Book Review: Migrant Women of Johannesburg: Life in an in-Between City

Review of Migrant Women of Johannesburg: Life in an in-Between City by Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, Wits University Press, 2013

Contradictory location of the black woman passport academic: Embrace, alienation and vulnerability

This article is a narration of two black women’s experiences and perceptions of inclusion and/or exclusion within the academy arising out of their identity as ‘passport academics’. The inter-relation of nationality, ethnicity and race as identity markers creates power dynamics that lead to conflicting and competing expectations depending on whose discourse holds sway. The competing expectations form the nexus of the contradictory location leading to an identity crisis of a particular kind. Using an auto-ethnographic approach, the authors describe critical incidences in the course of social and academic relationships within the university which were interpreted as instances of ‘othering’. Alternate perceptions and feelings of embrace, alienation, and vulnerability by both black women ‘passport academics’ and black women South African academics are described. These reveal complex identity issues in which, sadly, black academics’ feelings of affirmation are still seen through the eyes of their white academic colleagues. The irony is that colleagues of different racial categories originating from the same foreign country are often perceived and labelled differently as either ‘outsiders’ or ‘insiders’. It is interesting how the apparent invisibility of one racial category affords people the privilege of global citizenship, while the visibility of blackness opens people to the scrutiny of national origins. What also emerges is that current discourses of transformation and diversity within the university seem to be struggling under the weight of a nationalistic turn. The authors conclude by suggesting that recovering the ‘academic’ rather than projecting nationality might be more productive and beneficial to all

Experiences of black women teacher educators in the South African higher education system

The documenting of black women’s past and current experiences within academia remains important despite the apparent opening up of opportunities for the formerly excluded. This is due to the need to confront the twin edifices of domination and marginalisation arising from the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. Within the context of discourses on transformation, it is critical to take stock of the extent to which universities have created supportive and enabling environments that take account of the diverse and unequal backgrounds of their academics – especially women. This introductory article serves to initiate aspects of the debates that inform the narratives of a group of black women academics who are university-based teacher educators and to raise questions about their positioning within tertiary institutions which remain relevant even under a democratic and inclusive dispensation

Experiences of black women teacher educators in the South African higher education system: initiating debate

The documenting of Black women’s past and current experiences within academia remains important despite the apparent opening up of opportunities for the formerly excluded. This is due to the need to confront the twin edifices of domination and marginalisation arising from the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. Within the context of discourses on transformation, it is critical to take stock of the extent to which universities have created supportive and enabling environments that take account of the diverse and unequal backgrounds of their academics, especially women. This introductory paper serves to initiate aspects of the debates that inform the narratives of a group of Black women academics who are university-based teacher educators and to raise questions about their positioning within tertiary institutions which remain relevant even under a democratic and inclusive dispensation. Key words: Black women, academics, identity, narrative, teacher education, South Africa, universit

Contradictory location of the Black woman passport academic: Embrace, alienation and vulnerability

This paper is a narration of two Black women’s experiences and perceptions of inclusion and or exclusion within the academy arising out of their identity as “passport academics”. The inter-relation of nationality, ethnicity and race as identity markers creates power dynamics that lead to conflicting and competing expectations depending on whose discourse holds sway. The competing expectations form the nexus of the contradictory location leading to an identity crisis of a particular kind. Using an auto-ethnographic approach, we describe critical incidences in the course of social and academic relationships within the university which were interpreted as instances of “othering”. Alternate perceptions and feelings of embrace, alienation, and vulnerability by both Black women “passport academics” and Black women South African academics are described. These reveal complex identity issues in which sadly, Black academics’ feelings of affirmation are still seen through the eyes of their White academic colleagues. The irony is that colleagues of different races originating from the same foreign country are often perceived and labelled differently as “outsiders” or “insiders”. It is interesting how one race’s apparent invisibility affords it the privilege of global citizenship while the visibility of Blackness opens one to the scrutiny of national origins. What also emerges is that current discourses of transformation and diversity within the university seem to be struggling under the weight of a nationalistic turn. We conclude by suggesting that recovering the “academic” rather than projecting nationality might be more productive and beneficial to all. Key words: Black woman academic, contradictory location, identity, nationality, passport academic, othering, race, South Africa, universit