Siphiwe Ignatius Dube | University of the Witwatersrand (original) (raw)

Papers by Siphiwe Ignatius Dube

This article takes cue from Sarojini Nadar’s article analysing the Mighty Men Conference (MMC) in... more This article takes cue from Sarojini Nadar’s article analysing the Mighty Men Conference (MMC) in South Africa as a case study of masculinism, where the author makes some passing comparison between Promise Keepers in America (PKA) and the MMC in South Africa. This article investigates the specific ways in which PKA and MMC are ideologically similar, while also evaluating how their differences accrue dissimilar results with respect to their missions on race reconciliation. The article argues that despite their shared religious similarities as evangelical Christian men’s organisations and perceptions regarding the ‘crisis in/of
masculinity’, race discourse plays different roles in the ministries of PKA and MMC. The key observation arising from addressing this discourse is that in the context of PKA, the organisation’s institutional focus on race translates itself into discussions and debates about race reconciliation amongst the various racialised men of the movement as part of the
organisation’s work of self-transformation. However, such talk, although present at the individual level to some extent in the MMC, is absent at the institutional level. The absence of such discourse is especially problematic given the visibility of race in public discourse in South Africa, in general, and also points to a masked refusal to give up white male privilege in the post-apartheid public sphere.

The “crisis in/of masculinity” is a concept now used worldwide to draw attention to problems conf... more The “crisis in/of masculinity” is a concept now used worldwide to draw attention to problems confronting men, despite its American origin focused on documenting the responses of men to changing work and family structures. In the context of South Africa, the concept has been further used, especially, in the analysis of such social phenomena as gender-based violence and unemployment. While this gendered lens has offered useful insights it has also relied heavily on a primary focus on the negative elements of the masculine attitudes and behaviours. Moreover, in the South African context, the concentration on black men’s experiences has given exaggerated emphasis to the destructive and anti-social aspects of such experiences, which have also been incorporated into both thin and thick descriptions of a general construction of “black masculinities.” The result, as this article shows with regards an analysis of certain South African research on “black masculinities,” is that black men are held responsible for social ills. The article examines debates dealing with representations of “black masculinities” in South Africa and urges for more complex analyses of such masculinities. Such analyses should take into account the nuanced ways in which both “hegemonic masculinities” and “black masculinities” are constituted and contested.

Chelsea Horton and Tolly Bradford, eds. Mixed Blessings: Indigenous Encounters with Christianity ... more Chelsea Horton and Tolly Bradford, eds. Mixed Blessings: Indigenous Encounters with Christianity in Canada. Vancouver/Toronto: UBC Press, 2016, 145-163

Drawing on key aspects of Muscular Christianity identified through this movement’s literature, th... more Drawing on key aspects of Muscular Christianity identified through this movement’s literature, this article ventures that the major contemporary Evangelical Christian men’s movement in South Africa, the Mighty Men Conference (MMC), draws on and harkens back to the concerns of the Victorian era of Muscular Christianity. Moreover, the article argues that this reversion should be of concern in the context of a post-apartheid and postcolonial South Africa where both women’s rights and human rights (especially encompassing racial equality) now form the core of the country’s identity. In other words, the MMC’s call to men to reclaim their top position is problematic even while it comes from a place of concern regarding the changing role of men in a transitional South African landscape.

Religious Studies and Theology, Dec 2014

This article addresses two questions regarding the Christian men's organization Promise Keepers C... more This article addresses two questions regarding the Christian men's organization Promise Keepers Canada (PKC). First, why is it that despite Canada's geographical and cultural proximity to the United States, the PKC has not followed the same historical trajectory and elicited similarly negative responses as its American counterpart? Second, is there something particular about Canadian experiences of masculinities that accounts for the differences? The article uses the concept of "culture wars" as one of the keys to explaining the differences in public reception. The article also demonstrates that PKC participates within a largely intersubjective tradition of masculine identity formation that is particular to Canada. While acknowledging that the discourse of relationality has resulted in a more interdependent or intersubjective notion of religious hegemonic masculinities in the Canadian context, the article also notes the limits of this discourse.

Drawing on Judith Newton’s idea of “male romance” this article analyses the representations of Am... more Drawing on Judith Newton’s idea of “male romance” this article analyses the representations of American masculinit(y)ies in the film Toy Story 2. In tracing how Toy Story 2 deals with traits identified by Newton as constituting “male romance,” the article aims to, first, raise questions regarding the role of popular media in both reinforcing and challenging the prevalent ideas of “normative” masculine gender performativity in American culture. As the article argues, such scrutiny is especially significant in light of the target audience of this movie series, namely, children. The second aim, which is articulated through the argument that the representations and treatment of the discourse of masculinit(y)ies in the film Toy Story 2 are informed by the same concerns raised by proponents of the “crisis of masculinity” argument, is to challenge the ways in which both the proponents and detractors of the “crisis of masculinity” discourse gloss over the complexity of masculine identity-formation in settling for or against a singular hegemonic ideal of masculinity within American culture. That is, rather than simply pandering to the dominant narrative of loss within the discourse of the “crisis of masculinity,” the article argues that Toy Story 2 also offers examples of the re-inscription of the hegemonic masculine identity along the lines proposed by Newton regarding certain types of men’s movements, such as The Promise Keepers, in America; where such men’s movements re-negotiate masculine gender performance through reconfigured scripts about fatherhood in particular. In this sense, my discussion further highlights how the themes of agency and subjectivity in male identity-formation need to be perspicaciously attended to in similar ways that are taken as norm in feminist discussions of intersecting matrices of power in regards to women and gender.

This essay offers a reading of religion in the novel A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courte... more This essay offers a reading of religion in the novel A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche that draws on an analysis of “evil” as a specifically “Christian” religious category that calls forth a response of justice to the genocide based on a broad view of ethics. In particular, the essay draws on Paul Ricoeur’s idea of evil as aporia to make its case for how religion functions in the novel ethically, both as a response to the genocide and as part of the problem of the genocide. What the article is significantly concerned with is articulating and delineating how to engage religious discourse in talking about evil in the Rwandan genocide as a problem of ethics in particular, but also to raise another way in which philosophy of religion can be brought to bear on contemporary issues beyond just the “western” context. As a result of addressing the tension between the sheer impossibility of the genocide and the cleft of its historical propensity, as this article argues, Courtemanche’s novel is shown to be useful for reinscribing what we define as religion (and analogously ethics) as having to do with meaning-making systems or worldviews that, in general, address issues of ultimate concern (or ultimate good in the case of ethics).

On the basis of an analysis of the concept of democracy as championed by the Truth and Reconcilia... more On the basis of an analysis of the concept of democracy as championed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (henceforth the TRC or the Commission), this essay recognizes that in order to balance the tension between the new democratic ethos, which allows its citizens to voice dissent without the fear of being crushed, and the goal of fostering cohesion/solidarity so as to stabilize the newly formed volatile body politic, the government opted to create the TRC. The esssay argues that the Commission was a transitional institution which, during its tenure (1996-2001), functioned as the new constitutive body concerning issues of truth and reconciliation that was, however, open to criticism, albeit in a very limited form. This limitation is best illustrated by the performative nature of the TRC – as seen through the Human Rights Violations hearings – which has allowed certain acts and prohibited others; as well as by the insistence on a pragmatic approach to truth and the conflation of the varied concepts of reconciliation for mostly national interests. This performance tension – between Truth and truths, national and individual reconciliation, the personal and the public, goal and process, positivism and dialecticism - has, in turn, created a performative contradiction within the TRC’s own raison d'être, thus necessitating different forms of critique in dealing with it. In other words, this essay argues that there is a need to extrapolate the Commission’s reasoning from its practices in order to be able to assess its place in the continuum of post-apartheid South African discourse on amnesty, democracy, justice, memory, truth, reconciliation and whatever else it saw in its purview to engage.

This chapter explores the representations of hegemonic Christian masculinities in Canada, with a ... more This chapter explores the representations of hegemonic Christian masculinities in Canada, with a view to similarities and differences across the Protestant and Catholic traditions. Furthermore, the chapter discusses very briefly how non-majority religious traditions can begin to navigate hegemonic masculinit(y)ies messages, especially in light of their own constructions
of masculinit(y)ies.

In the conclusionary remarks of her study on Suniti Namjoshi subtitled The Artful Transgressor, C... more In the conclusionary remarks of her study on Suniti Namjoshi subtitled The Artful Transgressor, C. Vijayasree argues that in Namjoshi’s writing transgression is used as a mode of articulating resistance (158). Trangression as opposed to aggression, according to Vijayasree, affords Namjoshi’s fiction a transformative role rather than just a polemic one. The implication of course being that it is more useful to transform than to reject completely and start afresh. This theme of transformation, which Namjoshi addresses in her work Building Babel, is also present in the original myth of the Biblical narrative from which Namjoshi’s work is based: (Gen. 11:1, 4, 9). Other than the fear of being scattered upon the face of the earth, no other reason is given for the endeavor of building the tower in the Biblical narrative. Apparently transformation is just good and that’s that.

Similarly, in Namjoshi’s Building Babel there is no reason given for embarking on the building project except “perhaps an urgent need,” as one of the narrators suggests at the beginning (Namjoshi 30). This essay argues that part of Namjoshi’s concern in Building Babel is with the notions of subjectivity and resistance, dealt with via a reworking of a familiar myth. My driving question will be this: How can one escape the strictures of a prior myth whilst trying to forge a new one without being totally overwhelmed and achieving nothing in the end – or confused as were the initial Babel builders and the women of Namjoshi’s new Babel? That is to say, how does subjectivity, and consequently myth, as an oppressive mode relate to subjectivity as a mode of transformative resistance, or myth as transformable and transforming? I deal with this question via a reading of Namjoshi through Judith Butler’s ideas on subjectivity.

International Journal of Transitional Justice, Jan 1, 2011

The article argues that narratives of transitional justice have been placed on a somewhat unexami... more The article argues that narratives of transitional justice have been placed on a somewhat unexamined pedestal in the social sciences and the humanities. Within such narratives, transitional justice, as both a phenomenon and a conceptual tool, is regarded as inevitable and commonplace for anyone wishing to address the issue of past human rights violations. The article suggests that while the concept of transition, strictly speaking, is merely descriptive of processes of change and thereby assumedly a neutral signifier, it has been positively oversignified by various fields of study. The article also examines literary narratives that have political transitions as their foci, proposing that a literary theory approach to transitional narratives should not be dictated only by the privileged themes, forms and narrative structures of the normative narratives of transitional justice (such as truth commission reports), but be open to fictional narratives as having something valuable to contribute within the context of political transitions.

Religious Studies and Theology, Jan 1, 2010

This article analyses rapper NAS’ video entitled “Hate Me Now” as an instance of his broader self... more This article analyses rapper NAS’ video entitled “Hate Me Now” as an instance of his broader self-perception/self-construction/self-affirmation/self-proclamation as the Messiah of hip-hop and a rap-prophet making proclamations on American socio-political and religious values. In particular, the article locates and evaluates the significance of the video within the broader context of the artist’s ambiguous negotiation of the relationship between religion(s) and hip-hop – explicitly rap music – that extends beyond the usual blues connection. The article makes the claim that through rap music and other aspects of hip-hop culture, certain hip-hop artists see themselves as performing the role that they believe religious leaders and politicians seem to have failed at fulfilling. In this sense, NAS’ soteriological self-portraiture in the video analysed in this essay, and his musical career in general, is more than simply metaphoric, but enters into the realm of the metonymic, thus opening up space for a reconfiguration of not only hip-hop as another source of a religious sensibility, but also of “religion” as another commodity in the diverse marketplace of worldviews that give meaning to our everyday reality.

"Despite the length of time that has passed since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sout... more "Despite the length of time that has passed since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (TRC) declared its duties done, it continues to have far-reaching consequences for the understanding and treatment of the issues of forgiveness, justice, memory, truth, and reconciliation within South Africa. This legacy, however, also extends beyond the South African context. Since other such Commissions have sprung up elsewhere in the world, it is imperative that the TRC, currently regarded as paradigmatic in the approach now taken for granted in dealing with post-conflict reconciliation, be thoroughly examined in order that its legacy may prove more positive and expansive.

The three aims of my dissertation are: first, critically to examine the underlying assumptions of the TRC's employment and application of the concepts of truth and reconciliation. I assume no originality in engaging in such an examination, but where I do assume originality is in my employment of theorists from the early Frankfurt School of Critical Theory in dealing with both these concepts.

Second, I consider the ways in which post-apartheid fictional literature has responded to the notions of truth and reconciliation, with particular focus on whether this response sanctions or challenges the TRC's assumptions. One of the observations I underscore is that there is a sense of challenge that arises out of the autonomy of literature as an artistic medium. Put in the form of a question: do the response of literature to the work of the Commission, and the Commission's engagement with the literary mode, help elucidate the concepts of truth and reconciliation both for the Commission itself and the larger South African community?

Third, I examine how the narratives of truth and reconciliation as espoused by the Commission are driven primarily by a religious thrust; a thrust that the Commission uses to its advantage by pointing it back to the South African public as the public's own 'natural' discourse. Through the TRC, religion re-enters the public sphere as normative discourse, thus demanding serious engagement as it now forms part of the discursive narrative on the ethical and moral constitution of the nation."

High levels of poverty and unemployment in South Africa specifically and Africa in general has ne... more High levels of poverty and unemployment in South Africa specifically and Africa in general has necessitated the formation of a division within the Bohlale People Group called Bohlale Conversations - Africa’s Think-Tank on entrepreneurship. Bohlale Conversations are premised on the belief that in order to develop effective strategies that can reduce high levels of poverty and unemployment, individuals and communities have to be creative, think deeply, and get to the core of why poverty and unemployment are so high. Bohlale’s solution, through Bohlale Conversation, is aimed at addressing the interconnectedness of:

South Africa’s apartheid legacy, which remains an impediment in socio-economic efforts to reverse the impacts of decades of deprivation;

Poor education standards, which fail to stimulate the culture of post-school self-sustenance through entrepreneurship (e.g. seeking employment instead of creating employment);

Inadequate skill levels even among university graduates (e.g. personal mastery skills); and

Insufficient resources to enable start-ups to establish and survive to profitable levels.

These conversations are intended to provide dialoguing space towards creative self-reinventing and aim to bridge the gap between prevailing individuals’/businesses’ positions to desired levels of optimal functioning.

Over the years, amaKasi (Townships) have developed an iconic profile in South African society, re... more Over the years, amaKasi (Townships) have developed an iconic profile in South African society, representing the very heart of where the struggle for freedom was waged, and where many of today’s leaders, including famous politicians, artists, business icons, sportsmen and women were born and grew up. However, since South Africa’s democratic elections of 1994, conditions in most urban Kasis have not improved significantly. Over the years there has been a proliferation of informal settlements with more households continuing to live in informal settlements where there is lack of full access to municipal services.

This highlights the fact that what happened prior to 1994 continues to plague amaKasi and maintains their status as Communities in Need of Renewal (CINORs). AmaKasi have largely operated and functioned in isolation from the mainstream economy and society, and have been associated with racial segregation, exclusion, and the marginal provision of services and economic opportunities.

Clearly there is need for empowerment, development, and renewal in CINORs. RCEP recognizes that such development needs and empowerment opportunities are specific to each CINOR, and that it is also necessary to engage projects of renewal that address CINORs as a conglomerate in order to accelerate renewal initiatives broadly and nationally.

Solution
RCEP envisages being instrumental in fast-tracking and facilitating the implementation of a number of initiatives to transform and better integrate these areas within the broader Metropolitan communities of which they are a part. The ultimate aim is, primarily, to decrease the disparity between the haves and the have-nots and the privileged and under-privileged.

RCEP works with youth, women, teachers, schools, parents, professionals, and other stakeholders to provide and nurture comprehensive and holistic renewal and development initiatives for CINORs. RCEP delivers its programmes through a combination of awareness-raising workshops, interactive group activities, one-on-one mentoring, community-led projects, government initiatives, as well as private sector training programmes and initiatives.