Social Movements and 'Movement Intellectuals'

This thesis explores the relationship between the participants of a social movement and movement intellectuals. A case-study focus on the Westcliff Flats Residents Association (WFRA) was taken to provide a contextual and “holistic” understanding thereof. At the centre of the study is an intellectual puzzle concerned with investigating the dynamics and processes that constitute this relationship. The approach is one of qualitative inquiry, relying on the perspectives of participants within the movement to develop a grounded theory with respect to the primary intellectual puzzle and research questions. In this way, the emergent conclusions are non-categorical and provide an argued perspective on the interactive processes between movement intellectuals and the WFRA. A typology of possible relationships between movement intellectuals and social movements is developed and constitutes the primary findings of the study.