Des barrières de papier digitalisées : vérifications d’identité et exclusion des élèves immigrés dans les lycées populaires de Johannesburg
Abstract
Digitalized paper barriers: Identity verifications and the exclusion of immigrant students in working-class high schools in Johannesburg
How do devices designed for identification direct the practices of school staff towards immigrant students and foster their exclusion? The analysis of the materiality and utilization of these devices in working-class high schools in Johannesburg reveals a mixed regime in which documentary verification dominates and is linked to interpersonal certification and digital authentication. The Departments of Education and of Home Affairs instil migration control in high schools. Paper barriers to education are solidified through digitalization and the school staff sees its ability to circumvent them reduced, in contexts marked by insecurity and the normalization of xenophobia.
How do devices designed for identification direct the practices of school staff towards immigrant students and foster their exclusion? The analysis of the materiality and utilization of these devices in working-class high schools in Johannesburg reveals a mixed regime in which documentary verification dominates and is linked to interpersonal certification and digital authentication. The Departments of Education and of Home Affairs instil migration control in high schools. Paper barriers to education are solidified through digitalization and the school staff sees its ability to circumvent them reduced, in contexts marked by insecurity and the normalization of xenophobia.