Young and upwardly mobile:voices fromhistorically disadvantaged groups

[摘要] English: South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994 signalled a fundamental shift in the country's social environment. The institutionalized racism that once subjugated the Black majority during apartheid gave way to legislature that aims to bring South Africa into a wholly new era of egalitarianism, the most striking result of which has been the steady influx of young Black people achieving upward mobility and making the transition into the middle- and upper-classes. The aim of this study is to conduct a phenomenological exploration into young Black South Africans' lived experiences of upward mobility (the transition from a lower to a higher social class) with the express purpose of understanding how they construct their identities, both subjectively and in their interactions with others.Although there has been considerable interest in South Africa's Black Diamonds and Buppies (as upwardly mobile Black people are often referred to), academic work on the upward mobility of Black people has largely been limited to quantitative studies in the field of economics and market research. This study thus attempts to fill a gap in the academic literature by offering insight into young Black South Africans' subjective experiences of upward mobility and identity navigation.The foundation of this study is guided by the philosophical principles of interpretive research. As such, the aim is not to provide an objective explanation of the research participants' experiences, but to explore how they perceive various experiences from their own unique perspectives. The research participants for this study are comprised of young, Black South Africans (between the ages of 18 and 30) who reside in the Bloemfontein area of Central South Africa. They are also specifically chosen to participate in this study because they have acquired professional occupations through educational attainment, which has placed them in a social position that is comparatively higher in the social hierarchy than that of their parents.The data for this study is collected by way of one-one-one interviews and a focus group discussion. The ultimate aim of the data collection is to obtain data that gets as close as possible to providing a first-hand account of the participants' experiences with upward mobility and identity. This study therefore makes use of a narrative-centred approach to research, and the research participants' stories are analysed according to an analytical framework known as the narrative practice approach. Rather than focusing purely on the content of the research participants' stories, the narrative practice approach also focuses this study's attention on how they tell their stories.The findings presented in this study touch upon numerous aspects of young Black South Africans' lived experiences of upward mobility and identity, the most notable of which relate to the intersection of race and class in their interaction with others. Having made the transition from a lower social class that has historically been occupied by Blacks, into a higher social class that has historically been reserved for Whites, the research participants' narratives richly illustrate how the accomplishment of upward social mobility is intrinsically affected by the everyday social process of identity construction and the unequal distribution of economic and cultural capital.As the dissertation's findings suggest, the transition into a higher social class is not without its hardships. Apart from overcoming the more recognizable economic obstacles inherent in achieving upward mobility, the research participants' narratives also shed light on transcending more implicit challenges to achieving upward mobility, such as cultural biases towards education, the lack of cultural knowledge needed to attend university, as well as the lack of cultural knowledge required to occupy a higher social class. More specific to the issue of identity construction, the research participants' narratives indicate that because of their achievements, they are identified as members of a higher social class, both by people in their social class of origin, and by those in their achieved social class.However, the salience of race in South African society, coupled with the fact that South Africa's class structure has invariably been shaped by race politics, means that the research participants find themselves in a unique position that requires them to successfully negotiate the presence of two separate and often contrasting identities. On the one hand, is an identity shaped by African traditions and culture within the lower class, and on the other hand, is a higher class identity that requires adherence to White South African culture if the participants are to fit in with those in their achieved social class.

[发布机构] University of the Free State