Clearing the Scepticism: Social Movements within the University Context

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This research went beyond the anecdotal to the empirical vis-à-vis an analysis of identity politics and its meaning within a university context. Basing politics on a particular collective identity has often been perceived to be the basis for dissociation, defeatism, exclusion, and separatism. This has resulted in a skeptical reception of groups that base their politics on a collective identity, be they movements premised on feminism, general workers’ movements or students’ movements. Basing on the case of Matabeleland Development Society (MDS), this study unearthed the above assumptions that underlie the political critics of identity politics. The said organization is a social movement that was formed in 1992 at the University of Zimbabwe by, and for, students originating from Matabeleland and some parts of the Midlands Province. Matabeleland is a province in Zimbabwe, and the underpinning objective of the MDS, as stated in its Constitution, is to champion the socio-politico-economic development of their regions of origin. Members of the MDS base their politics on a collective ethnic identity that stems from their belonging to the Matabele ethnic group. Research findings in this treatise are based on in-depth unstructured personal interviews that were conducted among some selected members of the MDS through snowballing. The research also utilized documented evidence such as the MDS Constitution, which contains the history of the MDS. Findings from this study revealed that criticisms levelled against social movements have often missed their real nature. Basing politics on a collective identity is not synonymous with separatism. Neither is it an attempt to overemphasize difference.

Stream: Ethnicity, Difference, Identity

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Charles Dube, MSc in Sociology and Social Anthropology, is currently pursuing a Master of Social Science in Development Studies with the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. He has presented papers in a number of conferences in many countries.His research is interdisciplinary, focusing on disability studies, identity politics, environment, and HIV and AIDS.