearly at odds with her hard-won, middle-class freedoms and the black world that she perceives she inhabits. But she resists becoming part of the “self-satisfied elite” and finds comfort in the angst that prompts her to question her thinking.</p>
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<p>She provides perspectives on possible causes of the whiteness obsession, observing that it is much easier to slip into victimhood – the default language of powerlessness – than claim the space, use the influence and authority to shape society. </p>
<p>The author quotes from the writer and scholar, R.W. (Bill) Johnson, who charges that the massive failures of governance in South Africa are a humiliating blow to black self-esteem. The worse this sense of failure:</p>
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<p>… the more passionately the “liberated” ego needs to vent itself.</p>
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<p>Desperately threatened egos can result in anti-white racism, anti-Semitism, a hatred of “outgroups” and increasing discrimination.</p>
<p>Haffajee vacillates between optimism. Among promising factors are the positive outcomes of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/university-fees">student protests</a>. And pessimism – the rampant corruption, mismanagement and abuses by the government. </p>
<p>It is this tension and self-doubt that permeate the book. The worthy, noble struggle for deep social justice by millenials in South Africa is juxtaposed against the disempowering narrative of “whiteness”, presented by the next generation as responsible for the burden they face.</p>
<p>These competing narratives make the book a challenging read. The reader is left feeling deeply ambivalent, still seeking answers to the provocative question posed by the title.</p>
<p>This is perhaps the purpose of the book. It provokes the hard, uncomfortable conversations about the “unfinished business of colonialism and apartheid” that South Africans must have if they are to move forward together as a nation. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="http://panmacmillan.co.za/book-author/ferial-haffajee/">What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?</a> is published by Pan Macmillan.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52169/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyn Snodgrass does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The central thrust of Haffajee’s book is compelling. It argues that black South Africans, especially the new generation of young, black ‘born frees’ are obsessed with whiteness and white privilege.Lyn Snodgrass, Associate Professor and Head of Department of Political and Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/522352015-12-18T04:41:34Z2015-12-18T04:41:34ZWant to start a business? Here are six books you should read<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106082/original/image-20151215-23186-fpr5jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Good ideas from some of the best brains in the game for budding entrepreneurs ready to break the mould.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>As an academic I have very little time to read non-academic papers and books. That said, non-academic material is often invaluable as a source for my teaching. It also presents sweet relief from the overly mundane, verbose and theoretical scholarly work in entrepreneurship. Below I recommend books that I have read, as well as books I would like to read during the holidays.</em></p>
<p><strong>1)</strong> My first choice is a book published in 2012 by investment banker David Mataen: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Africa-Ultimate-Frontier-investment-opportunities/dp/0857191721">Africa - The Ultimate Frontier Market</a>. </p>
<p>To my mind, the book succinctly captures the tremendous opportunities and challenges that exist for finance professionals and entrepreneurs in Africa. It captures and articulates the drivers of business opportunities on the continent. It also highlights some of the challenges in exploiting these opportunities. I think this is the best book available on the subject.</p>
<p><strong>2)</strong> Next is Vijay Mahajan’s <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Africa-Rising-Million-African-Consumers/dp/0132339420">Africa Rising: How 900 Million African Consumers Offer More Than You Think</a>. This was also hugely successful and gave birth to the “Africa Rising” mantra back in 2009.</p>
<p><strong>3)</strong> I have to profess to be a big fan of <a href="https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty/profiles/mullins-j#.Vm_xJF5twuc">John Mullins</a> from the London Business School. He has published, along with some co-authors, some excellent books for budding entrepreneurs, those who are established, and financial professionals. His most prominent books are <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-New-Business-Road-Test/dp/0273663569">The New Business Road Test</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Plan-Breaking-Through-Business/dp/1422126692">Getting To Plan</a>.</p>
<p>The New Business Road Test is the quintessential work on assessing entrepreneurial opportunities. In this work Mullins concisely presents his framework for identifying attractive opportunities. In Getting To Plan B, Mullins and <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/randy-komisar-1/">Randy Komisar</a>, a prominent venture capitalist, present a framework for refining and iterating novel business models.</p>
<p>I have been meaning to read Mullins’ latest book, <a href="http://customerfundedbusiness.com/">The Customer Funded Business</a>, for some time now. Its focus is how to raise finances for entrepreneurs in today’s fast moving market place without venture and angel investment. It is also about how investors should be taking into account new changes in firm financing and growth.</p>
<p><strong>4)</strong> A book called <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Small-Giants-Companies-Choose-Instead/dp/1591841496">Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead Of Big</a> has been recommended to me by <a href="http://forentrepreneursonly.co.uk/members/retail/phil-benson">Phil Benson</a>, co-founder of Xing smoothies. It focuses on field reports of 14 entrepreneurs and companies that have deliberately been kept small. These companies are community focused and locally rooted and are not profit driven. </p>
<p>This should be an interesting study for the African continent, where social enterprises have been touted as a possible solution to some of the continent’s development challenges.</p>
<p><strong>5)</strong> My fifth recommendation is a book I have read that is probably little-known: <a href="http://www.entrecode.co.uk/">The Entrecode</a>. It is written by a locally based Yorkshire entrepreneur, David Hall. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.midaspr.co.uk/news-stories/entrecode-unlocking-the-entrepreneurial-dna-by-david-hall/">Hall</a> is a well-known British consultant, writer and broadcaster in the field of entrepreneurial skills, and a successful entrepreneur in his own right. In 1992 he won a BAFTA Award for his BBC1 Business series Winning and the UK Premier Business Award for Television for the BBC2 program Get Better or Get Beaten. </p>
<p>David’s to-the-point writing and straight talking have impressed me. The Entrecode is a fantastically simple book that tries to discover the “DNA secrets/practices” of successful entrepreneurs. It draws on insights from <a href="http://www.anlp.org/wyatt-woodsmall">Wyatt Woodsmall</a>, a famous expert in neuro-linguistic programming and performance enhancement who has worked with American diver <a href="http://greglouganis.com/bio/">Greg Louganis</a> and famous motivational speaker <a href="https://www.tonyrobbins.com/">Tony Robbins</a>.</p>
<p><strong>6)</strong> The final book on my list which I mean to read over the Christmas break is <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=big+bang+disruption&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=31513184936&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=453326007033074117&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7ranxvh6ff_e">Big Bang Disruption: Strategy In The Age Of Devastating Innovation</a> by Larry Downes and Paul Nunes. </p>
<p>This work ties nicely into current debates on whether the view of disruptive innovation espoused by famous Harvard professor Clayton Christensen in his seminal work <a href="http://www.claytonchristensen.com/books/the-innovators-dilemma/">The Innovator’s Dilemma</a> are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/11/23/what-the-legendary-clayton-christensen-gets-wrong-about-uber-tesla-and-disruptive-innovation/">still relevant</a> in today’s <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/43c4dca2-8c55-11e5-8be4-3506bf20cc2b.html#axzz3uI3yDgY0">technology landscape</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52235/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Antonio C. Malfense Fierro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This is a list of old and new books on entrepreneurship. The common thing about them is that they give entrepreneurs the tools they need to start their businesses.Antonio C. Malfense Fierro, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510532015-12-15T04:08:57Z2015-12-15T04:08:57ZTop minds suggest good reads: from espionage to doomed love and race<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105739/original/image-20151214-9523-1ek5y91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1871%2C5000%2C3128&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What better way to spend your year-end holiday than absorbed in a good book or ten?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Running a university doesn’t leave a lot of time for recreational reading. But with the academic year wrapping up across the continent, Africa’s vice-chancellors finally have the chance to read for pleasure. Natasha Joseph, education editor of The Conversation Africa, asked three vice chancellors what’s on their holiday reading lists.</em></p>
<p><strong>Jonathan Jansen, University of the Free State</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/86914/negroland-by-margo-jefferson/9780307378453/">Negroland</a> (Margo Jefferson): I am fascinated by how middle-class black students negotiate their identities, politics and futures at the intersecting and entangled lives of poor black and middle-class white students in divided communities and countries. This also forms part of the research for my upcoming book – Race, Romance and Reprisal on university campuses.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/us/ta-nehisi-coates-wins-national-book-award.html?_r=0">Between the World and Me</a> (Ta-Nehisi Coates): Something is happening in the land where my children were born. It intrigues and scares me at the same time. The book is about the lives and experiences of black men in particular in white America, what this means and how – or whether – it can be resolved. There are also many parallels to South Africa. In November 2015 Coates won the National Book Award for non-fiction in the US.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/history/african-history/national-liberation-postcolonial-southern-africa-historical-ethnography-swapos-exile-camps?format=HB">National Liberation in Postcolonial Southern Africa</a> (Christian Williams): This brilliant young anthropologist at the University of the Free State writes in a vivid, moving way about the South West Africa People’s Organisation’s exile camps. This brings what could have been a boring academic book to life for a much broader audience of readers.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://panmacmillan.bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/10/30/what-if-there-were-no-whites-in-south-africa-the-new-book-by-ferial-haffajee/">What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?</a> (Ferial Haffejee): I am hoping this is a more insightful reflection than the typical anti-white, pseudo-leftist rant that should not be occupying bookshelves in South Africa or anywhere else for that matter.</p></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Dennis Hardy, University of Seychelles</strong></p>
<p>The prospect of time to read for pleasure is a highlight of the year. To make sure that I have a good stock of books in hand, for many months before the seasonal break I keep an eye on reviews and recommendations from family and friends. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>High on my list this year is a novel that my wife tells me is a “must read” – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/05/jamrachs-menagerie-carol-birch-review">Jamrach’s Menagerie</a> (Carol Birch). I live on an island, so the ocean setting – and the theme of human resilience pitted against the might of the sea – will have special meaning.</p></li>
<li><p>Another book I missed first time round is <a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/in-the-land-of-oz-9781608198955/">In the Land of Oz</a> (Howard Jacobson). A few years ago my wife and I travelled round much of Australia in a campervan and this will help me relive the experience of horizons that go on for ever and red sand getting into everything.</p></li>
<li><p>Still in the Antipodes, I’ve also got a real door-stopper of a book, <a href="http://themanbookerprize.com/books/luminaries">The Luminaries</a> (Eleanor Catton). It won the Booker Prize in 2013 when it was published. People tell me it’s quite a long haul but worth the effort. Set in a gold mining community in New Zealand in the 19th century it is, by all accounts, finely researched and imaginative in scope.</p></li>
<li><p>As an aficionado of espionage books, I’m intrigued by The Secret War (Max Hastings). It’s received <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/04/secret-war-spied-codes-guerrillas-max-hastings-entertaining">excellent reviews</a> and sees Hastings leading the reader through the shadowy world of plot and counter-plot. Sounds a bit like academia!</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, there’s always the joker in the pack – a book received as a present that I would not otherwise have thought of. You take your chances, but it could be the best thing ever. </p></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Wim de Villiers, Stellenbosch University</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="http://www.litnet.co.za/flame-in-the-snow-the-love-letters-of-andre-brink-and-ingrid-jonker/">Flame in the Snow: The Love Letters of André Brink & Ingrid Jonker</a>. Translated by Karin Schimke and Leon de Kock; edited by Francis Galloway. The doomed love story of these two Afrikaans poets and writers has fascinated many South Africans. I guess I am a romantic at heart and this is why I want to read the letters which have captured the imagination of academics and non-academics alike. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/13/the-fishermen-chigozie-obioma-review">The Fishermen</a> (Chigozie Obioma). Being a South African, I am interested in literature from everywhere on our continent. Obioma’s book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015 and should be interesting. Nigeria has produced such great writers as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ben Okri and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Waterloo-History-Three-Armies-Battles/dp/0062312057">Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles</a> (Bernard Cornwell). The Battle of Waterloo took place <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/battle-of-waterloo">200 years ago</a>, yet the events that ended Napoleon’s military career remain intriguing. Cornwell’s account is bound to provide keen insights into this important moment in history. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.humanrousseau.com/Books/10698">Die sneeuslaper</a> (Marlene van Niekerk). This book, a collection of four stories, was published in 2010 but I have not read it yet. I am looking forward to this work by Van Niekerk, who was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2015 in recognition of her oeuvre, which includes the acclaimed <a href="http://www.postcolonialweb.org/sa/viljoen/8.html">Triomf</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7105495-agaat">Agaat</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Networks-Outrage-Hope-Movements-Internet/dp/0745662854">Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age</a> (Manuel Castells). The <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/feesmustfall">protests</a> on South African campuses in 2015 should be seen in broader context. This work by Castells, one of the most <a href="http://www.africancentreforcities.net/people/manuel-castells/">highly cited</a> communication scholars in the world, provides useful background. He analyses the wave of social movements across the globe the past few years and looks at the role of information and communication technology advances in making it easier for people to organise themselves and press for change. It was published in 2012, but remains relevant.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51053/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
There isn’t a lot of time for recreational reading when you’re running a university. But when year-end holidays roll around, Africa’s vice chancellors can finally read for pleasure.Natasha Joseph, Commissioning EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/515892015-12-07T04:23:45Z2015-12-07T04:23:45ZAfrican stories to get and keep kids reading during school holidays<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104088/original/image-20151202-22456-1n3mr6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Whether you read to your kids or they read alone, share stories from and about Africa with them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Holidays are a great occasion for reading, whether kids are doing so alone or a family is sitting down together with a book. But what do you do if the bookstore doesn’t have books in your language, or they’re just too expensive? This is often sadly the case in Africa, a continent that’s home to more than <a href="http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/african_languages.htm">2000 languages</a>. </p>
<p>A project that started in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Lesotho – and has spread to Niger, Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique – may hold <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-stories-could-hold-the-key-to-multilingual-literacy-for-african-children-40405">some solutions</a> for families who want to read African stories with their children. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/">African Storybook</a> has collected more than 2300 stories in 62 African languages. They are all free for download or printing, and offer fascinating insights into how people on the continent tell stories that explore sometimes tough themes and ideas.</p>
<p>Here are some stories from the project’s website that children of all ages can enjoy during the long school holiday – and once they’re back in class.</p>
<h2>1. Leaving one home for another</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103859/original/image-20151201-26549-rbn08d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103859/original/image-20151201-26549-rbn08d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103859/original/image-20151201-26549-rbn08d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103859/original/image-20151201-26549-rbn08d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103859/original/image-20151201-26549-rbn08d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103859/original/image-20151201-26549-rbn08d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103859/original/image-20151201-26549-rbn08d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children’s books can tackle big themes in the simplest ways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">African Storybook: Catherine Groenewald (CC-BY)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/holidays-grandmother">Holidays with grandmother</a> is a story many children and adults can identify with: leaving home in the city to visit one’s grandparents and the countryside. </p>
<p>In rapidly urbanising Africa this is a familiar theme for many, as the older generation often stays behind while the younger generation looks for work in towns and cities. But family ties are strong, and visits to the ancestral village are cherished. In Holidays with grandmother, Odongo and Apiyo enjoy taking care of animals and playing in the bush, and of course their grandmother’s lovely cooking and chai.</p>
<p>It is available in <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/holidays-grandmother">English</a>, <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/kusherehekea-likizo-kwa-nyanya">Kiswahili</a>, <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/ohu%C5%8Bumulira-ewa-nguhwa">Lunyole</a>, <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/akilakin-ata-egolitoe-esukul">Ng’aturkana</a>, <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/amaulukho-nende-kukhu-2">Oluwanga</a> and <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/re-etela-koko">Sepedi</a>.</p>
<h2>2. The moral of the story</h2>
<p>Traditional African stories <a href="http://www.21caf.org/uploads/1/3/5/2/13527682/amali.pdf">often convey</a> a moral lesson or caution against greed and other vices, such as the Ghanaian story <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/anansi-and-turtle">Anansi and turtle</a>. Anansi the spider greedily eats all the food before his dinner guest Turtle gets a chance. But what can Anansi do when Turtle invites him over to her place for dinner – under water? </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103861/original/image-20151201-26549-8407ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103861/original/image-20151201-26549-8407ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103861/original/image-20151201-26549-8407ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103861/original/image-20151201-26549-8407ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103861/original/image-20151201-26549-8407ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103861/original/image-20151201-26549-8407ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103861/original/image-20151201-26549-8407ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">African Storybook: Ingrid Schechter (CC-BY)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other stories are far more serious, like <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/tingi-and-cows">Tingi and the cows</a>. It is based on real events and is about soldiers entering a village as seen from the perspective of a young boy. </p>
<p>On the surface there is little drama beyond soldiers stealing cows and a boy hiding. But as we all know soldiers plundering villages is often far more serious than the theft of cows. Tingi and the cows invites the reader to think – and talk – about what happens when soldiers march into a village. </p>
<p>It is an excellent starting point for a conversation about fear and brutality that has affected people across the continent, including many children. It’s a reminder that not all children are lucky enough to fully enjoy the holidays. </p>
<h2>3. Reading can be silly and fun</h2>
<p>Adults may be concerned with teaching moral lessons and warning against dangers and transgressions, but children often prefer stories that are just funny, even silly or nonsensical. In <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/mr-fly-and-mr-big-head">Mr Fly and Mr Bighead</a> the two characters want to cross a river. But Mr Bighead’s head is so big that he sinks. Mr Fly, on the other hand:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… laughed so much that his mouth tore in two from one side to the other!</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103863/original/image-20151201-18818-4efmw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103863/original/image-20151201-18818-4efmw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103863/original/image-20151201-18818-4efmw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103863/original/image-20151201-18818-4efmw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103863/original/image-20151201-18818-4efmw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103863/original/image-20151201-18818-4efmw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103863/original/image-20151201-18818-4efmw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children love stories that are silly and nonsensical.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">African Storybook: Joshua Waswa (CC-BY)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, in <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/adventures-supercow">The adventures of Supercow</a>, a cow lives an ordinary life by day – well, not that ordinary for a cow, since she spends her days flying a kite and kicking a ball. But by night she is a supercow, saving lives and fighting crime. </p>
<p>This story has been translated into 21 languages, matched by only one other story on the African Storybook. This is <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/very-tall-man-1">A very tall man</a>, and it’s another funny story that children will love. Although the number of translations is a weak proxy for demand, it hints at which stories are more popular.</p>
<h2>Going global</h2>
<p>The African Storybook caters, as the name indicates, to African languages. But sharing traditional and contemporary African stories is also important, not least for children from elsewhere to partake in the rich oral tradition and experience a positive picture of the continent. </p>
<p>The creation of the <a href="http://global-asp.github.io/">Global African Storybook Project</a> has made this possible. Stories have been translated into Cantonese, Danish, Esperanto, German, Hindi, Jamaican Creole, Japanese, Mandarin, Nepali, Norwegian (bokmål and nynorsk), Persian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Tagalog – 16 languages in total, and growing. </p>
<p>This gives children from all over the world the chance to read stories from and about Africa.</p>
<h2>Telling your own stories</h2>
<p>The best stories are the ones you make yourself. This is not only possible with the African Storybook, it’s encouraged. Many of the stories on the website are adaptations of stories that others have written. The picture database has thousands of pictures that can be used to make a new story, or added to an existing story. </p>
<p>My favourite picture-based story is the brilliantly simple <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/hungry-crocodile">The hungry crocodile</a>. In merely six concise sentences, which have been translated into six languages, the author Christian G. tells a story:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103865/original/image-20151201-26578-7fexjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103865/original/image-20151201-26578-7fexjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103865/original/image-20151201-26578-7fexjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103865/original/image-20151201-26578-7fexjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103865/original/image-20151201-26578-7fexjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103865/original/image-20151201-26578-7fexjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103865/original/image-20151201-26578-7fexjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pictures can tell a thousand words.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">African Storybook: Wiehan de Jager (CC-BY)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>The hungry crocodile</strong><br>
Once there was a very hungry crocodile.<br>
He searched for food slowly and quietly.<br>
And then…<br>
POW!!! The crocodile strikes!<br>
After that he is no longer hungry, and he is happy.<br>
Until he gets hungry again.</p>
<p>Adapting a story is an easy way for children or adults to start making their own stories. <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/holiday-time">Holiday time</a>, an adaptation of <a href="http://africanstorybook.org/stories/holidays-grandmother">Holidays with grandmother</a> by three Ugandan teachers, is one example of this. </p>
<p>Stories can serve many purposes, and with the African Storybook and Global African Storybook Project, African children stories are more accessible than ever before – in African and non-African languages alike. Happy holidays and happy reading!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51589/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Espen Stranger-Johannessen received funding from UBC Public Scholars Initiative, The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF), Wendy K. Sutton Graduate Scholarship in Early Childhood Literacy, and the UBC Graduate Student Research Grant. He is also a board member of Under the Reading Tree (<a href="http://underthereadingtree.com/">http://underthereadingtree.com/</a>).</span></em></p>Traditional African stories often tackle big, occasionally scary and serious themes. This is even true in children’s stories – though there’s plenty of room for silly fun, too.Espen Stranger-Johannessen, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/516432015-12-03T04:32:30Z2015-12-03T04:32:30ZA hard-hitting analysis of South Africa’s deepening malaise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104111/original/image-20151202-22476-eoxuc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new book puts forward the thesis that South Africa faces a crisis of governance and leadership rather than an economic crisis.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yalo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Justice Malala’s <a href="http://jonathanball.bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/11/27/justice-malalas-we-have-now-begun-our-descent-ascends-from-the-book-lounge-with-palesa-morudu/">book</a>, We have now begun our descent: How to Stop South Africa losing its way, does a number of things well. It reclaims the space for a particular kind of conversation among successful but ordinary South Africans – those who are not radical or particularly steeped in the eloquent and sometimes exclusionary new language of radical opposition to structural inequality.</p>
<p>While the book covers some well-trodden ground, Malala writes in an accessible style and with a common-sense decency and rationalism that many people will find compelling. </p>
<p>Malala puts forward the thesis that South Africa faces a crisis of governance and leadership rather than an economic crisis. He argues that addressing the leadership crisis is not something that the <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/">African National Congress</a> is responsible for alone: South Africans have a role to play and yet they have simply not done enough to challenge the status quo. </p>
<p>Malala is a popular and trusted figure on the South African political landscape. He is cosmopolitan and well travelled and so whites generally like him. At the same time, because of his humble roots and straight talk, Malala also appeals to many in the black middle class. </p>
<p>In many ways, then, this book presents an opportunity for Malala to explicitly locate himself as a moderate; as someone capable of addressing the complex and deeply divisive socioeconomic and political challenges confronting South Africa today. </p>
<p>Centring the book around the claiming of this moniker as an identity would have allowed him to talk the reader through his assumptions and expand on the politics of moderation at a time when this is sorely needed. It would have also given the book a post-Rainbow philosophical grounding and forced Malala to tease out a range of arguments that need unpacking in contemporary South Africa. </p>
<h2>The thorny issue of constitutionalism</h2>
<p>There are three issues that deserve deeper attention than Malala gives them. The first relates to the South African <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-1">Constitution</a>; the second is about race and the last concerns the economy. </p>
<p>Like Malala, I lean in favour of South Africa’s <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-1">Constitution</a> and of constitutionalism. Time and again he returns to the tenets and founding principles that guided the development of the constitution, reminding the reader that the ANC has an imperative to lead the nation according to its values. </p>
<p>Yet there have been a range of critiques from across the political spectrum about the limits of liberalism, and the extent to which some forms of land redistribution are off the table because property rights are so firmly entrenched in the Constitution. While there are many South Africans who would welcome a non-polemical discussion about constiutionalism and the rule of law, Malala doesn’t allow us to air this conversation. </p>
<p>Similarly, the chapter on race never really takes off. It is as though Malala is reluctant to say too much. He concedes that there is pain, and that there has not been enough change. Oddly though, he concludes that, “growing the economy” is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the silver bullet for our racial problems.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This broad statement doesn’t address the casual racism experienced by middle class black people. Nor does it examine the increasing animosity between black South Africans who feel frustrated and whites who think the ANC is reneging on its promises of non-racialism. These issues lie at the heart of the combustible racial climate of the moment. Yet Malala leaves them be. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104113/original/image-20151202-22461-64161x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104113/original/image-20151202-22461-64161x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104113/original/image-20151202-22461-64161x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104113/original/image-20151202-22461-64161x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104113/original/image-20151202-22461-64161x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104113/original/image-20151202-22461-64161x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104113/original/image-20151202-22461-64161x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Justice Malala.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When it comes to the economy Malala endorses the <a href="http://www.gov.za/issues/national-development-plan-2030">National Development Plan</a>. But he doesn’t talk about the important leftist critique that it represents an orthodox and unimaginative economic model. In other words, Malala doesn’t adequately look at the big policy debates and how they connect with poor leadership. </p>
<h2>Beyond party politics and macho orthodoxy</h2>
<p>Malala suggests that South Africans deserve their leaders because they haven’t done anything to challenge them. Yet he never takes this idea outside the political arena. </p>
<p>From his perch as a moderate, I wanted Malala to nudge the reader in the direction of the kinds of community structures (like churches and schools) that shaped his early years. I wanted him to examine the student movement that had already begun by the time he wrapped up the book and assess civil society potential to grow leaders. </p>
<p>On the other hand, given the macho nature of current-day political discourse, I was pleased to see Malala embrace vulnerability as a form of courage. I was fascinated by the section of the book where he details his shame at keeping quiet when two executives were <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/golding-challenges-hci-suspension-cites-ulterior-motive">censured</a> by eNCA, a private broadcaster, after revelations that they had succumbed to pressure from senior ANC officials to cover government stories in a positive light.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I should have made it clear that I disagreed, that requests of this nature … were really what happens at the start of dictatorship … I was one among the many who kept quiet … </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This statement lays bare the complicated ways in which Malala suggests we are all complicit in upholding the hegemony of the ANC. It has the power to occupy the heart of the book, and yet Malala never fully explores his silence. </p>
<p>I wanted Malala to reflect more deeply on why he kept quiet in that instance when he has spoken out on so many other difficult issues. This is especially the case because I can think of few black political observers more qualified than Malala to help us understand the risks and rewards of silence, and the calculations that go into deciding if and whether and when to speak. </p>
<p>While Malala does not claim the title of a moderate, I think he deserves it. At a time when we need voices that are committed to bridging divides and enhancing dialogue, Malala occupies a unique and important place in South African society. Like all political talk show hosts (which is what he does best), Malala needs the country to both trust him and to grapple alongside him. </p>
<p>This book marks an important step in doing this. In it, we see Malala vulnerable and nostalgic and deeply committed to looking at the country’s flaws with love and respect. I look forward to reading more from him as he continues to claim and broaden the middle way. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>We have now begun our descent: How to Stop South Africa losing its way, by Justice Malala, Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2015.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sisonke Msimang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Justice Malala argues that South Africa faces a governance and leadership crisis, rather than an economic crisis. He argues that is not up to the ruling party alone to solve the problem.Sisonke Msimang, Ruth First Fellow, Journalism, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/506652015-11-15T07:49:30Z2015-11-15T07:49:30ZJacob Zuma likes to be cast as a man of the people – but is he?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101841/original/image-20151113-10393-195bfks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President Jacob Zuma took over as leader of the ANC with a promise to reconnect the party with the people. His legacy suggests otherwise.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Reuters/Sumaya Hisham</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The twilight of Jacob Zuma’s controversial leadership of the governing African National Congress (ANC) and the country finds both in a parlous state. The party is in decline and centered on Zuma’s personality, while his flawed leadership undermines its ability to govern competently. I explore these themes in Dominance and Decline: The ANC in the Time of Zuma. This is an edited extract from the book.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>President <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/rsa/president-zuma.htm">Jacob Zuma’s</a> entrance ticket into his <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=y5NYMWQ5tiwC&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=Zuma,+Polokwane+2007&source=bl&ots=PIdtyCYPjc&sig=imwB-O1Rc_2MbpxeNedOSOcCLkk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBDhGahUKEwiw6IGBqI3JAhVLVRQKHYn7Dlc#v=onepage&q=Zuma%2C%20Polokwane%202007&f=false">Polokwane 2007</a> election was “reconnection with the people”. He was “the man of the people”, close to those who, the Zuma camp argued, then-president <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/thabo-mvuyelwa-mbeki">Thabo Mbeki</a> had alienated. The evidence of this having been achieved is ambiguous. </p>
<p>Judged by general citizen sentiment expressed at the grassroots, Zuma failed to bring the ANC closer to the people. <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Twenty%20Years%20of%20South%20African%20Democracy%20-%2012%20-%2017%20-%2013.pdf">My research</a> has shown substantial alienation between the ANC and the communities:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>On general democracy issues citizens felt aggrieved that they frequently only saw their elected representatives at election times, and that ANC leaders care more for themselves than for the people. In election campaigns they are flooded with ANC visitors, leading to another round of “empty promises” and appeals for support for the “liberation movement”.</p></li>
<li><p>In ANC structures and meetings there are two trends: the insiders that speak glowingly of the great work of the movement; and those who regard themselves as ANC supporters (and often are ANC members), but feel excluded, for example not welcomed into branch meetings.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Research decimates the Zuma camp’s argument that the people do not care about the <a href="http://citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2014/03/Nkandla-Statement-by-Public-Protector-19-March-2014.pdf?d580fc">Nkandla scandal</a>, involving the use of public funds on his private residence, and similar issues. The people greatly care and deeply begrudge the new political elites and their president for greed and consumption of public resources. My research project showed hardly a word of pardon or praise for the president. Instead, there was a wall of condemnation and ridicule.</p>
<p>The research findings contrasted with ANC staff and workers on the 2014 campaign trail, for example, testifying how Zuma was welcomed with accolades and warmth when he went campaigning. Such images were also beamed across South Africa when Zuma’s community appearances were televised.</p>
<p>Zuma’s “people charm”, bolstered by the general pull of power, was his great redeeming factor in his relentless quest to get into and retain presidential power for all of his second term. The <a href="http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/prasa-spends-r46m-on-ads-boosting-zuma--manny-de-f">Jacob Zuma Legacy Special</a> advertising campaign put together by the state-transporty company <a href="https://www.prasa.com/">Prasa</a> proclaimed that he has “mainly endeared himself to people through his personal charisma and magnetic charm”. </p>
<p>In an interview with Business in Africa in 2009 on the eve of becoming South Africa’s president, Zuma singled out Oliver Tambo as one of his role models in becoming “a man of the people”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>While Tambo was a great thinker, he was very simple. There is nothing
he did not do … When people came to him he attended to them. He would even attend to somebody who comes to raise the issue of the shoe that doesn’t have shoelaces, he would ensure that the shoelaces were found … I am not a great man. I am a man of the people. I believe in people and I think that the people are everything. Once there is disconnection with the people you have problems …</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101837/original/image-20151113-10435-1vqvjz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101837/original/image-20151113-10435-1vqvjz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101837/original/image-20151113-10435-1vqvjz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101837/original/image-20151113-10435-1vqvjz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101837/original/image-20151113-10435-1vqvjz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101837/original/image-20151113-10435-1vqvjz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101837/original/image-20151113-10435-1vqvjz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wits University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Zuma’s connection with the people is partial. At least two major events, in Gauteng and in Limpopo (one was Nelson Mandela’s memorial service), saw Zuma being booed by large numbers in the audiences. ANC strategists, subsequently, carefully managed Zuma’s exposure to avoid public embarrassment.</p>
<p>Some “closeness to the people” was evident in the audiences Zuma has entertained at his residences in Pretoria and Nkandla. Across class, aspirant <a href="http://www.gov.za/tenderpreneurship-stuff-crooked-cadres-fighters">“tenderpreneurs”</a>, (the name given to entrepreneurs who have created businesses from government tenders), and modest community members with pension and social grant issues rub shoulders while waiting for and then consulting with Zuma. </p>
<p>Many of the after-hours visitors are put in touch with relevant government departments. These meetings give insights into the Zuma presidency’s creation of personalised patronage networks, the other side of the formal government networks and operations. Aspects of the meetings also resemble traditional leadership community meetings.</p>
<p>In refutation of Zuma as the president of the people who understands their
culture, my research reveals popular ridicule of the president. When focus group
participants from across the demographic spectrum received the positive
prompt of “Zuma is a leader, a man who understands our culture”, there followed scorn, laughter and comments on polygamy and showering.</p>
<p>Further prompts encouraged participants to abandon this tone, to no avail. Both this project and others confirm that voters <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Sex-life-wont-sink-Zuma-survey-20100211">separate</a> their opinions of the president from their willingness to vote ANC (at least at the time, in 2014).</p>
<p>Zuma has nevertheless carved a safe personal net with many South Africans, especially those also of Zulu origins. Little had the Mandela-Mbeki axis of the 1990s imagined that their deployment of Zuma to get peace in the war fields of KwaZulu-Natal (and bring the province into the national post-liberation ANC) would have the repercussions it did. They helped create the platform on which Zuma would rise into power. </p>
<p>The ANC KwaZulu-Natal as electoral giant awoke late, and then sustained the ANC when it started declining in other provinces. Without the KwaZulu-Natal performance in the national elections of 2009 and 2014 (largely facilitated by Zuma) the ANC would have looked pitiful even if still winning.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Dominance and Decline: The ANC in the Time of Zuma is published by Wits University Press.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Booysen receives funding from Wits University, and in its funding Wits draws on, amongst others, state research funding.</span></em></p>Judged by general citizen sentiment expressed at the grassroots, Jacob Zuma has failed to bring the ANC closer to the people. Research shows substantial alienation between the ANC and communities.Susan Booysen, Visiting Professor and Professor Emeritus, University of the Witwatersrand, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/493802015-10-20T13:47:57Z2015-10-20T13:47:57ZBook review: Selling Apartheid – South Africa’s Global Propaganda War<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99038/original/image-20151020-32258-1403ygn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A racially segregated train station entrance during apartheid.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Apartheid Museum</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the face of mounting of international disapprobation, how did white rule in South Africa sustain itself?</p>
<p>Ron Nixon tries to answer this question in <a href="http://www.jacana.co.za/book-categories/current-affairs-a-history/selling-apartheid-detail">Selling Apartheid – South Africa’s Global Propaganda War</a>. He is a Washington correspondent of the New York Times and an associate of the department of Media and Journalism Studies at Wits University. Unfortunately, his book disappoints.</p>
<p>As the title suggests, Nixon believes that <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/apartheid">apartheid</a> South Africa “sold” – rather than “told” – its story to the world. His narrative draws from three sources: published work, several interviews, and a peek into (mainly) American archives. His technique is the case study.</p>
<p>So he uses the exemplar case of apartheid’s “unorthodox diplomacy” – the well-documented <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/information-scandal">Muldergate</a> scandal of the 1970s. Its infamy was heightened by the fierce interdepartmental rivalry it generated. It also ended the careers of the then-prime minister, <a href="John%20Vorster">John Vorster</a>, and <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/dr-connie-mulder-acquitted-and-discharged-charges-contempt">Connie Mulder</a>, the influential information minister. Mulder was considered to be next in line for the top job.</p>
<p>The conspiracy aimed to buy newspapers in the US with taxpayers’ money. Through these, apartheid’s cause would be promoted in an America in which the issue of human rights was increasingly drawn towards the foreign policy debate. South Africa aimed to tap into a counter-narrative that eventually led to the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/ronaldreagan">Reagan presidency</a>, the rise of free market economics, and the “second” Cold War.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99029/original/image-20151020-32258-wszn9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99029/original/image-20151020-32258-wszn9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99029/original/image-20151020-32258-wszn9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99029/original/image-20151020-32258-wszn9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99029/original/image-20151020-32258-wszn9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99029/original/image-20151020-32258-wszn9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99029/original/image-20151020-32258-wszn9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As Nixon points out several times, the events that culminated in Muldergate were spearheaded by a 30-something former journalist and sometime government information officer. His name was <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/dr-eschel-mostert-rhoodie">Eschel Rhoodie</a>, a controversial character in any book.</p>
<h2>Dubious characters peddling apartheid</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4824471.Eschel_Rhoodie">Paper Curtain</a>, a polemic Eschel Rhoodie wrote, seemingly was the text that enabled South Africa’s traditional diplomacy, modelled on formal state-to-state practice, to change into a policy of buying influence in high places in Washington and other Western capitals.</p>
<p>When the Muldergate ruse was exposed, Rhoodie fled and purported sightings of him came to overshadow the scandal itself. Intrepid South African pressmen finally tracked him down in Ecuador. The occasion was marked by a photograph of him feeding a llama, on the front page of the then-<a href="http://global.britannica.com/topic/Rand-Daily-Mail">Rand Daily Mail</a>.</p>
<p>Nixon has used the seminal account of Muldergate, written by journalists Mervyn Rees and Chris Day, as the basis for his version of the story. So, on the Muldergate case, there’s very little new in the book.</p>
<p>In presenting another case, Nixon turns to another contentious character – <a href="http://www.blackpast.org/aah/yergan-max-1892-1975">Max Yergan</a>, a Black American activist who arrived in South Africa in 1922 to pursue a career in the Young Men’s Christian Association <a href="http://www.ymca.int/who-we-are/">(YMCA)</a>.</p>
<p>Posted to Alice, in the Eastern Cape, Yergan became close to many who would play a role in South Africa’s liberation – <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/john-tengo-jabavu">John Tengo Jabavu</a>, <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/john-langalibalele-dube">John Langalilele Dube</a>, <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/dr-alfred-bathini-xuma">Alfred Xuma</a>, <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/professor-zachariah-keodirelang-matthews">ZK Matthews</a> and <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/govan-mbeki">Govan Mbeki</a>.</p>
<p>Ostensibly monitored by the state’s security apparatus, Yergan gradually lost his faith in Christianity (and in the work of the YMCA) as a force for liberation. During a visit the Soviet Union in 1934, he embraced Marxism. Unsurprisingly, his South African friends found him a “changed” man when he returned to this country.</p>
<p>Three years later, and back in the US, he set up (and served) on various bodies that were the precursor to the worldwide <a href="https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=13718">anti-apartheid movement</a>. In these spaces, Yergan rubbed shoulders with legends of Black American culture and politics: actor <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/paul-robeson-about-the-actor/66/">Paul Robeson</a>, Nobel Laureate <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1950/bunche-bio.html">Ralph J.Bunche</a>, and pan-African intellectual <a href="http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-w.e.b.-dubois">W.E.B du Bois</a>.</p>
<p>But Yergan’s political star was to crash, as the Cold War took hold, in a brutal argument with Robeson. This conflict drove Yergan back towards South Africa in the form of a newly found anti-communism. This was the official <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history">Cold War</a> position of the government in Pretoria that he had once so strongly opposed.</p>
<p>In the 1940s Yergan made several visits to South Africa that were cleared by the FBI and sanctioned by the white government. During the course of these, Yergan and his fierce anti-communist views were spurned by the <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=172">African National Congress</a>, South Africa’s liberation movement, and by the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/south-african-communist-party-sacp">South African Communist Party</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99020/original/image-20151020-32235-xico9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99020/original/image-20151020-32235-xico9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=827&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99020/original/image-20151020-32235-xico9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=827&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99020/original/image-20151020-32235-xico9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=827&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99020/original/image-20151020-32235-xico9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99020/original/image-20151020-32235-xico9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99020/original/image-20151020-32235-xico9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eschel Rhoodie.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Star</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If efforts by white power to directly buy influence in the world – as in the Rhoodie instance – is one case in Nixon’s book, another – represented by the Yergan example – was the failure of Black Americans to understand that they too could be tricked by the persuasive power of the white purse.</p>
<h2>Where books fails and succeeds</h2>
<p>But – and this is a failure of the book intellectually – the comparative value of these two cases, and others of similar ilk in the book, is of limited value. They are not thought through.</p>
<p>Nixon is strongest, empirically, when he is working the Washington patch: his access to individuals and to archival sources has brought several fresh issues to the fore. That said, he is weak on American policy towards apartheid South Africa and how this issue was linked to decolonisation in the subcontinent.</p>
<p>So, the important role of <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/henry-kissinger-9366016">Henry Kissinger</a>, Secretary of State under Richard Nixon, in the making of America’s African policy is poorly considered. When he was US national security advisor, Kissinger was responsible for what was famously called the “Tar Baby” option – America’s policy tilt to governments in Africa’s “white South” and intentionally away from the majority-ruled countries.</p>
<p>This move, more than any other factor, opened the way for Vorster’s government to “sell” its wares to the US and – as Nixon also claims – to its European Cold War allies. Unfortunately, as the focus moves towards these places, the empirical evidence weakens, and speculation drives the story.</p>
<p>Let’s be clear: there is no doubt that successive apartheid governments spent millions (and much energy) cosying up to political parties (and the great-and-good that support them) in the UK, and in Europe. But the deep evidence for this, as presented in these pages, is a thin, thin reed.</p>
<p>There is an important and interesting book to be written on the apartheid’s efforts to peddle its story through unorthodox diplomacy, but this is not it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Vale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The infamous Muldergate scandal of the 1970s was the exemplar case of apartheid’s “unorthodox diplomacy” of buying influence around the world.Peter Vale, Professor of Humanities and the Director of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS), University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/437992015-06-29T15:15:27Z2015-06-29T15:15:27ZWhat discerning book thieves tell us about a country’s reading culture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86360/original/image-20150625-12990-ax2ltn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Book theft in South Africa has recently been under the spotlight.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The catalogue of the Johannesburg Public Library in South Africa contains a poignant entry – “Biko, Steve. Long 0verdue”.</p>
<p>The entry refers to <a href="http://www.siyathanda.org.za/attachments/article/101/60167474-I-Write-What-I-Like-Steve-Biko.pdf">I Write What I Like</a>, a volume of collected writings by <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/stephen-bantu-biko">Steve Biko</a>, the <a href="http://azapo.org.za/about-azapo/black-consciousness/">Black Consciousness</a> leader tortured to death in police custody in 1977. The library used to have six copies of the volume but they have all been borrowed and never returned.</p>
<h2>Pirates of the book world</h2>
<p>Other public libraries in Gauteng, one of South Africa nine provinces and its economic hub, have similar stories to tell. Their copies of Biko have long been kidnapped. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86364/original/image-20150625-12970-1k7eg0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Others writers too are routinely abducted by “bookaneers”. Two current favourites are the political philosophers, <a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/fanon/">Frantz Fanon</a> and <a href="http://witspress.co.za/catalogue/on-the-postcolony/">Achille Mbembe</a>. The University of South Africa library keeps Fanon’s major titles in what it calls a “high-risk archive”. Judging from library records, Mbembe’s works are often checked out but not returned.</p>
<p>Book theft in South Africa has recently been under the spotlight. Last month, Jacana publishers ran a “Hot Reads campaign” featuring their titles that are most frequently shoplifted from South African bookshops. The list is dominated by titles on African political history and biography, including Biko, with some self-help titles thrown in.</p>
<p>In some cases, the patterns of biblio-shoplifting are predictable. <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/2015/05/17/bible-top-of-sa-book-thieves-best-stealer-list">Bibles</a>, religious and self-help books are stolen for resale. This theft reaches across all levels of society – from vagrants stealing newspapers for bedding to book-dealers lifting rare editions from libraries and bookstores.</p>
<p>Yet not all shoplifters pilfer to resell. Those purloining Biko, Fanon and Mbembe want to read them so badly that they will steal them.</p>
<h2>Whose reading culture?</h2>
<p>Can these “bookaneers” teach us anything about reading cultures in South Africa? Can they throw light on the discussions about the white-domination of the literary system that recently surfaced around the <a href="http://flf.bookslive.co.za/">Franschoek Literary Festival</a>?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86363/original/image-20150625-13008-qns5f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Steve Biko’s I Write What I Like.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The novelist <a href="http://panmacmillan.bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/06/23/mandla-langa-says-thando-mgqolozana-is-following-in-bikos-footsteps-and-calls-for-national-writers-conference/">Thando Mgqolozana</a> famously walked out of the festival and the white establishment that it embodies. His exit sparked a debate on “decolonising South African literature”. Dovetailing with the <a href="http://rhodesmustfall.co.za/">Rhodes Must Fall</a> campaign at the University of Cape Town, these discussions have <a href="http://bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/06/15/the-model-needs-to-be-slashed-pumla-dineo-gqola-on-south-africas-white-literary-system/">ranged widely</a>, touching on the structures of publishing, the size of the book market, library funding and the state of education.</p>
<p>One strand in these debates dealt with a recurring theme: the supposed lack of a reading culture in South Africa. This colonial chestnut has been around for a long time and has its roots in imperial ideas where the book was a symbol of English authority but also a “gift” to help “civilise” colonised subjects. These subjects could supposedly never possess the book in the same way as those who had brought it and to whom it apparently “belonged”.</p>
<p>These ideas persist into the present, apparent among those who can only understand a reading culture as what white middle-class folks do. Any other modes of book consumption don’t seem to count as reading.</p>
<p>This narrow view of reading culture has been blown apart as scholars have begun exploring the rich histories of reading in South Africa. Archie Dick’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/History-Africas-Reading-Cultures-Studies/dp/1442615923/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1435138966&sr=1-2&keywords=archie+dick">The Hidden History of South Africa’s Book and Reading Cultures</a> documents common readers excluded by racist structures, actively or passively prevented from reading, but managing to read nonetheless. The book presents a rich cast of characters – slaves, soldiers, political prisoners, township activists, political exiles – and ingenious ways in which they managed to read against the odds.</p>
<p>From a different perspective, Peter McDonald’s <a href="http://www.theliteraturepolice.com/">The Literature Police: Apartheid Censorship and its Cultural Consequences</a> examines the workings of the censorship board and how it formed and deformed ideas about what literature is or should be. </p>
<p>Rachel Matteau interviewed people who read <a href="http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/11776">banned material</a> clandestinely under apartheid and discussed how and where they hid books and how they shared them. </p>
<p>Recently, Caroline Davis and David Johnson’s <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/the-book-in-africa-caroline-davis/">The Book in Africa: Critical Debates</a> decolonises older, colonially shaped accounts of books and reading in Africa. These focus mainly on Christian mission presses while overlooking the pre-colonial Muslim traditions of manuscript book production.</p>
<h2>Reading culture revisited</h2>
<p>The figure of the “bookaneer” looks back to one particular mode of passionate political reading under apartheid – in trade unions, university residences, community groups, debating and discussion groups, people read material deeply, closely and carefully. Much of this material was banned and was passed clandestinely from hand to hand. Dog-eared photocopies circulated among trusted associates.</p>
<p>In these clandestine settings, books became common property. They resembled the <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1520346?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">samizdat</a> or self-published literature in the Soviet Union, a widespread system of underground publishing generally produced on typewriters with carbon paper and passed from hand to hand. </p>
<p>In such contexts of oppression, appropriating books for political ends made sense. This attitude was widespread in radical circles across the world. The famous US anarchist Abbie Hoffman, active in the 1960 and 1970s, produced a volume entitled <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/184085.Steal_This_Book">Steal this Book</a>. </p>
<p>Like readers under apartheid, present-day bookaneers are grappling with pressing political issues. As the Rhodes Must Fall campaign demonstrated, these issues have a strong <a href="http://azapo.org.za/about-azapo/black-consciousness/">Black Consciousness</a> element and address themes of psychological liberation and experiential questions of confronting white domination.</p>
<p>The “kidnapped” writers – Fanon, Biko and Mbembe – deal with the residues of colonial and apartheid violence through psychic questions of the self. These books speak to a new generation in existential and psychic idioms that resonate with the struggles of the present. </p>
<p>In keeping with radical political cultures across the world, readers have turned these books into common property. They have created a particular reading subculture in South Africa that joins a long legacy of inventive and insouciant modes of reading.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43799/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabel Hofmeyr receives funding from the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>The late Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko and political philosophers Frantz Fanon and Achille Mbembe top the list of writers who get routinely abducted by discerning pirates of the book world.Isabel Hofmeyr, Professor of African Literature, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/423322015-05-28T04:07:17Z2015-05-28T04:07:17ZThe books that shaped the rise and fall of the British empire<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83144/original/image-20150527-4818-1bz971c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new collection of essays explores the role of books in founding and dismantling The British empire.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When we talk about books, we generally think only of their inside - the words, ideas and themes that they contain. But what about the outside? Books are objects in the world. They undertake all kinds of work that exceeds just their words - they forge friendships, decorate our houses, store our momentoes and memories. </p>
<p>Books also have active political lives. They inspire social movements and bind people together. Books can stand as short-hand symbols for larger galaxies of ideas. </p>
<p>A new collection of essays <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Books-That-Shaped-British-Empire/dp/0822358271">Ten Books that Shaped the British Empire</a> explores the role of books in founding and dismantling The British empire. Written by scholars from South Africa, India, Barbados, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the US, the volume comprises ten essays, each on a book that shaped British imperial life. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83138/original/image-20150527-4815-79noso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83138/original/image-20150527-4815-79noso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83138/original/image-20150527-4815-79noso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83138/original/image-20150527-4815-79noso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83138/original/image-20150527-4815-79noso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83138/original/image-20150527-4815-79noso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83138/original/image-20150527-4815-79noso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Block-busters and obscure texts</h2>
<p>The ten books include five famous block-busters and five now-obscure texts that in their day were influential. </p>
<p>The five block-busters are imperial or anti-imperial classics: Robert Baden Powell’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scouting-Boys-Handbook-Instruction-Citizenship-ebook/dp/B000RKW5BA">Scouting for Boys (1908)</a>, Charlotte Bronte’s <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm">Jane Eyre (1847)</a>, Thomas Babington Macaulay’s five volume <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1468/1468-h/1468-h.htm">History of England (1848)</a>. The anti-colonial texts are Mohandas Gandhi’s <a href="http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/hind_swaraj.pdf">Hind Swaraj (1909)</a> and <a href="http://www.ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/CLR_James_The_Black_Jacobins.pdf">The Black Jacobins (1938)</a> by CLR James, the famed Caribbean revolutionary thinker. </p>
<p>The lesser-known texts are</p>
<p>• Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Letter-Sydney-Principal-Town-Australasia/dp/B00A2XEV1E">A Letter from Sydney (1827)</a> , influential in the colonisation of New Zealand and Australia.</p>
<p>• Charles Pearson’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/National-character-forecast-Charles-Pearson/dp/B00AR9R8A4">National Life and Character (1893)</a>, an Australian book predicting the rise of Asia and the end of the ‘white man’.</p>
<p>• <a href="https://ia700404.us.archive.org/33/items/acenturyofwrong15175gut/15175-h/15175-h.htm">Century of Wrong (1899)</a>, the pamphlet setting out the Boer cause in the lead up to the Anglo-Boer War. </p>
<p>• <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=gE5zAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=">Totaram Sanadhya’s 1914 Fiji Mein Mere Ekkis Varsh</a> (My Twenty-one Years in Fiji) a Hindi pamphlet opposing indentured labour.</p>
<p>• Gakaara wa Wanjau’s 1960 <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=gdIJAQAAMAAJ&source=gbs_similarbooks">Mihiriga ya Agikuyu</a> (The Clans of the Gikuyu) written in a Mau Mau detention camp.</p>
<h2>How the 10 were chosen</h2>
<p>The volume is edited by a radical historian of empire, Antoinette Burton from the University of Illinois and myself, a scholar of print culture and book history from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.</p>
<p>In our introduction, we say that from the very beginning the book provoked fascination. “Oh wow! Which are the ten books?” was a common response.</p>
<p>While everyone had a different idea of which books should be included, our interlocutors accepted the premise that books could change empires. People envisaged a series of big books that founded empires (<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03086537308582372?journalCode=fich20">John Robert Seeley</a>, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03086537308582372?journalCode=fich20">Charles Dilke</a>, <a href="http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/350925/FD-Lugard">Frederick Lugard</a> were common examples) and a set of equally significant books that ended up dismantling them <a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/fanon/">Frantz Fanon</a>, <a href="http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/87703/Amilcar-Lopes-Cabral">Amilcar Cabral</a>, <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Che_Guevara.aspx">Che Guevara</a>).</p>
<h2>How the books shaped aspects of empire</h2>
<p>In some cases the influence was direct. In 1901, when Australian parliamentarians debated the <a href="http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime/immigration-restriction-act/">Immigration Restriction Bill</a> (a key part of the White Australia policy), the Australian prime minister held up a copy of Pearson’s book and read two passages from it. On the anti-imperial end of the spectrum, CLR James <a href="http://www.ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/CLR_James_The_Black_Jacobins.pdf">Black Jacobins</a> was widely taken as an allegory predicting the end of colonial rule in Africa. </p>
<p>Yet books equally have more diffuse and longer term effects – <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=gdIJAQAAMAAJ&source=gbs_similarbooks">Wanjau’s pamphlet</a> for example was less concerned with direct action against the British than with undertaking the long, slow work of preparing people for independence. </p>
<p>Books were deeply enmeshed with empire and were often used as symbols of British imperial authority, calling-cards of ‘civilization’. As one observer noted, “The English literary text … function[s] as a surrogate Englishman in his highest and most perfect state”. Books were held up as the ‘gift’ of empire and were used to portray colonialism as benign while masking its violent nature. </p>
<p>Books and documents were also instruments of ruling – the <a href="http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/multimedia.php?id=65-259-3">pass book</a> was used to control the movements of black people during apartheid in South Africa.</p>
<p>But books could equally be used by those opposing empire, a provocation to imperial power and a monumental statement of intent. James’ <a href="http://www.ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/CLR_James_The_Black_Jacobins.pdf">Black Jacobins</a>, an account of the late 18th-century slave revolt in Haiti initially appeared in a handsome 328-edition from Secker and Warburg.</p>
<h2>Some came from humble beginnings</h2>
<p>Yet, not all of the 10 books started out as books – many began life as pamphlets or newspaper articles, more humble forms which nonetheless exerted considerable influence. <strong>Century of Wrong</strong> became a calling card for the pro-Boer cause. <strong>Scouting for Boys</strong> appeared first as a newspaper series and then in small handbooks, a format that helped make scouting an international movement. </p>
<p>These texts travelled far and wide at times migrating through different media, appearing as newspaper serials and then rising up into books. Aiding their passage was the vast sprawling periodical and newspaper network that carpeted empire. <strong>Hind Swaraj</strong> began life in Gujarati in a two-part series in Gandhi’s Durban-based newspaper <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/media-and-journalism/history-indian-opinion-newspaper">Indian Opinion</a> before appearing as a booklet translated by Gandhi himself into English. </p>
<p>These streams of print culture made up the sinews and arteries of empire, linking its supporters while offering a mode of communication to its opponents. Access to this field of print culture was uneven and unequal, affected by capital, literacy, censorship. </p>
<p>Yet, much of this printed matter was not copyrighted – all periodicals for example legally reprinted material from each other. These carpets of print culture created a type of commons across empire, a zone of textual production not owned by one person. </p>
<p>Books in empire were dispersed across time and space – they were not bounded events. As instruments for and against empire, they formed part of the sprawling assemblage of the British empire, both extending its reach and limiting its legitimacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42332/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabel Hofmeyr receives funding from National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Books have active political lives. They inspire social movements and bind people together. Books can stand as short-hand symbols for larger galaxies of ideas.Isabel Hofmeyr, Professor of African Literature , University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.