Contingent Citizens ─ Professional Aspiration in a South African Hospital

Over the past decade, South Africa has experienced widening inequality. The ostentatious lifestyles of the political and business elite stand in stark contrast to the growing unrest of a large 'wageless' population. But what about the educated middle tier of society? What has been their experience since the transition to majority rule in 1994?

With secure employment having become a luxury, Contingent Citizens examines the ambiguous state of South Africa's 'professional' classes and the implications on citizenship. Based on an ethnographic study of nurses in a rural government hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, the book investigates how the threat of violence which underpinned political authority during apartheid has been replaced by the threat of dismissal. Despite terms such as 'transparency' and 'decentralization' promising freedom from control, some of the language of liberal democracy – such as 'accountability' and 'rights' – is generating fear and suspicion. Rather than responding to or resisting these discourses, Elizabeth Hull shows how nurses employ a range of practices to signal a desire for new, ethical visions of citizenship, ranging from new religious movements to international migration.

Exploring all major fault lines of South Africa's fragmented social landscape – class, gender, race, and religion – she goes beyond terms such as 'middle class' and 'elite' to make an important contribution to the study of class formation, professionalism, and citizenship.