An intersectional study of the experiences of first-year students within residences at Stellenbosch University

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dc.contributor.advisorLester, Claire-Anne Louiseen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorAyford, Jaime Leeen_ZA
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-05T15:30:05Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-26T18:55:36Z
dc.date.available2024-03-05T15:30:05Z
dc.date.available2024-04-26T18:55:36Z
dc.date.issued2024-03
dc.descriptionThesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2024.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: In May 2022, a ‘white’ first-year student urinated on the belongings of a ‘black’ first-year student at the Huis Marias residence at Stellenbosch University (SU) this sparked outrage among the members of the university community and the larger South African society about the status of transformation at SU. This revived debate about racism at the University, initiated through the 2015 Open Stellenbosch student movement, led to the establishment of the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry. This study, conducted in 2020, engaged with first-year students living in single-sex and mixed-sex residences to explore how they made sense of belonging. I conducted seven semi-structured online interviews with first-year students coming from diverse backgrounds to explore how they experience, construct, navigate, and perform identity and belonging. Through using thematic analysis three major themes are derived from the data. The first theme was the ‘Gendered experiences’ of first-year students within university residences, and how these can create a sense of belonging if one identifies with it and a sense of exclusion if one deviates from it. The second theme was ‘living diversity’ and belonging at SU. This speaks to the various factors such as gender, race, sexuality, language, and other social identifications that impact one’s sense of belonging and how one uses one’s agency to navigate belonging within the space. The last theme was ‘Safety and safe spaces’, which draws out the many meanings of safety, such as physical safety from, as well as ‘safe spaces’ to engage with critical questions related to gender, race, and sexuality. Taking an intersectional and social constructivist approach to understanding race, gender, and sexuality, I argue that these identities are influenced by overarching historical discourses that permeate the residences and in turn generate context-specific racialised and gendered experiences.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Mei 2022 het 'n 'wit' eerstejaarstudent op die besittings van 'n 'swart' eerstejaarstudent binne die Huis Marias-koshuis aan die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US) geurineer. verontwaardiging onder die lede van die Universiteitsgemeenskap en die groter Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing ontketen oor die status van transformasie aan die US. Dit het debatte oor rassisme by die Universiteit laat herleef, wat deur die 2015 Open Stellenbosch-studentebeweging geïnisieer is en gelei het tot die stigting van die Khampepe-kommissie van ondersoek. Hierdie studie, wat in 2020 uitgevoer is, het eerstejaarstudente wat in enkelgeslag- en gemengde-geslagkoshuise woon, betrek om te ondersoek hoe hulle sin gemaak het om te behoort. Ek het sewe semi-gestruktureerde aanlyn onderhoude gevoer met eerstejaarstudente wat uit verskillende agtergronde kom om te verken hoe hulle identiteit en behoort te ervaar, konstrueer, navigeer en uitvoer. Deur tematiese analise te gebruik, is drie hooftemas uit die data afgelei. Die eerste tema was die 'Geslagtelike ervarings' van eerstejaarstudente binne universiteitskoshuise, en hoe dit 'n gevoel van behoort te skep as 'n mens daarmee identifiseer en 'n gevoel van nie behoort as jy daarvan afwyk. Die tweede tema was 'om 'diversiteit' te leef en om aan die US te behoort.' Dit spreek tot die verskillende faktore soos geslag, ras, seksualiteit, taal en ander sosiale identifikasies wat 'n mens se gevoel van behoort beïnvloed en hoe hulle hul agentskap gebruik om behoort te navigeer binne die ruimte. Die laaste tema was 'Veiligheid en veilige ruimtes' wat die vele betekenisse van veiligheid na vore bring, as fisiese veiligheid van misdaad sowel as 'veilige ruimtes' om kritiese vrae oor geslag, ras en seksualiteit te betrek. Neem 'n interseksionele en sosiaal-konstruktivistiese benadering tot die verstaan van ras, geslag en seksualiteit; Ek argumenteer dat hierdie identiteite beïnvloed word deur oorkoepelende historiese diskoerse wat die koshuise deurdring en op hul beurt konteksspesifieke ras- en geslagtelike ervarings genereer.en_ZA
dc.description.versionStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.format.extentiv, 121 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/130474
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshInterdisciplinary approach in educationen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshUndergraduates -- Social life and customsen_ZA
dc.subject.lcsh Students -- South Africa -- Stellenboschen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshDormitories -- South Africa -- Stellenboschen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshStudent movementsen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshSouth Africa. Commission of Inquiry into the Mandate and Location of the Directorate of Special Operations ('the DSO')en_ZA
dc.subject.lcshMulticultural educationen_ZA
dc.subject.nameUCTD
dc.titleAn intersectional study of the experiences of first-year students within residences at Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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Masters Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology)