The Production of Preindustrial South African History

Hamilton, Carolyn; Mbenga, Bernard; Ross, Robert

doi:10.1017/chol9780521517942.002

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In this article, we focus on three roughly contemporaneous large, agglomerated farming settlements in the Magaliesberg Mountain region in the north-western interior of South Africa: Marothodi (AD 1815–1823), Molokwane (AD 1790–1823) and Kaditshwene (AD 1650–1828; Figure 1a). The precise dating of the sites is a result of correlations of ethnohistorical accounts with archaeological research (see Hall 2010: 148–54 for an overview). The population of Kaditshwene is estimated at 15 000 inhabitants (Boeyens 2003), while estimates for Molokwane and Marothodi are 12 000 and 7000, respectively (Hall 2010: 152).…”

Section: Scope and Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequality or insecurity? The case of pre-colonial farming communities in southern Africa

Siteleki,

Fredriksen

2024

Antiquity

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Comparative studies of inequality based on archaeological data rely on universal notions of status or prestige that are not always meaningful across diverse cultural contexts. Here, the authors evaluate three broadly contemporaneous urban communities (Marothodi, Molokwane and Kaditshwene) in the southern African interior in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries AD. The study combines a statistical measure of inequality, the Gini coefficient, with insights from the rich ethnohistorical archives of African knowledge systems. The results suggest markedly different levels of inequality, but contextualisation points to divergent social strategies for settlement organisation and for managing sociopolitical insecurity. The findings raise important questions about cross-cultural indices of social inequality.

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Section: Scope and Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequality or insecurity? The case of pre-colonial farming communities in southern Africa

Siteleki,

Fredriksen

2024

Antiquity

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“…Under Apartheid, restrictions on the movements of black South Africans led to a migrant labour system which required mine workers to live and work on the country’s mines, while their families remained in the rural “homelands”. In addition to poor living conditions created by a shortage of suitable accommodation, the effect was to disrupt normal family life, leading to a host of social challenges (Hamilton et al , 2009; Welsh, 2011). Consequently, mining companies are required to make significant improvements to the standards of living and housing by converting hostels to family units, reducing occupancy rates and supporting home ownership (Department of Mineral Resources, 2010).…”

Section: Marikana and The South African Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the temporal dimension of legitimisation strategies

Maroun

2018

QRAM

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how social disclosures by one of the world’s largest producers of Platinum Group Metals are used to maintain and repair legitimacy in the context of South Africa’s prevailing socio-economic conditions and in response to the immediate challenge to legitimacy posed by violent worker demonstrations taking place at its operations in Marikana during August 2012. This is done to highlight how legitimacy strategies take account of the temporal characteristics of a threat to legitimacy and how these, in turn, may constrain the need for far-reaching organisational change. Design/methodology/approach Suchman’s (1995) outline of legitimacy theory and Laughlin’s (1991) model of organisational change provide a frame of reference for a detailed thematic content analysis which identifies the use of different strategies by an organization to respond to threats to its credibility and how these impact, resulting changes to business philosophies, policies and systems. Findings The study highlights the temporal dimension of legitimisation strategies. Social-related disclosures provided by the case entity in response to labour unrest are aimed at addressing both the episodic and continual threat to legitimacy resulting from the unfavourable event. These also have the effect of limiting the extent of internal changes to select business policies and sub-systems. Carefully managing legitimacy allows the case entity to avoid the need to reformulate its business ethos. Research limitations/implications The study deals only with a single case organisation. Although the emphasis is on highlighting themes and principles, results are not necessarily applicable in different contexts. Related to this, although the study deals with a major South African mining company, it does not prove the relevance of local cultural differences to the legitimisation process. Originality/value The study dispenses with the use of proxies, such as frequencies of disclosures, to demonstrate how organisations use non-financial reporting to secure legitimacy. Instead, it offers a detailed account of how different sub-sets of legitimacy are being mobilised in corporate reports response to long-term and episodic legitimacy considerations. In addition, the study offers one of the first interpretive accounts of how strategies used to manage legitimacy may constrain the potential of a material external shock resulting in internal organisational change. Finally, the study offers one of the first examples of the operation of legitimacy and organisational change theory from the African Continent.

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“…62 Space constraints do not allow for a detailed analysis of every source for every episode listed in Table 3. It should suffice to say that, of the sixteen episodes listed, only four (# 4, 8, 12, 16) come to us from European sources, and these relate only to the presence or absence of Rharhabe at specific places or specific times.…”

Section: Part Iii: Rethinking Rharhabementioning

confidence: 99%