Constructing “Climate Change Knowledge” the example of small-scale farmers in the Swartland region, South Africa

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2016.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the last decades “Climate Change” has become a vital topic on national and international political agendas. There it is presented as an irrevocable fact of global impact and thus of universal relevance. What has often been neglected are local discourses of marginalized groups and their specific contextualization of “Climate Change” phenomena. The aim of this project, to develop another perspective along these dominant narratives, has resulted in the research question How is social reality reconstructed on the phenomenon of “Climate Change” among the “Emerging Black Farmers” in the Swartland region in Western Cape, South Africa? Taken as an example, “Climate Change Knowledge” is reconstructed through a case study on the information exchange between the NGO Goedgedacht Trust and local small-scale farmers in the post-Apartheid context of on-going political, social, economic and educational transition in South Africa. Using a constructivist approach, “Climate Change Knowledge” is not understood as an objectively given, but a socially constructed “reality” that is based on the interdependency of socio-economic conditions and individual assets, including language skills and language practice, sets of social norms and values, as well as strategies of knowledge transfer. The data set consists of qualitative data sources, such as application forms and interview material, which are triangulated. The rationale of a multi-layered data analysis includes a discursive perspective as well as linguistic and ethical “side perspectives”. Epistemologically, the thesis is guided by assumptions of complexity theory, framing knowledge around “Climate Change” as a fluid, constantly changing system that is shaped by constant intra- and inter-systemic exchange processes, and characterized by non-linearity, self-organization and representation of its constituents. From this point of departure, a theoretical terminology has been developed, which differentiates between symbols, interrelations, contents and content clusters. These elements are located in a system of spatio-temporal orientation and embedded into a broader (socio-economic) context of “historicity”. Content clusters are remodelled with the help of concept maps. Starting from that, a local perspective on “Climate Change” is developed, adding an experiential notion to the global narratives. The thesis concludes that there is no single reality about “Climate Change” and that the farmers’ “Climate Change Knowledge” highly depends on experiential relativity and spatio-temporal immediacy. Furthermore, analysis has shown that the system’s historicity and social manifestations can be traced in the scope and emphasis of the content clusters discussed. Finally the thesis demonstrates that characteristics of symbols, interconnections and contents range between dichotomies of direct and indirect, predictable versus unpredictable, awareness and negligence or threat and danger, all coexisting and creating a continuum of knowledge production. All names of participants in this study are mentioned on the basis of explicit informed consent.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Tydens die laaste dekades het “Klimaatsverandering” ‘n belangrike onderwerp op nasionale en internasionale politieke agendas geword. Volgens die dominante narratiewe word “Klimaatsverandering” voorgestel as ‘n onherroeplike universele feit met globale impak en relevansie. Wat egter dikwels agterweë gelaat word is plaaslike diskoerse van gemarginaliseerde groepe en hul konteks-spesifieke perspektiewe van “Klimaatsverandering”. Die doel van hierdie projek is dus om ‘n ander perspektief naas hierdie dominante verhale te ontwikkel deur die volgende navorsingsvraag te beantwoord: “Hoe word die sosiale werklikheid gekonstrueer rondom die verskynsel van “Klimaatsverandering” onder die “ontluikende swart boere” in die Suid-Afrikaanse provinsie van die Wes-Kaap? As ‘n voorbeeld van so ‘n kontekstuele ervaring van dié universele fenomeen is “Kennis van Klimaatsverandering” gerekonstrueer deur ‘n gevallestudie oor die uitruil van inligting tussen die NGO Goedgedacht Trust en plaaslike kleinskaalse boere in die post-Apartheid konteks van die deurlopende politieke, sosiale, ekonomiese en opvoedkundige oorgang in Suid-Afrika. Die studie is gegrond op ‘n konstruktivistiese benadering waarvolgens “Kennis van Klimaatsverandering” nie verstaan word as ‘n objektiewe gegewe nie, maar as ‘n sosiaal gekonstrueerde “werklikheid” wat gebaseer is op die interafhanklikheid van sosio-ekonomiese toestande en individuele bates, insluitend taalvaardighede en -praktyke, stelle van sosiale norme en waardes, sowel as strategieë van kennisoordrag. Die datastel bestaan uit kwalitatiewe databronne, soos aansoekvorms en onderhoudmateriaal, wat getrianguleer is. Die rasionaal van ‘n meerlagige data-analise sluit ‘n diskursiewe perspektief sowel as taalkundige en etiese “randperspektiewe“ in. Epistemologies word die proefskrif gelei deur aannames van kompleksiteitsteorie wat kennis omtrent “Klimaatsverandering” beskryf as ‘n vloeiende, voortdurend veranderende stelsel wat gevorm word deur konstante intra- en inter-sistemiese ruilprosesse, en wat gekenmerk word deur nie-lineariteit, self-organisasie en verteenwoordiging van die onderskeie bestanddele. Vanuit hierdie uitgangspunt is ‘n teoretiese terminologie ontwikkel wat ‘n onderskeid tussen simbole, verbindings, inhoud en inhoudklusters tref. Hierdie elemente is geleë in ‘n stelsel van tydruimtelike oriëntasie en ingebed in ‘n breër (sosio-ekonomiese) konteks van “historisiteit”. Inhoudklusters is gehermodelleer deur die gebruik van konsepkaarte. Hieruit is ‘n plaaslike perspektief op “Klimaatsverandering” ontwikkel wat ‘n ervaringsbegrip by die globale verhale voeg. Die tesis kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat daar geen enkele werklikheid ten opsigte van “Klimaatsverandering” bestaan nie en dat die betrokke boere se “Kennis van Klimaatsverandering” hoogs afhanklik is van relatiwiteit van ervaring en tydruimtelike onmiddellikheid. Verder het ontleding getoon dat die historisiteit en sosiale manifestasies van die stelsel opgespoor kan word in die omvang en nadruk van die behandelde inhoudklusters. Uiteindelik bewys die tesis dat eienskappe van simbole, verbindings en inhoud wissel tussen digotomieë van direk en indirek, voorspelbaar versus onvoorspelbaar, bewustheid en nalatigheid of bedreiging en gevaar, wat almal saambestaan en ‘n kontinuum van kennisproduksie skep. Alle name van deelnemers aan hierdie studie word genoem op die basis van eksplisiete ingeligte toestemming