Social movements use various strategies and communication practices to speak back to, confront and influence systems of oppression in their quest for social change. Among these are practices that social movements not only use to challenge the status quo but also to strengthen the movement’s character and reinforce its ideologies. Songs are an example of such communication practices. This paper looks at the main or “famous” struggle song of the Wits #FeesMustFall (Wits #FMF) movement, Iyho Solomon – a song that was popular among students during the activities of the Wits #FMF movement in 2015 and 2016. The popularity of this song even resulted in the University of the Witwatersrand’s Senate House (administration building) being renamed Solomon Mahlangu House. While there are many struggle songs that post-apartheid South African social movements inherited from anti-apartheid movements, it is not clear how Iyho Solomon became popular and why it became the "anthem" of the student movement. This paper, therefore, investigates the character of the song, its language, the context in which it was sung, and its significance to the struggle for free and decolonised education at South African universities. The findings are based on a critical discourse analysis of the song’s lyrics and the origin of the song. It is supported by data from a larger doctorate research project.

Authors:
Linah Nokubonga Masombuka, University of South Africa, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Linah N Masombuka has a PhD in Communication and Media Studies. She is a Senior lecturer and researcher at the University of South Africa. She broadly focuses on Communication for Social Change with specific interests in social movement communication

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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