Racialization and Resistance in South African Education

• In Event: The World Yearbook of Education 2023: Racialization and Resistance

Proposal

This paper begins with an overview of the genesis and history of racialization in education in South Africa before discussing contemporary forms of “race” and class stratification in education. The paper argues that present-day educational segregation in post-apartheid South Africa must be examined with reference to the history of racial capitalism and to contemporary socio-economic and political disadvantage and patterns of inequality in society. The paper asserts that racism in education does not constitute an autonomous form of oppression but is inextricably linked to power relations and reproduced in conjunction with class, gender, and other inequalities. Education is embedded in social class relations and largely reflects and reinforces the inequalities in a racial capitalist society. The paper also documents resistance in South African education by focusing on the “Fees Must Fall” protests by university students.

Author

• Salim Vally, University of Johannesburg