Between Enslavement and Liberation. Narratives of Belonging from Two Farm Workers in Rural South Africa

Jan K. Coetzee; Asta Rau

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.13.1.02

Authors

Jan K. Coetzee University of the Free State, South Africa
Asta Rau University of the Free State, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.13.1.02

Keywords:

Interpretive Sociology of the Everyday, Narratives of Belonging, Farm Workers in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

More than two decades after the genesis of South Africa’s aspirational democracy in 1994, deep-seated forms of inequality still exist. These are explored in the narratives of two farm workers who tell of events and experiences in their everyday lives. In probing the everyday, we turn the spotlight on phenomena, events, and experiences that are simultaneously familiar yet perplexing, taken-for-granted yet questionable, tangible yet elusive. As a backdrop to the sociology of the everyday, key ideas from three social theorists — Randall Collins, Jeffrey Alexander, and Vanessa May — guide our interpretation of excerpts from the farm workers’ narratives. The farm workers’ stories are also juxtaposed with reflections on the socio-political, economic, and emotional contexts of slavery and serfdom.

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Author Biographies

Jan K. Coetzee, University of the Free State, South Africa

Jan K. Coetzee is a Senior Professor of Sociology and Director of the program The Narrative Study of Lives in the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He specializes in qualitative sociology and serves on several international advisory boards.

Asta Rau, University of the Free State, South Africa

Asta Rau is the Director of the Centre for Health Systems Research & Development at the University of the Free State, South Africa. She works in qualitative research and is currently leading a project in partnership with the University of Antwerp on perceptions of stigma among healthcare workers.

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