UITLANDERS IN STELLENBOSCH, identities, English and learning to live together

272pp., illus., paperback, Langaa Research & Publishing CIG, Bamenda, 2025

ISBN: 9789956554911

An ethnographic study of the complex social dynamics at the historically Afrikaans Stellenbosch university. Patricia Johnson-Clarke investigates the historical roots of persistent segregation, how language and race intertwine, the English language as a gateway to international opportunities, and the implications of increased English instruction at the institution.

“Patricia Johnson-Castle’s Uitlanders in Stellenbosch is a vital contribution to critical whiteness studies, offering a historically grounded and politically engaged ethnography of race, language, identity, and belonging at Stellenbosch University. Her fieldwork took place at the height of South Africa’s post- apartheid racial and economic justice activism, exemplified by the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall student movements. Through an empirically rich exploration of everyday student life, Johnson-Castle sensitively unearths the racial and linguistic hierarchies and exclusions that pervade a university setting where Afrikaner identity remain dominant. By highlighting the perspectives of students from diverse backgrounds, she reveals how whiteness functions through a complex set of practices that impact both those who benefit from it and those resisting its influence. This work provides a nuanced understanding of South Africa’s ongoing struggle for transformation and is essential reading for anyone interested in social justice and the anthropology of race and identity in southern Africa and beyond.” Vito Laterza, Associate Professor in Global Development at the University of Agder, Norway

Patricia Johnson-Castle, an Inuk from Nunatsiavut, Canada, as well as of British and German descent, is currently a PhD student in the Department of History, University of Minnesota. She has worked as Director of Policy and Planning for Nunatsiavut Government, and was a Jane Glass Northern Policy Fellow in 2020-2022. She lives in Minneapolis.