The political promise of choreography in performance and/as research: First Physical Theatre Company’s manifesto and repertory, 1993-2015
- Authors: Finestone-Praeg, Juanita
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Choreography -- Political aspects , Dance -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Dance -- Political aspects , Performance art -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Performance art -- History and criticism , Performance art -- Research , Performance art -- Study and teaching , Performance art -- Philosophy , Experimental theater -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Experimental theater -- History and criticism , Political art -- South Africa -- Makhanda , First Physical Theatre Company , First Physical Theatre Company -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149373 , vital:38844
- Description: This study redefines the political in dance by drawing on the scholarly concept of the “choreopolitical” (André Lepecki) and extending it into analysing related concepts such as the “postdramatic” (Hans-Thies Lehmann), performance and/as research, among others from Performance Studies scholarship as well as from First Physical Theatre Company’s pioneering legacy of production, pedagogy and research in making Phyical Theatre performance. Following from the notion that performance is both a site and a method of study/knowing, the research invites a rethinking of the relationship between art (performance), epistemology and the political, in the sense that performance becomes a way, not of simply re-presenting the political but, as its own way of knowing, actively questioning the very categories on which the political is premised. The argument for Physical Theatre as having nascent potential to invoke what I call “the power of the small” is analysed as a choreopolitical method and community of practice that has a generative capacity to produce the “intimate revolts” (Julia Kristeva) or body of questions that can perform the imaginative curiosities/forms required to create provocative, subversive, ethical, reflexive and charged performance. My argument is supported by critical commentary, insight, choreological analysis and reflection on the dramaturgical strategies and choreopolitics of selected commissioned choreographers and dance forms that extended FPTC’s manifesto and production between 1993 and 2015. My project has the following three goals: (i) to contextualise, conceptualise and identify key issues in the identity, pedagogy and performance ethos of Physical Theatre as a performance philosophy and form; (ii) to engage critically with the praxis of Physical Theatre within the contextual, cultural, historical and political relationships between Physical Theatre and other performance practices in South Africa; and (iii) to document, analyse and interpret selected claims, works and performance processes from the archive of FPTC’s repertory and training manifesto from 1993 to 2015. The research evaluates the political significance and consequence of FPTC’s heritage and legacy problematising constraints, possibilities, tensions, failures and proposing the hope of imaginative entanglements with practising freedoms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
An investigation into the introduction of a new wealth tax in South Africa
- Authors: Arendse, Jacqueline A
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Wealth tax -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Income tax -- South Africa , Fiscal policy -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Income distribution -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61379 , vital:28020
- Description: In a world of economic uncertainty and manifold social problems, South Africa has its own unique challenges of low economic growth, persistent budget deficits that produce increasing government debt and the highest level of economic inequality in the world. The history of injustice and economic marginalisation and the failure of the economy to provide inclusive growth drives an urgent need to address economic inequality through tax policy, placing ever more focus on wealth taxes as a possible solution. There is a hope is that taxing the wealthy may provide the opportunity to redistribute desperately-needed resources to those denied the opportunity to build wealth and who are trapped in the cycle of poverty. Yet, as appealing as a new wealth tax may seem, the introduction of such a tax carries with it a range of risks, not all of which are known. Of great concern is the possible effect on the economy, which, in its vulnerable state, cannot afford any loss of capital and investment. Very little research has been done on wealth tax in the South African context and there is a dearth of literature focusing on the views and perceptions of the wealthy individuals themselves. This qualitative study investigates the merits and disadvantages of a new wealth tax and seeks to identify any unintended consequences that could result from the implementation of a new wealth tax in South Africa, drawing from historical and international experience and primary data obtained from interviews with individuals likely to be affected by such a tax. Having explored the literature and international experiences with wealth tax and having probed the thinking of wealthy individuals who would be the payers of a wealth tax, the study finds that a new wealth tax may contribute towards the progressivity of the tax system, but it is doubtful whether such a tax would provide a sustainable revenue stream that would be sufficient to address economic inequality and there is a risk of causing harm to the economy. Recognising that the motivation for wealth taxes is often driven more by political argument and public perception than by rational quantitative analysis, the study also anticipates the introduction of a new wealth tax and suggests guidelines for the design of such a tax within the framework for evaluating a good tax system. This study informs the debate on wealth taxes in South Africa and contributes to the design of such a tax, should it be implemented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The interrelationship of physical fitness, somatotype, body cathexis and personality in a group of white schoolboys
- Authors: Fieldsend, Jeremy Rowell
- Date: 1980
- Subjects: Somatotypes -- Psychological aspects , Physical fitness for children -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5139 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006343 , Somatotypes -- Psychological aspects , Physical fitness for children -- Psychological aspects
- Description: The evaluation of physical fitness is dependent upon the body and its capacity to generate requisite degrees of strength, speed, mobility and endurance, for effective physical performance. The physical properties of the body, and in particular the degree of muscularity and adiposity, are affected substantially by varying levels of physical fitness. This degree of muscularity and adiposity is closely related to the shape or physique of the body, which in turn, can influence the attitudes an individual adopts toward his body and himself (body cathexis). The purpose of this study was to investigate the reciprocal relationship between physical fitness, somatotype (physique) and body cathexis (satisfaction). A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between these variables and personality. The subjects who participated in this study were white schoolboys completing Standard Eight. Seventy seven subjects, all of whom were either 14 or 15 years of age, were studied. A total of 22 observations were made on each subject, which included a battery of physical fitness tests, anthropometric and somatotypological observations, and two questionnaires. Fleishman's Basic Fitness Test battery, which was slightly modified, was utilized to evaluate the subjects' level of physical fitness. Standardized anthropometric techniques and equipment were used to measure heights, mass, diameters, girths, and skinfolds. These basic anthropometric observations were then utilized to determine the subjects' Heath-Carter somatotype rating, absolute and relative body fat, and lean body mass. Body cathexis was measured by the Secord-Jourard Body Cathexis Scale and personality was assessed by the Howarth personality Questionnaire. The results indicated that physical fitness performance on the events which required the body mass to be displaced were highly and negatively related to the degree of excess adipose tissue. Significant differences in endomorphy (p < 0,005) were apparent in high and low fit groups, but no somatotypological differences were indicated for those events which did not involve the displacement of the body mass. The one exception to this was a static strength event, in which significant somatotypological differences between high and low fit groups were indicated for mesomorphy (p < 0,005) and ectomorphy (p < 0,01). Body cathexis was not closely related to physical fitness, somatotype, or personality. A number of weak relationships were apparent: there was a negative correlation between body cathexis and the personality trait of inferiority; high levels of adipose tissue negatively influenced the level of body cathexis; and good performance on the strength events was positively associated with body cathexis. In the physical fitness events requiring strength and the body mass to be displaced, the body cathexis levels of high fit subjects exceeded that of low fit subjects at a statistically significant level (p < 0,005). No significant differences in body cathexis were indicated for those events which did not require the displacement of the body mass. Personality was not related to physical fitness, somatotype or body cathexis. The only relationship that was discerned was the low correlation between inferiority and body cathexis . The findings of this investigation suggest that, in this context, dynamic physical fitness performance, is closely related to physique; and in particular a high endomorphic content is a limiting factor. Body cathexis is not closely related to physical fitness, somatotype or personality. It is likely, however, that feelings of inferiority and excess adipose tissue are associated with a low body cathexis, while strength is related to a high body cathexis. Personality is not related to physical fitness, physique or body.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1980
From myth to allegory: a study of the poetry of W.H. Auden, with special reference to the poet's intention
- Authors: Bell, I M
- Date: 1968
- Subjects: Auden, W. H., (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2290 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009514 , Auden, W. H., (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Description: The more attentively Auden's poetry is studied, the more one critical problem emerges. How can the poet of the "twenties and ' thirties be reconciled with the poet of the last three decades? "We've all got to come to terms with the later Auden" writes Professor Richard Hoggart, but he does not explain how. The man who wrote the pungent early poetry with its constant reiteration of warnings to a sick society that what was needed was " … death, death of the grain, our death, Death of the old gang … " before it could achieve "new styles of architecture, a change of heart", seems an entirely different person from the man who is on the side of Authority to-day; that is to say in so far as Auden can ever be said to be definitely on one side or another. Intro. p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1968