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  • © 2017

Exile Identity, Agency and Belonging in South Africa

The Masupatsela Generation

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on Anthropology, Sociology, Development Studies, Historical Studies, Political Science, Gender Studies and Childhood Studies
  • Adds value to the ongoing debate about 'liberation' and what it means to be 'South African'
  • Makes a theoretical contribution to issues related to life course, childhood, gender and migration
  • Will aid development practitioners seeking to protect and assist children confronted by violence and forced migration
  • Challenges preconceived notions of victimhood, risk, resilience and trauma

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies on Children and Development (PSCD)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Introduction

    • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
    Pages 1-50
  3. EXILE

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 51-51
    2. Roots and Routes of Exile: Materialism and Embodiment

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 53-73
    3. The Emergence of a Generational Cohort

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 75-110
    4. Care and Protection in the Liminal Spaces of Exile

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 111-160
    5. Home, Identity and Belonging

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 161-192
  4. RETURN

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 193-193
    2. The Formal Repatriation of Children and Young People

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 195-207
    3. The Meeting of Myths and Reality

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 209-248
    4. Identity and Belonging in Post-Apartheid South Africa

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 249-263
    5. Obligations and Agency in Post-Apartheid South Africa

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 265-281
    6. Conclusion

      • Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki
      Pages 283-302
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 303-350

About this book



This book examines the experiences of 49 second-generation exiles from South Africa. Using “generation” as an analytical concept, it investigates the relational, temporal and embodied nature of their childhoods in terms of kinship relations, life cycle, cohort development and memory-making. It reveals how child agents exploited the liminal nature of exile to negotiate their sense of identity, home and belonging, while also struggling over their position and power in formal Politics and informal politics of the everyday. It also reflects upon their political consciousness, identity and sense of civic duty on return to post-apartheid South Africa, and how this has led to the emergence of the Masupatsela generational cohort concerned with driving social and political change in South Africa.   

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki

About the author


Zosa De Sas Kropiwnicki is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access