8 the state of science in south africa
H U M A N I T I E S A N D S O C I A L S C I E N C E S
and the social sciences. This has not been to the humanities (Higgins, 2007). The NRF
a happy development. For one thing, dur- has been responsive to this and other criti-
ing the time of the FRD, a simple system of cism, and sensitive management of the
‘rated scientists’ was deployed, and these humanities portfolio may have made the
scientists were guaranteed access to fund- academy more interested in co-operation,
ing; this system was re-crafted at the birth although several stumbling blocks remain.
of the NRF to include the humanities. In its One of these has been the creation of gov-
new (and very elaborate) form, guaranteed ernment-funded research chairs which
funding was removed from the rating, and have been rolled out by the NRF. In these,
the system began to operate on the basis 24 of 80 have been in the humanities and
of universities competing for the prestige social sciences, including a number in the
attached to rated scientists. (More recently, economic sciences, which are not routinely
however, in another revamp of the system, counted in with the humanities.
funding levels have been restored). Never-
theless, many in the humanities (and some The humanities, as Edward Ayers (Ayers,
in the experimental sciences, too) have 2009. 25) suggests, ‘live’ in many places and
turned their backs on the ‘rating system’ it is to a place other than the universities
– as the programme is called. Because this that attention will briefly turn. The HSRC, the
is contested ground, a few lines of explana- prototype of which was suggested by Eddie
tion are required. In a report issued in May Malherbe in 1921 (Smit, 1984), commands
2009, the NRF claimed that the number of a central – if somewhat historically contro-
humanities and social science research- versial – space in the humanities in South
ers had increased “from 21% to 31% of the Africa. In the 1980s, as the struggle to end
total number of rated researchers over the apartheid drew to a close, the HSRC was ac-
last five years” (NRF, 2009:15). But an ear- cused of legitimising the reform initiatives
lier report (NRF, 2007:4) – which supports of the apartheid government by offering
this growth in numbers – indicated that in scientific support for social programmes
2005 only 9.8 % of the total number of staff (White, undated). Its current mandate “to
in both the humanities and the natural sci- act as a knowledge hub between research,
ences in South Africa had been rated. A fur- policy and action; thus increasing the im-
ther obstacle in the relationship between pact of research” – as its website states –re-
the NRF and the humanities community flects the organisation’s interest in making
involved an early effort to focus research a difference in people’s lives. But this is not
into focus areas. These ‘exclusionary modes’ uncontroversial, since much of the HSRC’s
largely failed to take account of the critical work is at the applied end of social science,
tradition in the humanities. in particular. It certainly has the greatest
single concentration of researchers in the
In 2007, John Higgins, one of the country’s country (some 165 professionals in all),
leading thinkers and himself the recipient who are supported by technical colleagues,
of the highest rating of the NRF, published and it boasts that its four multidisciplinary
a piece excoriating the NRF for its approach research programmes, two cross-cutting re-
230
TWAS book_Chap8.indd 230 2009/10/06 12:05:00 PM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286 |
Page 287 |
Page 288 |
Page 289 |
Page 290