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Masters Degrees (Religion and Social Transformation)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/16161

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Religion and Social Transformation) by Author "Denis, Philippe Marie Berthe Raoul."

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    Anglican ritualism in colonial South Africa: exploring some of the local discourses between 1848 and 1884.
    (2020) Bethke, Andrew-John.; Denis, Philippe Marie Berthe Raoul.
    This dissertation examines South Africa’s colonial contribution to the spread of what is known in popular and academic literature as “ritualism” during the mid-nineteenth century. It also seeks to add a South African voice to the growing contemporary scholarship in this area. Three considerations shape the dissertation: definitions (high churchmanship, Tractarianism, ecclesiology, ritualism and Anglo-Catholicism); perceptions of what was often termed ritualism by clergy and laity; and portrayals of ritualism in public discourse. To understand these considerations in context, the study examines the role of South Africa’s first Anglican bishop, and his creation of an independent local church, in fostering a climate conducive to ritualism. This is followed by an examination of the protests against some of the early developments which were considered ritualist by colonial congregations. Finally, a few examples of advanced ritualism are analysed. Three distinct waves of catholic revival are identified: early (1848 through to the mid-1850s) characterised by architecture and symbolism; middle (mid-1850s through to about 1870) characterised by lay opposition to recognised Anglican ceremonial; and late (mid-1860s through to the turn of the nineteenth century) characterised by the introduction of the “six points” of ritualism not sanctioned in the Anglican prayer book tradition. The author finds that after the middle period of fairly robust antagonism towards ritualism, a general movement towards ritualist practices began to emerge. The sources consulted for this dissertation include letters, newspaper and periodical articles, archival material and several unpublished theses.
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    Trauma, memory, and spirituality in the experiences of women who survived the Gukurahundi atrocities.
    Abraham, Pretty.; Denis, Philippe Marie Berthe Raoul.
    In conflict zones, women and girls are frequently the most vulnerable and suffer the most harm. Their precarious position makes them easy target for heinous human rights violations such as rape and torture. Women survivors of these atrocities often must live with vivid and horrifying memories of rape, war, and death for the rest of their lives. This was the case for women who survived the Gukurahundi massacres in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland and Midlands areas, where the Fifth Brigade army committed grave human rights violations. The violence that happened between 1983 and 1987 left communities wounded and destabilised. understanding women’s traumatic experiences in the context of their surroundings is crucial for understanding how they process, recall, and deal with traumatic experiences. Furthermore, women’s experiences of trauma constitute an important starting point for understanding their lived reality. The goal of this studywas to document women’s accounts of the Gukurahundi massacres as well as to examine how they remember and cope with their traumatic past. This study also looked into how women express spirituality and construct meaning in the aftermath of the atrocities. The findings reveal that sexual violence trauma memories are highly detailed and enduring, even over long periods of time. Survivors recall their rape experiences clearly and in great detail, and their memories have shaped their current worldview. The personal experiences that women relate in this study include not just a history of what happened during Gukurahundi, but also the ongoing suffering and pain that they continue to endure in the present. Despite a possible Christian background, the women make no mention of their Christian faith and instead rely on their African traditional beliefs to construct and find meaning for their trauma. as a result, the chain of events and their repercussions are understood from a cultural standpoint.