Fourth South African Annual Qualitative Methods Conference:
Histories of the Present

Keynote speakers:

Orlan (French performance artist)
Mark Seltzer (Professor of English, Cornell University and author of Serial Killers: Life and Death in America's Wound Culture (1998))

September 3 and 4 1998
Wits Theatre, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Conference announcement as it appeared in the German journal Soziale Wirklichkeit (Social Reality) (no 1, 1998) Derek Hook and Martin Terre'blanche

In drawing its theme from Foucault's methodological (and genealogical) injunction at the beginning of Discipline and Punish (1979), the Fourth Annual Qualitative Methods Conference is not hoping to station itself in the present and make enquiry into an "opaque" past. Its objective, by contrast, is to bring together work within various (and broadly understood) qualitative methodologies that have the capacity to uproot the commonplace understandings, normalities and subjectivities of present knowledge, lives and practices. Its primary focus, the goals of its overall objectives, lie strongly then in "the now", in historicising the present, in surfacing objects, structures and technologies, typically considered as lying outside of history. In this regard it is important that the conference recognises the legitimate and in fact central role of art production and performance as means of enquiry, critical practice and knowledge-creation. This much is reflected in the choice of Orlan, French artist and art historian, as one of the conference's keynote speakers/participant. The fact that practices of art production and performance belong to a different epistemological and ontological order (ie the aesthetic) to that of typical social science praxis is in many ways the reason they are able to so throw critical light upon the objects of the latter's knowledge.

Further foundational to the conference theme and premise is the current political imperative posed by the immediate historical present of today's post-apartheid South Africa. The concern here, as recently in a conference on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (From Truth to Transformation - The Road to Reconciliation, Johannesburg, April 1998), is of the increasing political complacency, especially amongst white South Africans, in terms of their participation within their country's current transition. The focus of this imperative is encapsulated by the title of the recent BBC documentary Apartheid Did Not Die. Clearly however, the objective of renewing a sense of political urgency is one of application beyond simply the South African context. To this end, the final session of the conference will attempt to consolidate all that has been presented across the two days by considering what methodological formulations, procedures (and combinations thereof) might best form the basis of sound political strategy in the future - both locally and globally.

Finally, there are a number of strategies internal to the conference that will be adopted to ensure its efficacy. Firstly, in terms of its objectives of securing for South Africa a spot on the international qualitative social science conference calendar, the convenor has embarked on an ambitious e-mail publicity campaign, so as to solicit greater international participation. Leading on from this however, the conference is still obviously determined to maintain its South African locus, and focus of enquiry. To this end the convenors have likewise embarked on a more expansive publicity campaign on the homefront, such that the most highly regarded of local academics and artists may be involved, and involved with a far larger and far more representational student attendance at this year's conference. In this respect, and secondly, it is hoped that by pairing off foreign attendees with local, out-of-town participants with 'locals' that the conference will play a part in fostering collaborative efforts and understandings between groups from different locations and groundings, across different areas and expertise and knowledge both locally and globally. Thirdly, by assigning to more senior participants a poster/presentation/ performance/art-piece to critique, it is hoped that the basics for an informal and productive mentoring relationship might be established, which would offer not only obvious educational value, but which may furthermore ultimately also open up opportunities for younger or historically disadvantaged participants.

Framing of exhibition

The multidisciplinary and open-ended nature of the conference is directly reflected in the curatorial process of, and selection of work for, the exhibition. The exhibition and conference are interdependent in that the work on show will ultimately provide a visual reflection of, response or reaction to the issues presented at the conference. These two arenas thus provide an interesting juxtaposition of visual/verbal/textual. The methods for sourcing work (calls for work were sent via fax and e-mail to over 80 institutions and individuals in the country, following the procedure for sourcing conference papers) are dynamic in themselves and form part of an attempt to break accepted, consecrated methods of research, curatorship and presentation, which will be foregrounded in the general context of the conference.

The exhibition opens at 6pm on Thursday September 3 1998, Downstairs at the Wits Theatre.

Artists appearing: Bitterkomix, Steven Cohen, Bradley Hammond, Mark Haywood, Heita!, Mark Hipper, Esmarie Meyer, Derek Revello, William Scarbrough, Tony Scullion, Storm van Rensburg, Jeremy Wafer, WASH and more.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Derek Hook at 018hod@muse.arts.wits.ac.za or 484-1026/082 925 6883 (conference)
Kathryn Smith at 082 773 7033 or isinglass@hotmail.com (exhibition)

Conference Programme (preliminary draft)

3 streams noted as:
1 (main)
2 (amphitheatre)
3 (green room)

Day 1: Thursday September 3 1998

08h00-09h30
1 Registration, tea

09h30-09h45
1 Welcoming address - D Hook (Psychology Department, University of the Witwatersrand)

09h45-10h15
1 Plenary session: Qualitative Fetishism - K Durrheim (Psychology Department, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

10h20-10h50
1 Postmodern Positivisms - V Dutton (Psychology Department, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)
2 What's Love Got to Do With It? Or, The Return of the Remains - N Ridgeway (School of Dramatic Art, University of the Witwatersrand)
3 Exile Identity and Subjectivity - M Rankoe

10h55-11h15
1 Cyborg Culture and the Politics of Visual Transgression - J Sey (Department of English, Vista University) & K Smith (Department of Fine Arts, University of the Witwatersrand)
2 The History of the New South Africa According to Madam & Eve - S Britten (Applied English Language Studies, University of the Witwatersrand)
3 Social Construction of Child Development: An analysis of Gafela OA Magogodi's poem, Ndofaya - S Masuku (Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand)

11h15-11h35
1 (cont...)
2 (cont...)
3 Babes, Games and the Slut Brigade: How to be a babe without being called a slag - C Kelly & E Wallis (Psychology Department, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

11h35-11h50
Tea

11h50-12h10
1 Give Them Back Their Memories: Oral history project of the University of the North - T Hlatswayo & I Mathibe
2 When is an "African" African? - A Tschudin (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)
3 How to Be a "Real Man" and Not Be Called a Boor - M Toerien (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

12h10-12h40
1 Historicised Feeling: An etymology of emotionality - D Neves (Department of Psychology, Rhodes University)
2 Bibliotherapy and Academic Jargon - W Willies (Department of Languages, University of Potchefstroom)
3 Breaking News: The Re-Invention of CNN in Apocalyptic Movies - A Harris (Department of English, University of the Witwatersrand)

12h44-13h10
Lunch

13h10-14h10
1 Keynote Presentation - Orlan

14h15-14h45
1 The Death of the Human Subject and Legal Epistemology - C Mischke (Department of Mercantile Law, UNISA)
2 Territoriality, Identity and Environmental Perception - S Borreill
3 Cybersex - "It's Life Jim, But Not as We Know It" - A Deverell, A Thatcher and L Katz (Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand)

14h50-15h10
1 Design Thinking: Constructing Ground - I Low (Department of Architecture, University of the Witwatersrand)
2 Virtual Ecology and the Economy of Politics and Aesthetics: A Deleuze and Guattari Impression - P de Kock (Department of Political Science, University of the North)
3 Reconstructions of Time, Space and Agency as Applied to the Management of Collective Action - V Dutton (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

15h10-15h30
1 (cont...)
2 (cont...)
3 A Foucault Tableau - M Wilson and V Dutton (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

15h35-16h05
1 Imagined Communities: By what stretch of the imagination? - U Kistner (Department of Comparative Literature, University of the Witwatersrand)
2 "It Ain't Necessarily So": Analyzing essentialism, nationalism & multiculturalism at Morehouse College - JW Richardson (English Department, Emory University. English Department, Morehouse College)
3 Mark Hipper addresses the responses to his exhibition 'Viscera' at the Grahamstown Festival

16h05-17h00
1 Performance: Messing: Information, Liminality, Dread - N Kohn (College of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Georgia, Athens, USA)

18h00
Opening of exhibition: 'Histories of the Present' - Bitterkomix, Cohen, Hammond, Haywood, Heita!, Hipper, Meyer, Revello, Scarbrough, Scullion, Van Rensburg, Wafer, WASH and more
Downstairs at Wits Theatre

Day 2: Friday September 4

09h15-10h00
1 Plenary: Reading Mulholland - K Ratele (Department of Psychology, University of the Western Cape)

10h00-10h30
1 Violence, Language and Fascisms: Reproductions of discursive identities - A Favell
2 Confronting the Ghosts of the Past: Reflections of the experiences of a black appointee in a historically white institution - M Smith (Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University)
3 Subjects of Reconstruction and Development - M Wilson & K Durrheim (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

10h35-11h05
1 Funny You Don't Look Crazy: A critique of social responses to psychological dysfunction - P Serebro (OCD Association of South Africa)
2 Critical Race Pedagogies - GA Duncan (Departments of Education & Afro-American Studies, Washington University, USA)
3 The Tragical History of Doctor John Faustus - G Hulley

11h10-11h30
1 Discourses and Programmes of Reform in Higher Education - J Webb (Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, UK)
2 Y Dalamba (School of Dramatic Art, University of the Witwatersrand)
3 Bafana Bafana, South Africa's National Soccer Team, a Symbol of New South African Nationalism - L Saville & R Rozentals-Thresher (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

11h30-11h50
1 (cont...)
2 (cont...)

3 The Morning has Come... - B Barnes

11h50-12h00
Tea

12h00-12h20
2 Performance: Suffer Even the Least - J Pickett (Columbus Symphony) & JW Richardson (English Department, Emory University & English Department, Morehouse College)
3 Psychology's construction of a gendered subjectivity through support groups on domestic violence - I Palmary (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

12h20-12h40
2 (cont...)
3 Professionals, Power and Medicine: Prescription rights for psychologists - Y Bhagwandeen & K Vermaak (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

12h40-13h05
Lunch

13h05-14h00
1 Keynote Presentation - Mark Seltzer (English Department, Cornell University)

14h00-15h30
1 Keynote Performance: The Story I Am About To Tell - Khulumani Support Group

15h35-16h05
1 Shadow of Man - N Hoedekie (Stellenbosch University)
2 Unsettling Meanings of Madness: The construction of South African insanity - E Zietkiewicz & C Long (Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand)
3 From Your Best Friends to Your Worst Enemies - I Palmary & B Barnes (Department of Psychology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg)

16h10-17h10
1 Panel Conclusion: Critical Method & Political Practice in Post-Apartheid South Africa