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| Professor Edward Webster poses with his lifetime award. Photo: Masechaba Kganyapa |
Professor Edward Charles Webster, born in 1942, was a prominent figure in South African sociology. He dedicated his life to understanding and advocating for the rights of South African workers. His academic journey began at Rhodes University, followed by studies at Oxford and York universities. He earned a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), where he would later become a Professor Emeritus. Webster was a colleague and friend of Rick Turner and Foszia Turner-Stylianou at the University of Natal in the early 1970s, who established the Institute of Industrial Education and the South African Labour Bulletin.
Webster was the Distinguished Research Professor at the Southern Centre of Inequality Studies and the founder and past director of the Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP) at the University of the Witwatersrand. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Wisconsin and the first Ela Bhatt Professor at the International Centre for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) at Kassel University in Germany. His co-authored volume, Grounding Globalisation: Labour in the Age of Insecurity, was awarded the American Sociological Association award for the best scholarly monograph published on labour.
Webster's impact on South African academia is undeniable, and he is widely credited as being the pioneer of the country's sociology of work and labour studies. His seminal work, Cast in a Racial Mould, remains a cornerstone text, analyzing the intricate relationship between the labour process and the evolution of the South African labour movement. Webster actively engaged with policymakers and trade unions, bridging the gap between research and real-world application.
In 2019, Webster became the first recipient of the South African Sociological Association lifetime award. His contributions were recognized internationally, including the prestigious American Sociological Association award for his work Grounding Globalisation: Labor in the Age of Insecurity.
