Popular Music, Student Activism and Contestations of Power in Post- Apartheid South Africa: The Case at a Rural University

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the dynamic interplay and intersection between popular music, student activism and power contestations in post-apartheid South Africa using the University of Venda as a lens of analysis. It examines how students use music to contest institutional power, forge solidarity and articulate their collective identity. Deploying Habermas’s Communicative Action Theory and Gregory Bateson’s Cultural Framing Theory the study addresses three core questions: what type of music is used by students at the University of Venda during their political activism, why do students at the University of Venda sing during student activism, and how does popular music used during student activism shape the identity of student activists at the University of Venda? Empirical data for the study were gathered through in-depth interviews, with nine (9) purposively selected student activists from the University of Venda, a Focus Group Discussion with five (5) different student activists and a discursive analysis of 37 songs that are sung by students during activism at the University of Venda. Findings from the study revealed that students draw on a wide variety of musical forms, such as Struggle Songs, such as Gwijo, Afropop, Gospel and Amapiano, which are used during political activism to articulate their grievances and to sustain morale in the face of institutional repression. Traditional struggle songs, which are frequently modified and contemporised, remain particularly central and fundamental. Findings indicated that what might appear violent in lyrics is, in fact, a symbolic assault on oppressive systems rather than the individuals or officials themselves. Most fundamentally, the study demonstrates that music does more than accompany activism; it is activism. It was also demonstrated that music fosters collective identity, shaping personal narratives into a shared soundtrack of resistance. Contrary to narratives of youth political apathy, students are profoundly engaged, compelled into musical activism by academic and financial exclusion, poverty and administrative shortcomings. The study contributes to an understanding of postcolonial student activism by highlighting how popular music becomes an interactive setting where power is contested.