Browsing by Author "Lange, Mary Elizabeth."

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Spirituality, well-being, memory and the future, in applied storytelling : a comparison of two “Sites of Conscience Museums”, namely the Museum of Free Derry, Northern Ireland and District Six Museum, South Africa.
(2017) Lange, Mary Elizabeth.; Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth Elizabeth.
Applied storytelling is a form of autoethnographic, verbal, visual or written communication intended for social change that emphasises memory and the future in post-conflict museums such as District Six Museum, Cape Town, South Africa and the Museum of Free Derry, Derry / Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This study is trans-disciplinary, qualitative, comparative research. It analyses how the sharing of personal narratives told by storytellers who have experienced loss, such as District Six ex-residents and relatives of Bloody Sunday victims, impacts their spiritual well-being. The focus in this research is specifically on the verbal applied storytelling but the role of visual and written autoethnographies is also included linked thereto. It promotes an inclusive hybridity methodology, informed by theory, whereby global south and north dichotomies are bridged and participatory practises are merged with Ubuntu philosophy. The role of spirituality, as it relates to self, others, a higher being and / or cause and the environment, is effectively analysed by implementing of a framework for analysis which is non-linear, flexible and thematic. This proved effective in the analysing of the role of storytelling trance and spiritual connections between storytellers and visitors as being part of a positive feed-back loop for the promotion of their spiritual well-being. It further proved specifically effective in the analysis of the ‘spirit of the place’ that is in the identifying of layers of spiritual connections through oral living heritage to heritage of place, space and topography. Applied storytelling by communities of loss is found, in this study, to be a form of communal autoethnography or spiritual action, that acts as a resource for hope and spiritual well-being when individual storytellers have personal agency / autonomy within an independently conjoined inosculation relationship to a community post-conflict museum.
The challenges and benefits of documenting Bakoni tangible heritage and perceptions thereof using Photovoice.
(2024) Mbili, Qiniso.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.; Lange, Mary Elizabeth.
This thesis explores the existing official and scholarly interpretations of the Bakoni heritage stonewall settlement sites in Mpumalanga, Mashishing. It also studies the contemporary narratives that exist within the Mashishing local and Indigenous communities concerning Bakoni heritage. This study simultaneously explores the benefits and challenges of using Photovoice as a method of documenting heritage and in particular intangible heritage. This research is conducted using Participatory Action Research, which produces knowledge in a democratic manner while pursuing development objectives. It highlights the knowledge produced by local and Indigenous community members with the aim of valorising their narratives and opinions regarding the Bakoni heritage and Photovoice methodology. The participants’ narratives are explored and studied in relation to already existing scholarly and official interpretations of the Bakoni heritage. Their opinions of the Photovoice methodology are explored with the intention to contribute towards the understanding of Photovoice as a data collection tool. This thesis produces visual depictions of the Bakoni stonewalls as photographed by the participants to document and store the Bakoni heritage. This approach is mobilised to include Bakoni knowledge produced by local and Indigenous communities in the public domain.
Women reading the Gariep River, Upington : structured inclusion.
(2006) Lange, Mary Elizabeth.; Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth Elizabeth.
This research project focuses on the application of a structured inclusive approach to the use of ethnography for the interpretation of rock art. The geographical research location is the Upington area north of the Orange/Gariep River. Both tangible and intangible heritage are explored using a multiple intelligence theoretical framework including auto ethnographic, ecosystemic methodology. The study is embedded in constructivist educational theory, which builds on the researcher and others' previous knowledge and research. The intangible heritage is made up of oral narratives about a Water Snake told by a group of women of a mixture of cultural backgrounds. The tangible rock art, made up of various rock engraving styles is situated at Biesje Poort. Contemporary indigenous as well as various academic interpretations of the site are included in the research. Secondary sources relating to theory and methodology on myth and ethno archaeology, specifically on rock art, are used in the first section of the research in order to convey the research context. The second section of the research concentrates on the application of various dominant intelligences in regard to the analysis of primary sources. Experiential, intrapersonal and interpersonal encounters with the subjects are included. Synthesis of the primary and secondary sources plus new and prior research is included in the presentation through written text and visual representation and imagery. The research is conducted in order to include and expand on present museum practices which emphasize inclusion and ownership of heritage research and representation. As such this research process emphasizes the ethical implications of participatory research and aims to maintain an empowering partnership with the research informants.