Masters Degrees (English, Media and Performance Studies)

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A man on a galloping horse.
(2010) King, Judith.; Moolman, Jacobus Philippus.; Green, Michael Cawood.
No abstract available.
Advertising, community radio and mandate : a case study of Radio Maritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2004) Adhanom, Zerai Araia.; Wade, Jean-Philippe.
In South Africa, community radio is a growing phenomenon and over 100 radio stations have been licensed since the establishment of the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Ever since their emergence, their number has been growing dramatically and they have managed to attract 10% of the radio listenership in the country (NCRF charter). The proliferation and increasing demand for community radio broadcasting in South Africa and elsewhere demonstrates their significance and contribution to the socio-economic and cultural development of society in general, and to communities in particular. Nonetheless, despite their substantial contribution, communjty radios face challenges, especially with regard to resources and finance. As non-profit making institutions, they are funded by donors and subscribers and thus often suffer due to lack of reliable financial resources. The South African National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) states the decline of donor support as the main bottleneck to the proper functioning of community radio stations in the country (NCRF: July 2002). Thus, as with other commercial and public broadcasting stations, community radios in South Africa are expected to incorporate advertising as a source of income to cover some of their expenses without becoming dominated by profit motives. This study takes Radio Maritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal as a case study and attempts to explore the main financial sources of the station and its management. As its main. objective, the research in particular assesses the contribution of advertising as a financial source to the radio station and the way the station attracts advertisements without jeopardizing its mandate.
The Alice books - an imaginative testimony to a child's experiences of socio-cultural norms of the late Victorian age.
(2004) Evans, Katherine.; Bizley, William Henry.
Introduction: Alice in Wonderland is perhaps the most renowned fantasy book for children. Over and above this though, it has relevance for adults. People too often dismiss it as purely escapist reading, a means to escape from the monotony of everyday realism by delving into the realms of fantasy. Many critics propose that it operates on more than one level and I would have to agree - it is a pioneer of children's literature as well as a product and critique of the Victorian age. It is a story that has captured the world's imagination, with vivid characters and exciting adventures. The sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, although not as well known, equally offers an insight into the late nineteenth-century. I intend to explore the many layers found in these stories, and hope to expose them as being more than mere narratives, but as pieces of literature that thrive because they are so cleverly constructed Perhaps also their success lies in that they deal with the universal theme (for children and adults alike) of making sense of the seemingly nonsensical aspects of life and society. The stories, as well as the strange characters and happenings, are reminiscent of the Absurdist genre in drama, in which the objective is to turn the world upside down, so to speak, in order to understand people and society. My dissertation will begin by exploring the literary trends of children's books prior to 1865, in other words, before Alice in Wonderland was published. I intend to present an overview of Victorian and pre-Victorian children's fiction, tracing the development of the story for teaching and religious instruction, up until the time when the story was liberated to be simply the vehicle for pleasurable recreational purposes. Thus my opening chapter is an exploration of the didactic children's literature that dominated the early nineteenth century, examining the educationalists that helped expand the genre of children's literature. Next, I will include a brief biography of Lewis Carroll. It is important to my overall theme in that a biography sums up, in one human centre, the forces at play in Victorian sensibility. As a modern audience, we seem to seize upon the idea of his 'character', desperately attempting to understand what motivated him to write such tour de force stories. The interest for me at this point is to examine how academics have portrayed Carroll's 'character'. The motive behind this section is to beg the question of whether his complex personality affects our reading of the texts, or whether they can be seen as entirely separate from a life to which some scandal has been attributed. In the remainder of my dissertation, I shall focus on how the texts are a reflection of a typical Victorian child's experiences, and discuss how Alice 'grows' as a character, and what she reveals about her society in the process of discovering how she should define herself. Alice is the vehicle for Carroll's subversive commentary about his society, and her experiences in Wonderland and Looking-Glass land are often rooted in the undermining of conventional behaviour and traditions. Lastly, I will examine Carroll's stylistic organization of the narratives, paying particular attention to his treatment of time, dreams and language in the texts. I will discuss what his intentions are in creating 'nonsense that makes sense', as well as what this 'nonsense' discloses about the society he lived in and the values he seems to object to.
An analysis of a pre-election discussion on a Facebook newsgroup entitled Help us stop Jacob Zuma from becoming South Africa's next President, exploring issues of South Africanness and the potential of the new media for democratic expression.
(2010) Saville, Meggan.; Viney, Desiray.
South Africa, since 1994, has developed both politically and technologically resulting in an opening of communications both locally and globally. The 2009 national elections had been earmarked as a 'make or break' milestone for the political and social future of the young democracy. This election occurred amidst media analysts‘ concerns for the level of freedom of expression allowed to traditional forms of the South African media. New media, however, is not at present subject to the same regulations. Although a few cases of slander relating, for example, to Facebook have occurred, ephemeral cyber space appears to enjoy a greater degree of freedom of expression than the press and broadcast media. As a result the ability of these traditional forms of media to function effectively as a public sphere may be questioned, and some theorists claim that the Internet may offer an alternative medium for this function. This thesis looks at the potential of online communities to facilitate democratic expression by analysing a Facebook newsgroup text at the time of the election. In my exploration of the Facebook newsgroup Help us stop Jacob Zuma from becoming SA's next President I have analysed the text using two qualitative approaches. The critical discourse analysis traces competing South African discourses relating to the myths of the inherent violence of black men and the inherent racism of whites, the topics of crime and violence, Jacob Zuma and South Africanness. This approach‘s theoretical guidelines enforced a more objective view of the text, although interpretive methods in general grapple with subjectivity at a more observable level than do quantitative methods. The ethnographic hermeneutic component of the research is aimed at "making the obscure plain" (Blaikie, 1993: 28, cited in Neuman, 1997: 68) in the text, as well as documenting the inner workings of the online community and its relation to South African issues at the time of the national election. The findings are then measured against public sphere theory from Habermas' conception of the bourgeois public sphere to revisionist accounts (Fraser, 1997 and McKee, 2005)
Analysis of Jacob Nhlapho's Bantu Babel (1944).
(2001) Mkize, Chrezentia Clementine Zanele.; Wade, Jean-Philippe.; Van Wyk, Johan.
No abstract available.
An analysis of learner satisfaction and learning outcomes in an online learning course at the University of Botswana's Faculty of Engineering.
(2009) Keagakwa, David.; Murrell, Katherine Ann.
Research findings have shown that online learning has the potential to improve the quality of learning if it is designed effectively to embrace interactive, collaborative knowledge building among learners. Online learning has the capacity to facilitate efficient and enjoyable learning through skills acquisition in a context specific environment especially in Southern Africa but there are a number of challenges that designers of online learning need to factor in to the design of this pedagogy. This study explores how learner - learner; learner - course facilitator and learner - content interactions influenced and shaped learners' online learning experiences particularly satisfaction with a course facilitated from the University of Botswana for participants within the SADC region. These three forms of interactions were further explored through using 6 online learning evaluation dimensions to provide a guide to the analysis. The study employed a range of data collection methods that provided rich qualitative data including: Life world accounts, discussion forum entries, online surveys, expert reviews, and learners' grades. The findings suggest that the learners' level of interaction at the levels of the 6 dimensions could have influenced what they perceived to be valuable, effective and satisfactory. Other influencing variables were course design and community of learning presence. The findings also reveal that although the participants found the course to be very valuable to them, there were areas that could improve the learning experiences. Further longitudinal research and investigation into alternative technologies is also recommended.
The animal dimension : an investigation into the signification of animals in Homer and archaic Attic black figure vase painting.
(2000) Pieterse, Tamaryn Lee.; Mackay, Anne.
The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the representation of specific types of animals as they occurred in Homer and archaic Attic black figure vase painting with a view to understanding bow they were most likely perceived in antiquity. This involved determining the underlying concepts around which each animal was constructed by comparing and contrasting the imagery presented in the Homeric works and archaic Attic black figure vase painting. The primary objective was to suspend modern and westernized conceptions and to attempt to approach the animal as from an ancient perspective. The Homeric works were chosen as representative of the literary evidence since these poems offer the most complete, oldest extant literature and are the result of a dynamic and continuous oral tradition. Similarly, archaic Attic black figure vase painting was considered the most suitable corpus of artistic evidence since the 6th century BC was a time when the artists actively engaged with and manipulated their themes and subject matter within an established tradition; this artistic fabric presents a parallel with the Homeric evidence. As a result of this investigation, clear and discrete concepts and images were determined for each animal.
Anna's song: the music of stories.
(2010) Bohmer, Liesel.; Moolman, Jacobus Philippus.
It is evening. Anna and her Großmutti are watching the first star rise over the Wortmanns’ sugarcane fields. They sit on the stoep of the house Anna and her daughter share with her grandparents. The house is on the same property as their family business, the Wartburger Hotel. There is a comfortable silence between Anna and her Großmutti, suspended in the evening air, along with black ash and the smell of smoke. The Wortmanns have been burning their fields today. Anna looks towards the Wortmanns’ farm. She scans the fields from the road separating the hotel property and the Wortmanns’ farm, to the Blinkwater mountains on the horizon. There is no sign of a motorbike, or of a streak of dust twisting through the fields. She’s longing for a glimpse of Michael Wortmann on his motorbike, but she knows her search is pointless. Michael is far away, in Germany. At the horizon, the evening air is red and heavy with the dying light. Anna blinks away the sadness welling up in her eyes. She tries to focus on the blanket over Großmutti’s knees instead. Großmutti loves that blanket. Her mother knitted it for her, many years ago. Großmutti says that the blanket makes her feel homesick for her childhood. There is something in Großmutti’s eyes that makes it easy for Anna to imagine her as a little girl, climbing the highest tree on the hotel’s property, and feeling the freedom of being higher than everyone else in Wartburg. Almost like flying. The church bells strike six. Großmutti taps her walking stick against the stoep’s tiles. Großmutti doesn’t need a walking stick, actually, but she likes to use one – mainly in moments like these, to draw attention to herself. “Isn’t there anybody to serve me here?” Großmutti calls, loudly. Großmutti never says anything softly. “No,” Anna says, her voice heavy. She gets up. “Oh good, we aren’t having a drought after all!” Großmutti coughs, and catches Anna’s eye, finally managing to force a smile from her. Anna returns to the stoep, carrying a tray of drinks. Cane and Coke for her grandmother, who loyally supports the sugar farmers. Großmutti’s family used to own three of the biggest sugar farms in the area – but Großmutti’s Onkel Hermann had been more interested in drinking away his money than in farming, which meant that most of the land now belonged to other families. Luckily, the hotel was still in the family, Großmutti often said. Anna put two glasses of Wartburger Hotel home-brewed beers for Großvater and herself on the stoep table, and a cup of Großmutti’s special lemon juice for Emma, Anna’s daughter. “Großvater and Emma are on their way,” Anna explains. “Großvater’s speaking to Philani, you know, the painter – Philani’s saying something about Großvater not paying him, but Großvater says he did.” It is evening. Anna and her Großmutti are watching the first star rise over the Wortmanns’ sugarcane fields. They sit on the stoep of the house Anna and her daughter share with her grandparents. The house is on the same property as their family business, the Wartburger Hotel. There is a comfortable silence between Anna and her Großmutti, suspended in the evening air, along with black ash and the smell of smoke. The Wortmanns have been burning their fields today. Anna looks towards the Wortmanns’ farm. She scans the fields from the road separating the hotel property and the Wortmanns’ farm, to the Blinkwater mountains on the horizon. There is no sign of a motorbike, or of a streak of dust twisting through the fields. She’s longing for a glimpse of Michael Wortmann on his motorbike, but she knows her search is pointless. Michael is far away, in Germany. At the horizon, the evening air is red and heavy with the dying light. Anna blinks away the sadness welling up in her eyes. She tries to focus on the blanket over Großmutti’s knees instead. Großmutti loves that blanket. Her mother knitted it for her, many years ago. Großmutti says that the blanket makes her feel homesick for her childhood. There is something in Großmutti’s eyes that makes it easy for Anna to imagine her as a little girl, climbing the highest tree on the hotel’s property, and feeling the freedom of being higher than everyone else in Wartburg. Almost like flying. The church bells strike six. Großmutti taps her walking stick against the stoep’s tiles. Großmutti doesn’t need a walking stick, actually, but she likes to use one – mainly in moments like these, to draw attention to herself. “Isn’t there anybody to serve me here?” Großmutti calls, loudly. Großmutti never says anything softly. “No,” Anna says, her voice heavy. She gets up. “Oh good, we aren’t having a drought after all!” Großmutti coughs, and catches Anna’s eye, finally managing to force a smile from her. Anna returns to the stoep, carrying a tray of drinks. Cane and Coke for her grandmother, who loyally supports the sugar farmers. Großmutti’s family used to own three of the biggest sugar farms in the area – but Großmutti’s Onkel Hermann had been more interested in drinking away his money than in farming, which meant that most of the land now belonged to other families. Luckily, the hotel was still in the family, Großmutti often said. Anna put two glasses of Wartburger Hotel home-brewed beers for Großvater and herself on the stoep table, and a cup of Großmutti’s special lemon juice for Emma, Anna’s daughter. “Großvater and Emma are on their way,” Anna explains. “Großvater’s speaking to Philani, you know, the painter – Philani’s saying something about Großvater not paying him, but Großvater says he did.” “He did pay him, I was there,” Großmutti says. “Philani seemed quite angry, but Großvater managed to get rid of him in the end,” Anna says, yawning. “Are you tired, Schatzi?” Großmutti asks. “You’ve been rushing around all day.” “ So have you. A 76 year-old should be sitting around resting more. Like this.” “It’s rude to talk about someone’s age. Guck lieber den schönen Stern an,” Großmutti retorts, pointing at the evening star. The star is directly above what Großmutti calls her tree – just to the right of the stoep, an old jacaranda in full bloom. Anna hardly notices the star. She hopes Großmutti won’t realize she’s not paying attention. All she can think of is the news she heard that morning. Anna and Michael are sitting underneath the jacaranda tree, eating red grape ice lollies. They are five years old, and they’ve just met. Anna’s parents have sent her to Wartburg to spend the summer holidays with her grandparents. “I think we should get married,” Michael says, taking Anna’s sticky ice lolly hand into his, which is equally sticky. “Now?” “No, I think we can wait a while.” “Ok,” Anna says, giggling. She pulls her hand away. She drops her ice-lolly’s wooden stick, and starts running. “Hey, Michael, bet you can’t catch me!” Großmutti is already halfway through her Cane and Coke, and Anna hasn’t touched her beer yet. “You’re thinking of him, aren’t you? I heard the news, too.” Anna ignores her. But Großmutti never lets herself be ignored. “Don’t dwell on it, Schatz. First boyfriends normally don’t work out. And you’ve been coping without him for years now.” Anna looks away. Großmutti moves closer to Anna. “My first boyfriend,” Großmutti whispers dramatically, “was the Swiss poet.” “I know, Großmutti. I’ve met him. Christian. Wasn’t his poetry quite bad? Großvater says so.” “He’s just jealous. Ok, I admit there was a bit too much about the mountains and birds and how he feels when he looks at them in his poems. But I liked them.”’ This is one of Großmutti’s favourite stories. Anna has already heard it, more than once. Großmutti’s favourite part of the story is the beginning part, where she speaks at length about her looks. Großmutti likes to exaggerate. But Anna knows that when it comes to speaking about her looks, Großmutti is telling the truth. Anna has seen photos, and her grandmother had really been beautiful as a young woman. “Sie hat die Schönheit in die Familie gebracht,” Großvater likes to say. Anna just hopes Großmutti hadn’t spent so much time speaking about her looks back then. Vanity is easier to handle in an old person. In fact, Großmutti’s vanity is quite charming. “You know, mein Schatz, I was also beautiful once. I looked a bit like you—just prettier. Same blue eyes, dark hair, and good figure. My complexion, people used to say, was the best in the whole of Wartburg. And the men … they were just crazy about me. As I’ve noticed they are about you, too. Ja, die Männer!” At this she giggles, and blushes, and puts a stray strand of hair behind her ears. Anna knows exactly what Großmutti is going to say next. “The first time the Swiss poet kissed me was right there under that tree.” “Does Großvater know this story? I’ve noticed you never tell it when he’s around. He’ll be here any second …” “You know, I was still getting to the point of the story. But you young people… you just don’t have any patience. When you’re 80 years old, like me, you won’t like to be interrupted either,” Großmutti twirls her walking stick around, as if to emphasize her age. Anna wants to mention that she’s heard this story, many times, and that actually, Großmutti is only turning 76 this year. “What I want to tell you, Anna, if you let me finish my story, is what the Swiss poet taught me…” “Großmutti, I don’t really want to talk about Christian.” “You just don’t want to talk about his grandson. What’s the grandson’s name again…” “It’s such a beautiful evening, isn’t it?” Anna says, pointing at the sky full of streaks of evening-red light. “What’s his name again?” Großmutti persists. “You see, I really am getting old... I never used to forget things.” “His name’s Luka. And another thing you keep ‘forgetting’ is that I really don’t want you to even mention him.” “I told you to be careful of Luka, didn’t I?” Anna blushes and looks away. “What do you want to tell me about then, Großmutti? Do you want to tell me that Christian taught you how to kiss? Because you’ve explained that to me before, in detail, And some only hear noise. That is their choice. But I hope that you won’t choose noise. And then, you will realise that not only is there music all around you, there is music inside you, too. The music has been there – inside you, around you, since before you were born. You just need to learn to listen, mein Schatz – listen before you sing.” Anna looks towards the mountains at the horizon, and tries to listen. All she can hear is the sound of night settling over Wartburg, and she wishes that there were a moon tonight.
The application of Paolo Freire's pedagogy in renegotiating HIV stigmatised identities : a study of DramAidE's Health Promotion Project (HPP) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
(2009) Botha, Paul.; Kelly, Kevin.
Diagnosis with HIV disease is associated with a negative life event which impacts on health, longevity, reproduction and sexuality. Given the impact of disease stigma on prevailing constructions of masculinity and femininity, gender expectations are found to play an increasingly important role in prevention. In contexts in which increasingly more young people are living with HIV there is a need for appropriate sex-education, support for dealing with sexuality and self-identity with HIV. This calls for a prevention approach that gives a voice to those who have previously been marginalised and necessitates a move away from prevention approaches that are didactic and use top-down shifts in policy and regulation as a means of encouraging risk reduction. This study explores DramAidE’s Health Promotion project which locates young people who live openly with HIV in the centre of an HIV/AIDS mitigation project so that they can provide leadership and engage campus communities in HIV/AIDS related activities and events. Unlike most higher education stigma reduction efforts which draw on a model of "liberal enlightenment" in which communications experts design projects with the intention of correcting inappropriate thoughts and actions, this project avoids, what Paulo Freire (1972a) calls a ‘banking’ approach to health (Maluwa, Aggleton, and Parker, 2002). Participatory action research is associated with democratic struggles and is used in this dissertation to encourage resistance to stigmatising attitudes which are encoded within current prevention approaches. The findings suggest that peers exposed to the Health Promotion project engage with gender and prevention issues in a highly critical way. Peers living and affected by HIV have developed a context specific set of norms which encourage testing. An innovative approach to prevention has been adopted in which peer leaders living with HIV provide an alternative model of care and support which is community supported.
The art of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg during the 1950s and 1960s : the transition from modernism to postmodernism.
(1998) Morley, John.; Liebenberg-Barkhuizen, Estelle Juliana.; Heath, Bronwen Jinny.
This dissertation is intended as an investigation into the art of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.The aim of thisinvestigation is to assess the possibility that the art produced by Johns and Rauschenberg during the 1950s and 1960s constitutes a transition from modernism to postmodernism in the visual arts in America. This dissertation is introduced by means of a broad outline of relevent developments within the visual arts during the1950s and 1960s in America. This outline also contains explanations of modernism and postmodernism and looks at how these terms are presented throughout this text. In the outline I describe how Johns and Rauschenberg can be identified with a shift that occurred in the visual arts in America during the mid 1950s away from two prominent modes of painting within modernism, namely' action' painting, as described by Harold Rosenberg (1982:28), and Clement Greenberg's 'American-type' painting (1973:208). Both Johns and Rauschenberg actively produced art during the 1970s and 1980s the period in which postmodernism is generally regarded to have been most prominent. However, in an attempt to assess the possibility that their art is transitional from modernism to postmodernism, this investigation focuses upon a selection of artworks produced during the 1950s and 1960s. I intend to discover whether or not these works signalled a departure from modernism and if they did, at what point this occurred and what the specific nature of this departure was. These works are examined from conceptual, formal, iconographical, stylistic and technical viewpoints. Throughout this dissertation I attempt to describe how Johns and Rauschenberg anticipated and embraced various postmodem tendencies that have subsequently emerged in the arts and other related disciplines. Parallels are drawn between the artworks of Johns and Rauschenberg and the disciplines of architecture and literary theory. These parallels are drawn with the intention of aligning Johns and Rauschenberg's attitude towards making art in the 1950s and 1960s with a relatively widespread mood in literary theory, philosophy and the social sciences concerning the inability of these disciplines to deliver totalising theories and doctrines, or enduring answers to fundamental dilemmas and puzzles posed by objects of inquiry, and a growing feeling, on the contrary, that chronic provisionality, plurality of perspectives and incommensurable appearances of the objects of inquiry in competing discourses make the search for ultimate answers or even answers that can command widespread consensus a futile exercise. (Boyne and Rattansi 1990: 12).
The artist as a visionary : a consideration of Jackson Pollock, Joseph Beuys and Jackson Hlungwani as visionary artists.
(1996) Coetzee, Michelle.; Liebenberg-Barkhuizen, Estelle Juliana.
This study is a consideration of the notion of the artist as a visionary. This perception of the artist is explored in relation to the work and ideas of three twentieth century artists; the American painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1952), the German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1983) and the South African artist Jackson Hlungwani (1918 -). The work and ideas of these artists is discussed primarily in terms of the similarities and differences between their art and ideas and those encountered in traditional shamanism and the visionary aspects of Romantic and Gothic art and culture as represented by the work and ideas of eighteenth century English poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827). Each of the twentieth century artists who are considered represents a different strain of the idea of the artist as a visionary. Pollock is discussed in terms of his implicit identification with the artist-shaman. This identification is revealed by the influence Jung's writings and Native American (Indian) art and culture had on his work. Beuys is considered in relation to his explicit adoption of a shaman-like persona. Hlungwani is a practising healer in a traditional community whose art explores an apocalyptic vision of redemption. The comparisons between the artists under investigation and the visionary aspects of traditional shamanism and Gothic and Romantic culture entail an analysis of pictorial elements, subject matter and content in the work of these artists. The intention was to explore those properties in the work and ideas of these artists which correspond to the notion of the artist as a visionary.
Aspects of identity : poet, persona and performance in Sylvia Plath's Ariel.
(2010) Esterhuizen, Leigh Caron.; Murray, Sally-Ann.
Female identity in Sylvia Plath’s Ariel collection (first published in 1965) is a complex site of being and becoming within a 1950s culture of performance. From a twenty-first century perspective, this dissertation bridges traditional and contemporary readings of Plath and the Plath archive through a referencing of motifs such as celebrity, ‘the gaze’, ventriloquism and clothing. The inter-discursive approach used – literary, psychoanalytic, cultural – attempts to underline the ongoing significance of Plath’s place as a woman poet in literary studies.
B.W. Vilakazi : a zulu romantic poet?
(2001) Sibisi, Zwelithini Leo.; Wade, Jean-Philippe.
No abstract available.
Beauty and the beach.
(2003) Plunkett, Claudia Bernadette.; Leeb-du Toit, Juliette Cecile.
This dissertation aims to interpret holiday imagery in the media, as a site of South African cultural production, on the basis of newspaper images of local white and black people published in the Natal Mercury from 1966 to 1996. A strong historical approach (the history of the Western holiday) has been taken in order to analyze existing social structures relating to the holiday in South Africa, specifically gender, race and class. These social structures have been examined in depth, with the result of numerous interpretations being made about behaviour and the depiction of behaviour in the context of Durban beaches and leisure.
Being the "Bull goose" : masculinity, male relationships and fatherhood in Bitter Eden, King Rat and The Road.
(2014) Galbraith, Amy Avril.; Stobie, Cheryl.
This dissertation examines the relationships, masculinities and the issue of fatherhood in three different texts, all of which are set in times of extreme crisis and have a male protagonist. The texts are Bitter Eden by Tatamkhulu Afrika (2002), King Rat by James Clavell (1975), originally published in 1962, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006). I begin by comparing the theory of hegemonic masculinity as argued by Raewyn Connell with the theory of homosocial masculinity as argued by Michael Kimmel, and approach the novels from a Gender Studies standpoint, in that I am arguing that, other than hegemonic masculinity, there are other viable masculinities, for example, homosocial masculinity, as seen within the three novels. I argue that the portrayal of men in literature set in times of crisis has changed. Male characters are no longer simply portrayed as being hegemonic and patriarchal but are written as characters showing alternative emotions and reactions to their situations. I also look at the semi-autobiographical aspects of the novels, in that both Tatamkhulu Afrika and James Clavell experienced the situations described in their novels. By including this feature of the two Prisoner of War camp novels (Bitter Eden and King Rat), I believe that one is able to understand why each protagonist is portrayed as choosing an alternative masculinity to hegemonic masculinity, as the authors themselves have chosen to defy the social norms expected of men who fought in the World Wars. In this same line of thought, I have taken into account the fact that Cormac McCarthy is himself a father, and have applied this knowledge to The Road, reading it as a “love story” a father has written to his son, in which the father promises to protect his son, no matter what. The dissertation compares the subversion of the monolithic idea of hegemonic masculinity in each novel.
Blogging : investigating the role played by blogs in contemporary South African journalism and the public sphere.
(2009) Atagana, Michelle Ishioma.; Jones, Nicola-Jane.; Michell, Lincoln.
This thesis seeks to investigate the role that blogs play in contemporary South African journalism through examining six blogs in the South African blogosphere and their content choices. This thesis draws on four key theoretical frameworks around which the research questions have been formulated: New Media and Journalism, Journalistic Blogging, Audiences and the Public Sphere. There are three key research questions: 1. What is the role played by blogging in contemporary South African journalism? 2. To what extent has the blogosphere become a Public Sphere? 3. How have blogs influenced/changed/impacted on the style and content of South African journalism? The qualitative data collected through blog observation, interviews with blog owner/ editors and concluded focus group discussions with blog readers, is designed to help reveal the role blogs and bloggers play in contemporary South African journalism, and through discussions with the audience and monitoring conversations online, help explore the possibilities of a public sphere. The conclusion of this thesis is that blogs do play a role in contemporary South African journalism and can serve as an effective public sphere. Defining what it means to be a journalist and recognising the differences between blogger and journalist is an issue that needs to be effectively understood before a conclusive agreement is to be reached in the blogger/journalist debate. However, for now the relationship between South African news agents and South African bloggers is promising.
Boneyard, an original novella, accompanied by an extended essay on experimental narrative strategies in selected examples of contemporary ficton.
(2013) Molloy, Vivienne Elaine.; Murray, Sally-Ann.
The following dissertation is comprised of an original novel/la Boneyard, as well as a critical exegesis exploring experimental narrative strategies. The novella works within the shifting boundaries of postmodernism. Techniques will include “contradiction, discontinuity, randomness, excess [and] short circuit” (McHale 1987:7). The work will traverse the transliterated present of the South African landscape while reaching into the recesses of (marginal) historical record in order to speak both of the postmodern culture of the present, and the interconnectivity between time and space. By examining South African authors such as André Brink, J. M. Coetzee and Ivan Vladislavić, the links of the past, the present and the future will be examined in re-orientating identity in a multicultural, mass-mediated and heteroglossic contemporary culture. The critical essay will examine these issues as well as issues of historical representation. Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated, the work which spurred my interest in the area of identity, historical discourse, memory, re-memory and forgetting, will be examined with particular emphasis of Marianna Hirsch’s term post-postmemory, a term delegated to the active remembrance of the diasporic Jewish American third-generation post-Holocaust community. The questions of memory and remembrance will be explored within the concerns of phantasmagorical amnesia and “museummania” prevalent in contemporary postmodern culture. Lastly, I will briefly reflect on my own manuscript, Boneyard, as well as the future of post-apartheid South African writing in terms of emerging genres, construction of identity via a traumatic past and the ethical implications of these endeavours.
Can you hear me now? : possibilities of an engaged citizenry by way of Izwi IoMzansi FM community radio and mobile phone convergence.
(2013) Fox, Lauren.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.; Prinsloo, Jeanne.
Radio and mobile phones have existed in developing countries for years, however the diversity and pace with which these innovations have grown has made it difficult for researchers to effectively explore their effects. Community radio came into being after the shift to democracy in 1994 and community radio became a “third voice” between state public radio and commercial radio in South Africa (NCRF 1999; Servaes 1999:260). While community radio is attributed with this potential it is also critiqued for its failure in this regard. In particular, the presumed interactive and expressive ‘community’ of several community radio stations in the greater Durban area has been argued to be more mythic than real (Dalene 2007; Teer-Tomaselli 2001). By the same token, the South African communications landscape has changed and expanded significantly since the onset of mobile phone networks and mobile Internet. The dual ubiquity, versatility and affordability of radio and mobile phones demonstrate the complementary potential of their convergence towards participatory citizenship. This research investigates this understudied link between new and old media, particularly focusing on community radio in terms of its mandate for community participation and citizenship (ICASA 2011). Using a network ethnography and mixed methods approach, this study explores interactivity by means of mobile phone functions (calls, Short Message System [SMS] and Facebook) in Durban’s Izwi loMzansi FM’s knowledge community. Additionally, the study employs du Gay et al.’s (1997) Circuit of Culture model and examines possible hegemonic discourses in the media public sphere (Gitlin 1998; Habermas 1989; Hall 1980; Tomaselli 1987). It is revealed that, in general, availability and accessibility of mobile phones and social media platforms create more possibilities for diverse dialogue and active participation in community radio programming. However, the biggest hindrance for active citizenry lies not in regulation protocol but with the presenter’s comfort and resourcefulness in integrating new media technologies into their programmes.
The challenge of the lyrical voice in 'unlyrical' times : a study of Ingrid de Kok's poetry.
(2010) Gray, Denise.; Chapman, Michael James Faulds.
This study places the poetry of Ingrid de Kok in a critical context that is strongly influenced by the political climate. Unlike political rhetoric, the nature of the lyrical poem is personal and complex, arguably rendering it defunct in a democracy that seeks to serve majority interests. De Kok’s challenge is to be a lyrical poet in the public sphere, to contain and represent the public interest within the personal form. I will examine how she rises to the historical occasion and extends her medium to incorporate the public event. At the same time, if she is to retain her voice as a lyrical poet, she must guard the privacy of its expression and the intimate spaces it seeks to delineate. In this way she asserts the validity of every-day concerns and of spaces traditionally designated as female. By interrogating the categories of personal and public I hope to project a complex vision of the possibilities of the lyric within contemporary South Africa.
Changing form and political purpose in selected works of Ronnie Govender.
(2009) Singh, Thavashini.; Stiebel, Evelyn Alexandra.
This dissertation explores changing form and political purpose in selected works of Ronnie Govender, by analysing reasons for the shifts in Govender’s choice of genre, and the effects of these genre shifts in his work. Govender is unusual in that he has chosen to recast certain of his most popular works into different genres, throwing up questions of context and impact as associated with these works. The investigation of a selection of Govender’s works that have appeared in at least two genres over a period of change in South Africa allows for an examination of political impact on Govender’s works both during and post apartheid. This study will be analysed within a range of theatre ‘isms’ and theories which influenced Govender’s skills in the theatre. These are important to situate Govender as, firstly, in his early career, a theatre practitioner. Attention will be given to Constantin Stanislavski and the Method Acting Theory, (1937) as the philosophies advocated by Stanislavski were particularly useful to Govender for the staging and performance of his plays. Reference will be made to the ‘Theatre of Commitment’, Community Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, Theatre of the Oppressed and Epic Theatre, as elements of these theories feature in Govender’s writing and stage performances. Some focus will also be given to Zakes Mda (1993), as both Mda and Govender are associated with the ‘Theatre of Commitment’, and share a vision of socio-political change through theatre and literature. As contributors to the South African literary canon, Mda and Govender continuously reinvent themselves through their experimentation with form which results in them consistently producing new works. In addition, this dissertation also examines audience reception of Govender’s stage performances and reader reception in his texts, and this allows for a brief investigation into Reception Theory. The theories of Wolfgang Iser (1978), Stanley Fish (1980) Hans Robert Jauss (in Bahti 1982) and Susan Bennett (1990) will be referred to in so far as they inform the reception of the works selected for the purposes of this study. In order to contextualise Govender as a writer of both plays and prose, a brief biography of his life and his work will be undertaken. The findings of researchers such as Rajendra Chetty (2002) and Pallavi Rastogi (2008) who have studied the work of South African Indian writers will be drawn on in order to contextualise Govender’s writing particularly and his position as a South African Indian writer generally. This dissertation assesses Govender’s contribution to the South African canon, and forwards him as an example of a South African writer who is pointing to new directions in writing. The fictional works selected for this dissertation which best illustrate political purpose, changing form and the changing dynamics of reader-audience response, include The Lahnee’s Pleasure as play, The Lahnee’s Pleasure as novel; “1949”, first as short story then as play; and “At the Edge”, first as short story then as play. These works which have appeared as both play and prose (novel and short story) have been chosen for their versatility and suitability to different genres and because Govender has chosen to recast them in new forms. Reasons for this will be explored.

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