This edited collection commemorates the 90th anniversary of the first South African public social research organisation, the National Bureau for Education and Social Research, and the 50th anniversary of its successor, the Human Sciences Research Council. It is a scholarly reflection on the history of state based social research. Contributions work with the archive of the institution in its several forms, with its research history and, of most interest, with its relationship with the dominant political structures of the day, from the pre apartheid segregationist government, to the apartheid order and ultimately the post apartheid government. The book also addresses the topical issue of the role of evidence and scientific knowledge in policy making.
Endorsements
A monumental and creative study by this country’s eminent social science researchers characterised by adherence to the best traditions of social science research methods, and understanding of the place of an institution like the HSRC in the constitutional objectives of the country, and a solid vision about social science in the constellation of knowledge. I would have found this an invaluable handbook had assumed my position as President of HSRC in 1999.
Barney Pityana, former Vice-Chancellor of UNISA
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Abbreviations, acronyms and units Acknowledgements
Timeline
1 Introduction
Crain Soudien, Sharlene Swartz and Gregory Houston
Part 1: Historical overview
2 A Praetorian sensibility? The making of the humanities and social sciences through the tangled histories of the HSRCand the humanities faculty in Pretoria Crain Soudien
3 A developmental prehistory of the HSRC, 1929–1969 Astrid Schwenke and Mathias Fubah Alubafi
4 Social scientists as policy makers: EG Malherbe and the National Bureau for Educational and Social Research, 1929– 1943 Brahm Fleisch
5 Perspectives on relations between the government and the HSRC in the 1980s: The role of the HSRC investigation into intergroup relations Hendrik (Bok) Marais
6 Repositioning and rebuilding the HSRC: Changes and challenges, 1993–1997, from a former CEO Rolf Stumpf
Part 2: Debates and polemics
7 How we learnt to stop worrying and love the HSRC Nico Cloete, Johan Muller and Mark Orkin
8 Human Sciences Research Council Incorporated (Pty) Ltd: Social science research, markets and accountability in South Africa Nico Cloete and Johan Muller
9 Can the HSRC join in the future? Caroline White
10 Government, universities, and the HSRC: A perspective on the past and present Linda Chisholm and Seán Morrow
11 Human Sciences Research Council: Role and function confusion in the South African social science system Nico Cloete
Photo section
Part 3: Reflections
12 Establishing state-sponsored research initiatives, institutionalising sociology and the ‘problem of white juvenile delinquency’ in the first decade of apartheid rule Katie Mooney
13 Public social research agencies and housing policy in South Africa, 1929–2019 Alan Mabin
14 The history and scope of demographic research at the HSRC from 1968 Johan van Zyl
15 The Onomastic Research Centre Peter Raper and Lucie Möller
16 Pioneering regional history studies in South Africa: Reflections within the former Section for Regional History at the HSRC Elize van Eeden
17 The De Lange Report of 1981: A ‘geology’ JC ‘Koos’ Pauw and Christa van Zyl
18 Peering into the future: The foresight role of the HSRC during the middle to late 1980s Gustav Puth
19 The contribution of the HSRC to research on the history of the South African liberation struggle, 1969–2019 Gregory Houston and Marie Wentzel
20 The value of a ‘fixed’ mandate for the knowledge commons: A history of the HSRC’s 02 role in R&D and innovation measurement (1966–2018) Glenda Kruss and Gerard Ralphs
21 Izwi labantu (voice of the people): Tracking public opinion through political transition Stephen Rule, Benjamin Roberts and Jarè Struwig
22 The repositioning of the HSRC to support educational change in post-apartheid South Africa Matthews M Makgamatha, Mokong S Mapadimeng and Catherine Namome
23 TIMSS in South Africa: Making global research locally meaningful Vijay Reddy and Sylvia Hannan
24 The HSRC’s population-based HIV prevalence and incidence survey series: History, impact and the future Olive Shisana, Thomas Rehle, Nompumelelo Zungu and Khangelani Zuma
25 Fifteen years of community-engaged HIV research in Sweetwaters, KwaZulu-Natal: A reflection on principles, practices and frameworks Heidi van Rooyen, Lorenza Fluks, Sinazo Nomsenge, Precious Tirivanhu and Alastair van Heerden
26 Impervious to policy: Revisiting the HSRC’s heterodox economic approach to South Africa’s persistent structural complexities Stewart Ngandu
27 Questioning urban pessimism: A decade of HSRC research on cities Ivan Turok, Andreas Scheba and Justin Visagie
28 An indelible African footprint: The story of the Africa Institute of South Africa Cheryl Hendricks, Vuyo Mjimba, Thokozani Simelane and Elsie Maritz
29 The HSRC’s incubation of the South African BRICS Think Tank, 2013–2016 Krish Chetty, Babalwa Siswana and Jaya Josie
Part 4: Conclusion
30 He who pays the piper calls the tune: Personal reflections on collaborators, conspirators and researchers at the HSRC Tim GB Hart
31 The HSRC into the future: An afterward Crain Soudien
Contributors
Index
