Magnus Ekeland

Email: m.ekeland@maw.ru.nl

Project: Survival and distribution strategies in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract: My research focuses on survival strategies, distribution and aspirations towards the good life in rural South Africa. The data is collected from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in several townships, before and during South Africa's lockdown. How residents lives were impacted by pandemic and the subsequent lockdown will be given due attention.

I conducted ethnographic fieldwork from September 2019 to October 2020, relying mainly on participant observation supplemented by in-depth conversations and semi-structured interviews.

Blog posts:

• https://www.africasacountry.com/2022/10/the-quiet-violence-of-child-maintenance
• https://africasacountry.com/2021/04/the-politics-of-social-welfare
• https://allegralaboratory.net/the-ethnographers-catch-22/
• https://www.coronatimes.net/no-questions-asked-loan-sharks-lockdown-south-africa/
• https://www.ru.nl/caos/blog-berichten/the-unintended-consequence-lockdown-for-small/ ​

Publications:

• Ekeland, Magnus Godvik. "Keeping the Spectre of Dependence at Bay: How Debt Preserved Dignity in Rural South Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic." Etnofoor, vol. 35, no. 1, 2023, pp. 13-30. JSTOR,  https://www.jstor.org/stable/27233674.  Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.
• Ekeland, Magnus Godvik. 2022. "Longing to Break Free: Can a Basic Income Grant Boost Entrepreneurship Among Young Men in the South African Countryside?". In Entrepreneurial Responses to Covid-19 in Africa. Eds. Maud van Merriënboer. Eburon Uitgeverij.
• Ekeland, Magnus Godvik. 2021. COVID-19's ambiguous parcel: Agency, dignity, and claims to a rightful share during food parcel distribution in lockdown South Africa. Economic Anthropology. Early View. First published 20 August 2021. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12224.

Funding: RU Funding

Starting: 2018

Supervision: Marja Spierenburg & Luuk van Kempen