Use of mental imagery by athletes competing in different sport types.

Abstract

The anti-apartheid struggle was characterised by tensions between the opposing principles of non-racialism (as exemplified by the Freedom Charter) and racialism (as exemplified by Black Consciousness). While non-racialism has become a central value in post-apartheid South Africa, tensions remain between the ANC government‘s long-standing commitment to non-racialism and its continued use of race-conscious policies and appeals to black nationalism. These tensions are also reflected in the writings of social scientists, who have questioned how we might address ―a rejection of the actual ‗existence‘ of races as well as the overwhelming existence of the social construct in having shaped – and still shaping – the life chances of citizens‖ (Maré 2001:80; cf. Posel 2001b:75-76). While questions of this nature are clearly important and complex matters for policymakers and social scientists to grapple with, I show in this paper that they are also lively concerns for ordinary people in South Africa – and that an examination of everyday interactions in South Africa can provide illuminating insights. Specifically, I employ an ethnomethodological, conversation analytic approach to examine some ways in which speakers‘ racial category memberships (or identities) are treated as resources for action or constraints on action. My analysis demonstrates that racial category membership can contribute to speakers‘ production of particular courses of action, lend additional weight to actions, and assist recipients in recognising the actions speakers are producing. Conversely, racial category membership can make it more difficult for certain categories of people to produce a particular action, at a particular moment, for particular recipients. I conclude by discussing the implications of these findings, and argue that they point to the contingent and situational operation of what I call practical non-racialism (as well as practical racialism), which contrasts with the strict or principled non-racialism proposed by some race scholars. Racial Category Membership as Resource and Constraint in Everyday Interactions: