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The perceived effects of rainfall variability on food security in Senqu local municipality, South Africa

The perceptions and experiences of tenants living in a social housing initiative in Port Elizabeth

  • Authors: Konstabel, Desiree
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Social settlements
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/46410 , vital:39579
  • Description: Social housing aims to redress the housing crisis that South Africa is currently facing given the backlog that was left in the provision of free basic housing. Research conducted on the low to the middle-income group from which South African social housing tenants originate, suggests that this income bracket experiences social, physical and mental health challenges. They are three times more likely to suffer from depression than their counterparts in developed countries. Little to no literature has been published focusing on tenants who represent low to middle-income groups living in social housing in South Africa. Furthermore, the researcher did not come across literature highlighting the perceptions and experiences of tenants, who represent these low to middle-income groups, and who live in social housing in South Africa. In the context of South African social housing, there is a gap in the literature about the perceptions and experiences of tenants living in a social housing initiative.Guided by the Social Constructionism and Sense of Community theoretical frameworks, the goal of this qualitative research study waste gain a better understanding about the perceptions and experiences of tenants living in a social housing initiative in South Africa. An exploratory and descriptive research design was employed, focusing on the tenants of one social housing initiative. A non-probability purposive sampling procedure was followed. Convenience sampling was applied and followed up by volunteer sampling techniques. The sample size consisted of 9 social housing tenants. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted by an independent interviewer and used to collect data and analyse themes. Trustworthiness and ethical considerations were adhered to on all levels.This research contributes to a greater understanding of the perceptions and experiences of tenants living in a social housing initiative. The study revealed that most tenants experienced an increased sense of safety in the social housing initiative as compared to the surrounding community. The study further revealed that lower-income tenants have concerns about the long-term affordability of rentals in social housing. Among others, the study recommends that social workers advocate for inclusive social and economic policies to promote greater inclusion of vulnerable groups from low-income backgrounds.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

The political thought of Thomas Sankara and its contemporary relevance

  • Authors: Kabwato, Levison M
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Sankara, Thomas , Sankara, Thomas -- Influence , Burkina Faso -- Politics and government -- 1960-1987 , Cabral, Amílcar, 1924-1973 , Fanon, Frantz, 1925-1961 , Nkrumah, Kwame, 1909-1972
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146556 , vital:38536
  • Description: On 4 August 1983, a thirty-three year-old army captain seized power in Burkina Faso and embarked on what can be described a revolutionary journey. Over the next four years, until his assassination in 1987 the government, led by Captain Thomas Sankara, attempted to redeem Burkina Faso from the clutches of neo-colonialism. Through popular mobilisation and organisation, infrastructure (schools, hospitals, bridges) was built, millions of children were vaccinated and diseases such as river blindness were eliminated. Women, long-subjugated by patriarchal systems took up space and led their own initiatives in freedom, including holding senior roles in the public service. On the international stage, practical solidarity was extended to countries either fighting or threatened by neo-colonialism despite the fact that Burkina Faso was poor and was itself threatened by France and her lackeys. What Sankara inherited in August 1983, twenty-three years after Burkina Faso’s independence, was a fragile neo-colonial state which was not allowed by dominant imperialist interests to set an example of what true independence means. So, in just four years, it was all over. Sankara was assassinated by his comrades and the revolutionary project he had led came to a halt. The tragedy of Sankara was the tragedy of all those attempts at revolution which occur before mass movements have had the opportunity to develop and organise themselves independently of the state. Despite this, it is apparent today that Sankara has been influential on current political movements and parties in Africa, from Burkina Faso to South Africa. One of these political movements is the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in South Africa. This half-thesis is an investigation of Sankara’s political thought. It also examines the extent to which his answers to questions of nationalism and pan-Africanism both matched and differed from his predecessors. To accomplish the latter, a brief but critical analysis of the writings of Amílcar Cabral, Frantz Fanon, Kwame Nkrumah is made.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

The relationship between employee wellness and work engagement in a non-governmental organisation

  • Authors: Coopasamy, Kubashinie
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Employee health promotion
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47685 , vital:40323
  • Description: Employee wellness and work engagement have a positive influence on organisational behaviour. The main aim of the research study was to understand whether a relationship existed between employee wellness and work engagement in a Non-Governmental organisation (NGO). The research used a cross-sectional design and a composite questionnaire to measure employee wellness and work engagement. This was a paper and pen-based questionnaire which was distributed to 160 employees. Of the 160 questionnaires distributed only 155 participants responded. These participants are employed at NGO’s based in Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and East London. An exploratory factor analysis determined a new more reliable factor structure for PWS. Employee wellness lost items and became a three-factor structure. The results showed that the new EFA model was best suited for the present study. Work Engagement remained a three-factor structure. T-tests and ANOVAs revealed significant differences between the constructs and the demographic groups. Correlations showed the main findings of the study to be a relationship between employee wellness and work engagement in a non-governmental organisation.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

The relevance of industrial/organisational psychology research in “post” colonial/apartheid South Africa : exploring the views of academics

  • Authors: Christison, Michael Alan
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Psychology, Industrial -- Research -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140331 , vital:37880
  • Description: This dissertation explored the views of academics who teach and research in the area of Industrial/Organisational Psychology in South Africa about the utility of the field in engaging with the post-1994 South African workplace, thereby remaining relevant. When it emerged as a field of study and practice, Industrial/Organisational Psychology research’s aim was to inform workplace practice and contribute to the betterment of society. It appears as if today this research is deemed irrelevant to the workplace and society, with many practitioners relying on their own knowledge and irrelevant repetitive one size-fit-all Euro-American developed theoretical framework and research evidence to solve the challenges of the post-1994 South African workplace, and to serve its society. The latter propelled the researcher to ask broadly the question of relevancy of the discipline in meeting the demands of the post-1994 South African workplace. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data on 8 senior and younger generations of academics in 3 different universities. The collected data was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s 6 steps of thematic analysis. The data and study as a whole was approached with a ‘post’-colonial lens and a Contexualist paradigm in order to contextualise in the present time the past nuances that arose in our country during the colonial and apartheid eras. Themes discussed seemed to indicate a lack of research focus by academics and their students due to limited time and stringent bureaucratic publication structures present both within their universities and outside. When it came to the discipline as seen through the lens of the data and what this suggested in terms of speaking to post-1994 workplace organisational psychological problems, the study found that the findings arising out of the research in I/O psychology appear to be of little relevance to whom they are currently aimed, leading to the idea of these studies acting as a change agent in the workplace and society to fall to the wayside.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

The role of small-scale squid fisheries in sustaining livelihoods and maintaining marine resources in the context of climate change

  • Authors: Mkaza, Oyamangaye
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Squids -- Presevation , Climate Change -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/50382 , vital:42158
  • Description: Small-scale fisheries depend on the ocean as a source of social and economic benefit for the world’s population, especially in developing countries. Coastal communities face challenges in ensuring that fisheries are sustainable and resilient to the effects of climate change. The collapse of small-scale squid fisheries in South Africa in 2013-2014 raised concerns in South Africa’s fishing industry, leading to various studies that focused on the marine environment. Small-scale fisheries are important in terms of their contribution to various national economies, job creation for coastal communities and the sustainability of human existence. Society needs a detailed knowledge of the living components of natural and managed systems, as global climate changes affect the functions of ecosystems and consequently the well-being of humans. A qualitative research approach using unstructured interviews with participants was appropriate for this study. This approach gave an opportunity for participants to explain their views and provide an in-depth understanding of their social phenomena. The significance of this study is that it broadens knowledge and understanding of how small-scale fishers respond and become resilient to climate change, shocks and other risks that affect social and ecological systems negatively and assists in forecasting the likelihood of a future collapse of the fishing industry. The study’s results indicate that squid fishers’ local knowledge supports the view that there are changes in the squid stocks, with fishers detailing the changing weather patterns and climatic conditions. The squid fishers identified unsustainable fishing practices that damage the spawning areas as a problem area. There was a general concern amongst the limited number of interviewees that the future of their livelihood was in peril and changes had to be made. Local knowledge and the perceived desire to care for the environment are important for managing squid resources and fostering communities’ resilience to climate change.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

The role of the expanded public works programme in reducing unemployment in Grahamstown

  • Authors: Adam, Zanele
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Poverty Alleviation -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49583 , vital:41738
  • Description: Unemployment is a global threat and has been identified as a crucial factor affecting South Africa s economy. Unemployment rate is one of the key indicators of South Africa s economy and reports by Statistics South Africa have indicated an increase in the unemployment rate. Studies done by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has ranked South Africa amongst the worst in the world for unemployment and that poverty manifests not as a financial indicator but as a result of lack of employment opportunities. In response to the challenge of unemployment, South Africa has introduced numerous policies and strategies to combat unemployment and alleviate poverty. The vision of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is to assist South Africa with its challenge of poverty eradication and to ease the unemployment statistics while simultaneously promoting skills development for its participants and the main focus of this policy is to provide income relief for the unemployment. The aim of this research was to assess the impact of EPWP in alleviating unemployment in Grahamstown, by assessing whether or not the EPWP has had any significant influence on job creation and skills development. This study focused on programmes implemented during the period 2014-2017 which is under phase 3 of the EPWP. This study adopted a qualitative research method and followed a descriptive approach. The research method did not seek to prove a true cause-effect relationship between the variables but rather demonstrate the correlation by means of case studies, archival research and content analysis. The research results revealed the potential of the EPWP projects in job creation in the area, and that there are areas of development and challenges in order to achieve the overall purpose of the EPWP.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

The Socio-Economics of boat-based whale-watching in Plettenberg Bay

  • Authors: Klaas, Zongezile
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Whale watching -- South Africa -- Western Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48676 , vital:41058
  • Description: Boat-based whale watching has been gaining momentum since its inception back in the 1950s. Global trends of the marine leisure activity continue to grow at a rapid rate and the African continent has also joined the marine tourism trend in exploring its marine sector to meet its socio-economic challenges. South Africa as one of Africa’s economic giants has also sought a development approach with a focus on utilising its marine and maritime resources to grow the economy in meeting the domestic development objectives. The South African government through the Operation Phakisa come up with a development strategy to revitalise and explore its marine and maritime sectors to fast-track its growth potential in meeting the local developmental objectives. Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape of South Africa is well-known for its boat-based whale watching service that offers a great experience for both domestic and foreign tourists and its services form part of the Operation Phakisa programme that is aimed at economic growth and development that is focused especially on the previously disadvantaged majority to ensure that their standards of living improve. Looking into the socio-economic effects of boat-based whale watching on low-income households in Plettenberg Bay, gives meaning to finding linkages through indirect relationships between the marine environment and human lives. This therefore fosters an in-depth understanding of how to address social and economic issues in relation to a resource through the utilisation of available assets to meet sustainable development objectives. The aim of the research study is to find the linkages between boat-based whale watching as an industry with how it relates to building resilience for the low-income households in Plettenberg Bay. The study’s importance will be its ability to inform policy decisions, on adopting knowledge-based adaptive strategies and approaches to finding solutions on building resilience for low-income household through the utilisation of boat-based whale watching as a catalyst for development. The information from the research study can be utilised as a tool to empower low-income households on coastal areas, to become active participants in economic activities that are indirectly linked to boat-based whale watching industry for their own development.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

The weight of a tooth

  • Authors: Perros, Robyn Helen
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144192 , vital:38319
  • Description: My thesis is a fragmented, non-linear novella, comprised predominantly of experimental prose- poetry and fiction short-stories. I have chosen this approach in form to further explore my interest in ancestry and trauma, death and image-making, “reality” and fantasy, and the tension these invisible barriers create between the inner and outer worlds in which we simultaneously navigate, remember and forget. This thesis has been influenced both in form and content by the works of Eduardo Galeano, Osama Alomar, Lidia Yuknavitch, Susan Steinberg, Claudia Rankine, Lance Olsen, and Yasunari Kawabata, among others.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Thintitha, Celiwe

Understanding of biological teleology from a naturalistic perspective

  • Authors: Abrahams, Sanaa
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Teleology , Biology -- Philosophy , Evolution (Biology) -- Philosophy
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140534 , vital:37896
  • Description: To the extent that teleological thinking is metaphysically suspect, many theorists attempt to shift the stigma of functional explanations by reducing function ascriptions, and aim thus to de-legitimise an appeal to teleological causal relations in an analysis of function. The point is to dispel the mystery which envelops the application of function concepts by reformulating biological functional explanations so as to dispense with teleology. My project is to interrogate the success with which teleological explanations have thus been eliminated in the biological sciences, and, over the course of this thesis, I conclude that a kind of teleological causation nevertheless remains the most adequate explanatory ground of natural products. My proposal is that functional explanations are causal explanations for the presence and maintenance of self-reproducing systems. I contend that, insofar as the attribution of function presupposes the valuation of a function-bearing system as a causal necessity for its constituent parts, functional explanation references distinct and irreducible holistic properties. Using Kantian metaphysics to frame the discussion, this thesis aims first to explore critically the subject of functional characterisations of biological phenomena, and second, the metaphysical basis of modern science. Its chief contributions to the philosophical function debate reside in proposing novel arguments in justification of what I consider is an improved formulation of an attempted definition of biological function, in which teleological causal powers are explicitly recognised and accommodated in functional explanation. Moreover, this thesis attempts a naturalistic reconstruction of the metaphysical entailments of the real causality of a whole
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Understanding popular resistance to xenophobia in South Africa: ‘people think’ and the possibility of alternative politics

  • Authors: Parker, Jemima
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Xenophobia -- South Africa , Nationalism -- South Africa , Lazarus, Sylvain -- Political and social views , Political culture -- South Africa , Social change -- South Africa -- Political aspects , Discourse analysis -- South Africa -- Political aspects , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Political science -- Philosophy , Political sociology -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115006 , vital:34069
  • Description: This thesis is concerned with the crisis of xenophobia in South Africa. It argues, firstly, that xenophobia itself is not primarily a reaction to poverty, inequality, or any other set of social conditions. Rather, xenophobia must be considered to be a collective political discourse which has arisen in post-apartheid South Africa from an exclusionary conception of state nationalism. Where this work may be distinguished from the majority of research on xenophobia in South Africa is in the fact that its particular focus is on instances where ‘ordinary’ South Africans have challenged and resisted xenophobic violence in their communities through collective political mobilisation. I suggest that these sites of resistance deserve careful consideration in their own right. I argue that they may demonstrate a subjective break with the oppressive politics of state nationalism through the affirmation of alternative political conceptions. Drawing on the political theory of Sylvain Lazarus, and his principal thesis that people are capable of thinking politics in ways which can subjectively think beyond the social and the extant (underscored by his political and methodological axiom, people think), this thesis argues that these sites of resistance show that people – and especially those who are considered to be marginalised from the domain of legitimate politics – can and do think politically, and it is in the thought of people that new and potentially emancipatory visions of politics may emerge.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Using HIV/AIDS interventionist research in a university context to improve women’s sexual and reproductive health awareness

  • Authors: Kidia, Nitasha
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: HIV infections -- Prevention -- South Africa , AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention -- South Africa , AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Health education (Higher) -- South Africa , Sex instruction -- South Africa , College students -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa , Sex instruction for women -- South Africa , Women college students -- Psychology -- South Africa , Women -- Health and hygiene -- South Africa , Women -- Diseases -- Prevention -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165743 , vital:41277
  • Description: Background: Young women in South Africa are a vulnerable group, with HIV prevalence almost twice that of men, limited preventive behaviour, and many challenges in negotiating sex. However, there is a paucity of in-depth research to understand how these challenges play out and what can be done to promote positive sexual and reproductive health in this population. Methods: To understand the effects of the Auntie Stella Activity card intervention (developed and used in Zimbabwe), this study used a mixed methods participatory action research design. Five focus group discussions among female Rhodes University students between the ages of 18- 23 were conducted with the activity cards as a basis for engagement. Additionally, pre-and postintervention sexual and reproductive health awareness levels were also measured by a customized questionnaire. Based on participants’ responses to the cards and post-exposure reflections on their learning, possible impacts on behaviour change were explored. Thematic analysis of transcripts was used to draw out major themes in the qualitative data. Results and conclusions: Themes that emerged were: 1) women’s self-esteem; 2) lack of knowledge; 3) peer pressure and male dominance; and 4) alcohol and substance use. Results of the pre- and post- intervention questionnaire found a positive change in knowledge and behaviour amongst the participants. However, the intervention in its current format focused too much on teenage rather than adult scenarios. To make it more useful for this population, further modifications that account for the target age group are needed. Overall, the challenges in sexual and reproductive health faced by university-aged women in South Africa are deeply concerning, but this study’s findings show that an intervention like the ASAC has the potential to be used widely in Southern Africa, if appropriately tailored.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Visualising Chinese presence: an analysis of the contemporary arts of Zambia and Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Zhang, Lifang
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Art, Modern -- 21st century , Art, Modern -- 21st century -- Chinese influences , China -- Relations -- Zambia , China -- Relations -- Zimbabwe , Art and society -- Zambia , Social practice (Art) -- Zambia , Art and globalization -- Zambia , Art and society -- Zimbabwe , Social practice (Art) -- Zimbabwe , Art and globalization -- Zimbabwe
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146618 , vital:38542
  • Description: With the revival and rapid growth of relations between China and African countries in the present century, the “China-Africa relationship” has become a topic of close attention globally and the media and politicians have been dominating the mainstream discourses with dichotomised narratives. China-Africa engagement has also spurred academic research, most of which is oriented toward large-scale economic, political, and strategic concerns. In this context, it is significant to conduct in-depth research exploring specific engagement between Chinese and African people on the ground. Contemporary artists based in Africa have started to represent, through artworks and performances, their experiences and expressions of relations between China and various African countries. However, an examination of twenty-first century connections between Africa and China in relation to the contemporary visual arts is a new area of study and only a limited number of scholarly works exist. To contribute to the research in this area, this thesis explores the ways in which artists engage with specific realities and lived-experiences of Chinese presence through their artistic practices, with a focus on a selection of artists from Zambia and Zimbabwe. Through visual analysis, interviews and field work, this thesis provides a systematic investigation of contemporary arts of Zambia and Zimbabwe in relation to Africa- China encounters, engaging with four aspects: the discursive field, the material presence, individual experiences of encounters, and the broader relational connections within the arts. This thesis argues that, motivated by the histories and realities of African societies, artists from Zambia and Zimbabwe, through their artistic practices, form part of the Africa-China engagement and insert their agencies in the south-south relations between Africans and Chinese. Therefore, this thesis demonstrates the value in approaching the broader discussion on Africa-China engagements from the perspective of contemporary art, arguing that, with the social concerns of the artists and the expressive capacity of creative forms, visual arts are able to embrace diversity, dynamics, complexities and contradictions, and, therefore, can develop the topic beyond the stereotypical narratives about Africa-China relations to a more nuanced understanding of African-Chinese encounters in specific contexts.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Whatever you say

  • Authors: Campbell, Laura
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140993 , vital:37935
  • Description: This document consists of two (2) parts : Part A: Thesis (Creative Work) ; Part B: Portfolio
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Whiteness under threat: Farmlands and the construction of whiteness in its YouTube comment space

  • Authors: Kelly, Megan
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Farmlands (Documentary) , YouTube (Firm) , Mass media and propaganda -- South Africa , Afrikaners -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Propaganda, South African , Farmers -- Violence against -- South Africa , Racism in mass media , Whites -- Race identity -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165722 , vital:41275
  • Description: This study examines how whiteness, particularly South African whiteness, is constructed in a propagandistic YouTube documentary entitled Farmlands and how these constructions are taken up and negotiated by its viewers in its associated comment section. I suggest that these constructions are not only racialised, but resuscitate and popularise old colonial discourses that perpetuate the fear of a ‘white genocide’ and the perceived extermination of a ‘pure white civilisation’. A thematic analysis informed by theories of representation, the establishment of difference through meaning, discourse and critical whiteness studies show that there are several narratives constructed through binary oppositions informed by colonial understandings of race, juxtaposing whiteness and blackness. In analysing these constructions, I aim to demonstrate that whiteness often becomes violent and defensive when its power is perceived to be under threat, reproducing itself through binary constructions that aim to protect it. In doing so, I demonstrate how whiteness is globalising from previous narrow nationalist framings to embracing a globalised notion of ‘white civilisation under threat’. This study supports research that is sceptical of the democratizing ability of the internet and social media, focusing specifically on YouTube’s comment forum and how it is utilized to mobilize attitudes based on hatred, racism and profound social exclusion.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Whose Wakanda is it anyway? A reception analysis of Black Panther among young black urban Africans

‘This sea of darkness, craziness and opportunity’: students experiences of depression and social identities at a South African university

“A thousand mad things before breakfast”: the interplay of reason and imagination in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series

  • Authors: Dingle, Teresa Anne
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Potter, Harry (Fictitious character) , Rowling, J. K. -- Characters -- Harry Potter , Rowling, J. K. -- Criticism and interpretation , Fantasy fiction, English -- History and criticism , Magic in literature , Wizards in literature , Rationalism in literature , Imagination in literature , Prejudices in literature
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/118065 , vital:34592
  • Description: Realism and imagination serve roles in J.K. Rowling’s world creation in the Harry Potter series and thus will be traced through this thesis. Both rational and imaginative thinking are modes of thought and play roles in characters’ responses to issues. Further, reason and imagination are used in Harry Potter as modes of resistance against the prejudice which shapes much of the society of the magical world and so will be examined. In the Harry Potter series, Rowling combines fantasy traditions with realism and in so doing ensures her wizarding world mirrors the world of the reader. Rowling enacts a re-creation of the real world of the reader through a recombination of realistic and fantasy elements. This thesis will call on fantasy theorists Rosemary Jackson and Dimitra Fimi as well as the fantasy and science fiction writer Ursula Le Guin to examine how Rowling conforms to and expands on the fantasy tradition in which she writes in her creation of the magical world. It is made evident through Rowling’s treatment of Harry’s friends Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood that combining reason and imagination is more beneficial than choosing one over the other. The girls’ ways of thinking, seeing and interacting with those around them are complex and he learns from their combined wisdom how to navigate challenges and trials. Criticism focusing primarily on the secondary character of Luna is relatively scarce, despite her impact on Harry’s views regarding death and the afterlife. This thesis offers a new perspective on the importance to Rowling’s narrative of this open-minded, idiosyncratic figure. Rational and imaginative ways of thinking are necessary modes to use in the resistance to prejudice in wizarding society since this pervasive privileging of wizards over other magical beings espoused by the magical government inspires Lord Voldemort to kill or subjugate those whose magical heritage falls short of pure-blooded wizarding ancestry. In analysing the ostensibly conflicting rational and imaginative modes of thought, I examine Rowling’s unconscious use of shadow theory through her treatment of Harry’s dreams and visions – a direct connection between Harry and Lord Voldemort. Harry confronts his antagonist – and addresses the prejudices pervading wizarding society – through making rational decisions that require imaginative action.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

“How can you build a nation without telling its stories?”: Transgressive, Testimonial Fiction in Post-TRC South Africa

  • Authors: Collett, Keenan
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: South African fiction (English) , Violence in literature , South Africa -- In literature , AIDS (Disease) in literature , Duiker, K Sello -- Thirteen cents , Moele, Kgebetli -- The book of the dead , Staggie, Jason -- Risk
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147092 , vital:38592
  • Description: Transgressive fiction refers to works of literature that are fundamentally concerned with the provocation of their reader. This effect is typically accomplished by authors crafting novels that feature upsetting content: extreme violence, taboo sex acts, and drug abuse – often narrated by protagonists who are either the recipients or enactors of violence and trauma. Given their rootedness in familiar social settings, these works of fiction manage to relay critiques of their particular societies. Over the past three decades, transgressive fiction has amassed a small critical reception with focus predominantly directed toward texts from the United States and the United Kingdom. In an attempt to build on existing scholarship, this thesis explores recent and disturbing works of South African literature in order to gauge whether the markers of transgressive fiction are as easily applicable in a new national setting. K. Sello Duiker’s Thirteen Cents, Kgebetli Moele’s The Book of the Dead and Jason Staggie’s Risk form the basis of the discussion. Each novel exposes a concern with social developments within a ‘post-apartheid’ South Africa, and codes its respective critique in narratives concerned with the violation of consent, as depicted in profoundly unsettling ways. The spread of publication dates across the three novels also allows for an examination of morphing social critique from 2000-2013.
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  • Date Issued: 2020
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