Black students’ experiences of transformation at a previously “white only” South African university: a photovoice study

Cornell, Josephine; Kessi, Shose

doi:10.1080/01419870.2016.1206586

Cited by 51 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The student protest movements at UCT (RMF 2015), submissions from students and staff to UCT's Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC 2019), and inputs from university members during discussions about the student mental health policy proposed that "mental health difficulties" among black students at UCT are often a proxy for systemic inequality and exclusion within a historically white institution. Examples of such systemic experiences have been documented in detail elsewhere (see Cornell and Kessi 2017;IRTC 2019;Swartz et al 2018). Within this discourse, the apparent crisis of student mental health at UCT does not reflect an increasingly "mentally disordered" student population but, rather, failures of institutional transformation.…”

Section: Competing Discoursesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Developing a student mental health policy for a South African university: Consultation, contestation and compromise

Kaminer

Shabalala²

2019

SAJHE

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Given high rates of student mental health difficulties globally, the need for universities to have a student mental health policy has been increasingly recognised. In the South African context, such policies must not only balance the mental health needs of students with the realistic constraints of university resources in a time of austerity, but also engage with complexities posed by the Global North foundations of the fields of psychology and psychiatry and the systemic determinants of mental health. This article describes the development of a student mental health policy at a South African university, with a focus on points of contestation that emerged out of a broad-based institutional consultation process. Areas of contestation included the scope of university support for student mental health, defining mental health difficulties, the use of a disability framework for mental health, and processes of verification. All of these were embedded within a broader tension between health and social justice discourses. The compromises that were designed to balance these complexities within the student mental health policy are discussed, and reflections are offered that may inform the development of student mental health policies at other South African universities.

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Section: Competing Discoursesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Developing a student mental health policy for a South African university: Consultation, contestation and compromise

Kaminer

Shabalala²

2019

SAJHE

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“…Introducing feminist and humanities inspired methodologies which are intrinsically linked to subjectivities has not been easy when colleges making decisions on ethics approvals note that any project associated with these notions are ‘minimally objective’ 27. The struggle to even gain permission to undertake a research project that makes use of a methodology that is known on other parts of the campus but not considered appropriate for the ‘objective’ health sciences makes interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary work taxing 28. Despite the struggles, the SSM has provided insights into students’ experiences on the campus and created a space where students have been able to grapple with feelings of alienation and further develop theoretical tools to understand the intersections of power and privilege discussed in CHH.…”

Section: Critical Health Humanities: a Course A Thread An Uncomfortmentioning

confidence: 99%

Walking up hills, through history and in-between disciplines: MHH and Health Sciences Education at the tip of Africa

Tsampiras

2018

Med Humanities

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Celebration, frustration, contestation and imagination all manifest themselves when examining the evolution of the field of Medical and Health Humanities (MHH) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). That this field has been growing at the same time as access to, inclusion in, and social justice issues linked to higher education have come under the spotlight has the potential to shape how we think and plan for the future of the field. Doing this will require treks up hills, journeys through difficult histories and dynamic dances in-between disciplines.This article examines MHH at UCT broadly, referring to projects and programmes that are underway primarily in the humanities and health sciences faculties. From this overview, the article specifically examines the curricula changes introduced in the Faculty of Health Sciences inspired by MHH and the author’s interest in historical consciousness. It describes current points of intervention in physiotherapy and MBChB undergraduate curricula; and through short-term special study modules that have allowed those interested in MHH to explore relationships between health and healing and art, music, writing, yoga, PhotoVoice, drama, drawing and complex histories.It discusses some of the challenges of introducing humanities teaching into health sciences curricula; and some of the tensions that result from the meeting of divergent epistemologies and pedagogies. The article considers if, and how, MHH might engage with social (in)justice, and inclusions and exclusions and potentially offer a balm to soothe the bruising effects of oppressive histories and a hegemonically hierarchical present.

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“…In many universities, deeply entrenched patterns of institutional behavior remain racialised, hetero-patriarchal, middle-class, and Euro-American (Sennett et al 2003;Walker 2005;Woods 2001) causing those who fall outside of certain categories to question their belonging within them (Read, Archer and Leathwood 2003). Consequently, the lived experiences of many students in higher education institutions do not reflect the positive gains anticipated by the transition to democracy as many experience the university environment as alienating (Cornell and Kessi 2016;Kessi and Cornell 2015;Soudien et al 2008). Student protests across South Africa and internationally are indicative of the need for change and for creating spaces of belonging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photovoice as a narrative tool for decolonization: Black women and LGBT student experiences at UCT

Kessi¹

2018

SAJHE

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Decolonization is a key term in the current higher education crisis across South African universities as student movements are advocating for free decolonized education. In this article, I explore how Photovoice research, as a narrative approach combined with participatory action methods, can engage a group of black, working-class, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) to explore their daily experiences on campus in relation to the call for decolonization. Findings demonstrate how naming decolonization allows students to locate their own experiences within a context of power relations and expose alienating institutional legacies. Of particular relevance are the experiences of students of diverse gendered identities whose daily struggles are often rendered invisible through multiple bureaucratic and cultural assumptions. Students spoke about the violence of institutional spaces, the policing of their bodies and the silencing of alternative ways of knowing and doing.

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Black students’ experiences of transformation at a previously “white only” South African university: a photovoice study

Cited by 51 publications

References 21 publications

Developing a student mental health policy for a South African university: Consultation, contestation and compromise

Developing a student mental health policy for a South African university: Consultation, contestation and compromise

Walking up hills, through history and in-between disciplines: MHH and Health Sciences Education at the tip of Africa

Photovoice as a narrative tool for decolonization: Black women and LGBT student experiences at UCT

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