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Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613979317108736 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Mitchell, Vanessa Jacqueline |
| author2 | Cleophas, Francois Johannes |
| author_browse | Cleophas, Francois Johannes Mitchell, Vanessa Jacqueline |
| author_facet | Cleophas, Francois Johannes Mitchell, Vanessa Jacqueline |
| author_sort | Mitchell, Vanessa Jacqueline |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134604 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:44:44.746Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134604 Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990 Mitchell, Vanessa Jacqueline Cleophas, Francois Johannes Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Sport Science. Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Mitchell, V. J. 2025. Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/9f210a75-5f98-4de4-a766-ab19dba88099 Robben Island, commonly referred to as ‘the Island’, is widely recognised as a former penal island, historically used as a site of banishment for patients with leprosy and, notably, as a prison for colonial and anti-apartheid activists. A vast body of works documents its role a as a site of political imprisonment during the apartheid era. However, this dominant narrative-centred on political imprisonment and the inhumane treatment of prisoners often overshadows other facets of prison life, particularly those related to sport and recreation. This study intervenes in that vacuum by exploring the organisation and execution of the various sport codes played by political prisoners on Robben Island, during the apartheid political incarceration period of 1962–1990. The research seeks to contribute historical oral, written, and archival narratives to enrich the limited literature on the intersection of political incarceration, sport and recreation on Robben Island. This study about sport and political imprisonment is important because the field of sport studies is typically associated with free people, rarely engaging with the experiences of the incarcerated. As such, this study is both unique and necessary, demonstrating that sport, and recreation took place on Robben Island despite the harsh conditions of imprisonment. In addition, the study reveals how prisoners used the organisation and participation in sport to improve their living conditions. The study argues that sport and recreation served as a form of agency, resistance and psychological resilience and offered a semblance of normality amidst the oppression. The study uncovers submerged historical narratives-particularly of those prisoners lesser known and contributes to the corpus of literature on sport on Robben Island during the period 1962–1990. Drawing on a qualitative research approach, the research, incorporates textual and non-textual sources, which included archival material, oral testimonies and life history interviews with former political prisoners and former warders. By focusing on sport and recreation, this study challenges the narrow framing of Robben Island’s history and contributes to the broader literature on sport in spaces of political incarceration. This study therefore argues that the prisoner-led and self-managed sport and recreation on Robben Island were not merely leisure activities, but served as tools to foster a community, political development, and the preservation of a cultural life under conditions of imprisonment. Doctoral 2025-12-18T09:18:48Z 2025-12-18T09:18:48Z 2025-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134604 en Stellenbosch University 178 pages : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Mitchell, Vanessa Jacqueline Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990 |
| title | Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990 |
| title_full | Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990 |
| title_fullStr | Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990 |
| title_short | Playgrounds of political imprisonment: historical narratives of sport on Robben Island, 1962–1990 |
| title_sort | playgrounds of political imprisonment historical narratives of sport on robben island 1962 1990 |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134604 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mitchellvanessajacqueline playgroundsofpoliticalimprisonmenthistoricalnarrativesofsportonrobbenisland19621990 |