INTRODUCING THE KHANYA WORKING-CLASS HISTORY PROGRAMME

Programme Objectives

In 2001, Khanya College decided to set up a working-class history programme. The programme attempts to systematically capture the history of the South African working class. This is done in order to contribute towards:

• The promotion of knowledge and understanding of the history of the working class;
• Rebuilding the present working-class movement through popularisation of history;
• The development of resources for conducting the history of the South African working class;
• Opening space for debating strategic and organisational challenges facing the working class in the present period of globalisation by providing a context in which these choices were made by the working class movement in the past;
• Promoting an appreciation and understanding of the role of women in the development of the South African working class;
• Promoting an appreciation and understanding of working-class culture and its history.

Our Focus

The programme focuses on the new social movements because these are the organisations that have been constantly taking up struggles over the past few years. These organisations have unleashed a new layer of activists who have to come together and draw a balance sheet of the past struggles with the view of building existing organisations.

Key Activities of the Programme

The programme has various key activities such as the collection of both primary and secondary materials related to labour and social movements in South Africa. This includes research on the formative years of the labour movement covering the following areas: hidden forms of resistance on the eve of the Durban strikes of 1973; the Durban strikes of 1973; the formation of trade unions; trade unions and politics; trade unions and women; the cultural history of the working class; international solidarity; and trade unions and communities.

Guided by the above-mentioned topics, the programme also collects posters, books, video cassettes, oral history materials, articles and papers, and develops them into research databases.

The programme writes popular material on working-class history, and this is aimed at encouraging historical debate and discussions within working-class organisations. These discussions should assist militants to draw lessons from the past in order to face present and future challenges.

There are various activities that will ensure the participation of activists in the programme. These include public forums, seminars, workshops and courses.