The role of intellectuals in the circulation of knowledge in South African labour movement, 1970s-1980s"

This paper will focus on the role of intellectuals in the development of South African labour movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Through a historical perspective, the paper will explore the characteristics and forms of the engagement of intellectuals in the labour movement in this period. This will include, among others, the engagement in workers education institutions, advisory bureaus, aid institutions that preceded the formation of new trade unions in the 1970s as well as then existing trade unions and universities. The emphasis on the engagement of intellectuals in cultural projects in the 1980s, such as workers theatres will enrich the configuration of their engagement.  Particular to the South African case, the race dimension of an intellectual engagement will be discussed with the contribution of some current debates on “white intellectuals” and/or “white unionists” of that time. This paper will attempt to identify first, the channels of knowledge circulation in South African labour movement in this period and second, a particular form of intellectual engagement in the labour movement in the Global South. The information is based on a preliminary analysis of the qualitative data collected through 16 in-depth interviews with intellectuals and trade unionists in South Africa in 2011.