The migration of the term "civil war" : a social constructivist explanation
- Authors: Bailie, Lawrence Craig
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Civil Wars United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Iraq -- History -- Civil War, 1991
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2845 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006022 , DOI http://doi.org/10.21504/10962/d1006022
- Description: Although the occurrence of wars between states has been in decline, the same cannot be said of conflict within states – especially when considering the innumerable ‘Civil Wars’ said to have occurred since the end of the Cold War. In this context the use of the word ‘innumerable’ is qualified more by the variance in how ‘Civil War’ is understood as a concept (leading to different claims as to how many conflicts of this kind may have occurred over a period of time) and less by their large number. Claims regarding the occurrence of ‘Civil War’ suggest this type of conflict to be the dominant form at least since the end of World War Two. This prevalence in the face of a decline in inter-state warfare has afforded greater interest to ‘Civil War’ as a topic of inquiry. The understanding that ‘Civil Wars’ have with time increased in their occurrence and changed in their nature comes under investigation in this thesis and is seen as problematic in that the means by which a phenomenon is measured (i.e. through its nature) must be fixed so as to measure the frequency of that phenomenon. Using Social Constructivism as a theoretical lens of inquiry, sense is made of this understanding and, furthermore, the true meaning behind the claim that ‘Civil War’ has changed is revealed. The empirical evidence that accompanies this theoretical work exists in the American Civil War of 1861–1865 and the debate over the conflict in Iraq following the U.S. invasion in 2003. This debate is used as a means by which to bring the contestation over the notion of ‘Civil War’ to the fore, while a comparison of this conflict with the quintessential American Civil War reveals the migration of the term.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Bailie, Lawrence Craig
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Civil Wars United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Iraq -- History -- Civil War, 1991
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2845 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006022 , DOI http://doi.org/10.21504/10962/d1006022
- Description: Although the occurrence of wars between states has been in decline, the same cannot be said of conflict within states – especially when considering the innumerable ‘Civil Wars’ said to have occurred since the end of the Cold War. In this context the use of the word ‘innumerable’ is qualified more by the variance in how ‘Civil War’ is understood as a concept (leading to different claims as to how many conflicts of this kind may have occurred over a period of time) and less by their large number. Claims regarding the occurrence of ‘Civil War’ suggest this type of conflict to be the dominant form at least since the end of World War Two. This prevalence in the face of a decline in inter-state warfare has afforded greater interest to ‘Civil War’ as a topic of inquiry. The understanding that ‘Civil Wars’ have with time increased in their occurrence and changed in their nature comes under investigation in this thesis and is seen as problematic in that the means by which a phenomenon is measured (i.e. through its nature) must be fixed so as to measure the frequency of that phenomenon. Using Social Constructivism as a theoretical lens of inquiry, sense is made of this understanding and, furthermore, the true meaning behind the claim that ‘Civil War’ has changed is revealed. The empirical evidence that accompanies this theoretical work exists in the American Civil War of 1861–1865 and the debate over the conflict in Iraq following the U.S. invasion in 2003. This debate is used as a means by which to bring the contestation over the notion of ‘Civil War’ to the fore, while a comparison of this conflict with the quintessential American Civil War reveals the migration of the term.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Social relationships and identity online and offline: a study of the interplay between offline social relationships and facebook usage by Rhodes University students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds
- Authors: Chatora, Arther Tichaona
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Facebook (Electronic resource) Online social networks Information technology -- Social aspects Identity (Psychology) and mass media Rhodes University -- Students -- Social life and customs Rhodes University -- Students -- Social networks Rhodes University -- Students -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3421 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002874
- Description: Based on in-depth focus group and individual interviews, this thesis examines how Rhodes University students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds experience campus social life and how they subsequently use Facebook to perform, represent and negotiate their social identities. The study discusses utopian and dystopian positions and interrogates these theoretical perspectives in relation to the students‟ Facebook usage. The popularity and uptake of Facebook by students from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those here at Rhodes University, is a growing phenomenon, provoking questions about the relationship between social experiences, social identity and social networks. Rhodes University‟s social space has been identified by previous studies as modern, liberal, “elite” and divided along race and class lines. The ways in which students experience this campus social space relates to their subject positions and identities. The study employs different perspectives of identity construction to interrogate the students‟ subject experiences in home and school contexts before coming to Rhodes University. The students‟ subjective positions are primarily embedded in tradition and their subject positions are sometimes in tension or come in conflict with the modern and liberal elements permitted by the Rhodes University context. The students also experience and adopt modern and liberal elements in their lifestyles which are permitted within the Rhodes University social space. The thesis found that Facebook offers a platform which facilitates a social connectivity that influences how students perform their identities in relation to their offline social identities and lived social experiences. This study concludes that the mediated symbolic materials for the construction and negotiation of identity provided by Facebook are sometimes in tension with the demands of traditional subjectivities experienced by these students at Rhodes University. Facebook allows the students to reinforce and affirm the validity of their traditional identities in this modern and liberal space. However, it also emerged that Facebook facilitates and allows students who experience and incorporate the modern and liberal elements permitted at Rhodes University to represent and negotiate their subjective positions online. The findings of the study indicate that participants primarily communicate with their friends, families, relatives and acquaintances - people they know personally offline, in line with the theoretical position which argues that online relationships are primarily shaped by offline relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Chatora, Arther Tichaona
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Facebook (Electronic resource) Online social networks Information technology -- Social aspects Identity (Psychology) and mass media Rhodes University -- Students -- Social life and customs Rhodes University -- Students -- Social networks Rhodes University -- Students -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3421 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002874
- Description: Based on in-depth focus group and individual interviews, this thesis examines how Rhodes University students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds experience campus social life and how they subsequently use Facebook to perform, represent and negotiate their social identities. The study discusses utopian and dystopian positions and interrogates these theoretical perspectives in relation to the students‟ Facebook usage. The popularity and uptake of Facebook by students from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those here at Rhodes University, is a growing phenomenon, provoking questions about the relationship between social experiences, social identity and social networks. Rhodes University‟s social space has been identified by previous studies as modern, liberal, “elite” and divided along race and class lines. The ways in which students experience this campus social space relates to their subject positions and identities. The study employs different perspectives of identity construction to interrogate the students‟ subject experiences in home and school contexts before coming to Rhodes University. The students‟ subjective positions are primarily embedded in tradition and their subject positions are sometimes in tension or come in conflict with the modern and liberal elements permitted by the Rhodes University context. The students also experience and adopt modern and liberal elements in their lifestyles which are permitted within the Rhodes University social space. The thesis found that Facebook offers a platform which facilitates a social connectivity that influences how students perform their identities in relation to their offline social identities and lived social experiences. This study concludes that the mediated symbolic materials for the construction and negotiation of identity provided by Facebook are sometimes in tension with the demands of traditional subjectivities experienced by these students at Rhodes University. Facebook allows the students to reinforce and affirm the validity of their traditional identities in this modern and liberal space. However, it also emerged that Facebook facilitates and allows students who experience and incorporate the modern and liberal elements permitted at Rhodes University to represent and negotiate their subjective positions online. The findings of the study indicate that participants primarily communicate with their friends, families, relatives and acquaintances - people they know personally offline, in line with the theoretical position which argues that online relationships are primarily shaped by offline relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
A narrative analysis of young black South African women's stories about the recent divorce of their parents
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Divorce -- South Africa Divorce -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa Children of divorced parents -- South Africa Families -- South Africa Divorce therapy -- South Africa Adolescent psychotherapy -- South Africa Youth, Black -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychology -- Biographical methods -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002520
- Description: The global rise in divorce since the 1960s has brought into question the idealised view of the nuclear family which has for centuries been awarded special status in western societies and has been regarded as the primary social institution. According to contemporary research parental divorce has become a reality for every one in six children in South Africa. Until recently, little consideration had been given to how divorce affects black South African families, as it was considered to be an occurrence which only took place in white, mainly middle-class, families. The proportion of black South African couples divorcing has been increasing over the past decade, and in 2008 was said to contribute to 35% of all divorce in South Africa. Most research to date on the children of divorce has focused on young white children and adolescents and is largely concerned with those who have found parental divorce particularly difficult, and are manifesting adjustment and other behavioural problems. The research which has been done on the effects of parental divorce on young adults focuses mainly on clinical studies with middle-class families based either in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This research, using an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach, explores the stories which young black South African adult women between the ages of 18 and 25 tell, to give account to the ways in which recent parental divorce has affected their lives, views on family life, and what it has meant to them. The use of an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach allows for a process of rupture, acceptance and re-storying to be accounted for, as the participant’s narrative shifts from past, to present and the future. Five young black women from a South African university each participated in two narratively sequenced semi-structured interviews based on McAdams’ personal narratives protocol, which includes six core themes, namely: Key Events, Significant People, Stresses and Problems, Personal Meanings and Life-Lessons, Future Script, and Life Theme. Crossley’s narrative analysis was then used to identify emergent themes and images in each individual narrative, after which they were woven together into a coherent story linked to previous literature. This study found that divorce involves a highly complex transition and reconfiguration process perhaps not fully accounted for in the existing idea and images associated with it. Despite being young adult women who had moved away from home and were engaged in their own lives, it became apparent that parental divorce was still a difficult and complicated experience, but that it is possible to tell both pessimistic and optimistic stories of parental divorce and its consequences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Divorce -- South Africa Divorce -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa Children of divorced parents -- South Africa Families -- South Africa Divorce therapy -- South Africa Adolescent psychotherapy -- South Africa Youth, Black -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychology -- Biographical methods -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002520
- Description: The global rise in divorce since the 1960s has brought into question the idealised view of the nuclear family which has for centuries been awarded special status in western societies and has been regarded as the primary social institution. According to contemporary research parental divorce has become a reality for every one in six children in South Africa. Until recently, little consideration had been given to how divorce affects black South African families, as it was considered to be an occurrence which only took place in white, mainly middle-class, families. The proportion of black South African couples divorcing has been increasing over the past decade, and in 2008 was said to contribute to 35% of all divorce in South Africa. Most research to date on the children of divorce has focused on young white children and adolescents and is largely concerned with those who have found parental divorce particularly difficult, and are manifesting adjustment and other behavioural problems. The research which has been done on the effects of parental divorce on young adults focuses mainly on clinical studies with middle-class families based either in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This research, using an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach, explores the stories which young black South African adult women between the ages of 18 and 25 tell, to give account to the ways in which recent parental divorce has affected their lives, views on family life, and what it has meant to them. The use of an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach allows for a process of rupture, acceptance and re-storying to be accounted for, as the participant’s narrative shifts from past, to present and the future. Five young black women from a South African university each participated in two narratively sequenced semi-structured interviews based on McAdams’ personal narratives protocol, which includes six core themes, namely: Key Events, Significant People, Stresses and Problems, Personal Meanings and Life-Lessons, Future Script, and Life Theme. Crossley’s narrative analysis was then used to identify emergent themes and images in each individual narrative, after which they were woven together into a coherent story linked to previous literature. This study found that divorce involves a highly complex transition and reconfiguration process perhaps not fully accounted for in the existing idea and images associated with it. Despite being young adult women who had moved away from home and were engaged in their own lives, it became apparent that parental divorce was still a difficult and complicated experience, but that it is possible to tell both pessimistic and optimistic stories of parental divorce and its consequences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Prohibition & resistance: a socio-political exploration of the changing dynamics of the southern African cannabis trade, c. 1850 - the present
- Authors: Paterson, Craig
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Cannabis -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Cannabis -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Cannabis -- Law and legislation -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Drugs -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Drugs -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Drugs -- Law and legislation -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Drugs -- Law and legislation -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Drug traffic -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Drug traffic -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Substance abuse -- Social aspects -- Africa, Southern
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2551 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002403
- Description: Looking primarily at the social and political trends in South Africa over the course of the last century and a half, this thesis explores how these trends have contributed to the establishment of the southern Africa cannabis complex. Through an examination of the influence which the colonial paradigm based on Social Darwinian thinking had on the understanding of the cannabis plant in southern Africa, it is argued that cannabis prohibition and apartheid laws rested on the same ideological foundation. This thesis goes on to argue that the dynamics of cannabis production and trade can be understood in terms of the interplay between the two themes of ‘prohibition’ and ‘resistance’. Prohibition is not only understood to refer to cannabis laws, but also to the proscription of inter-racial contact and segregation dictated by the apartheid regime. Resistance, then, refers to both resistance to apartheid and resistance to cannabis laws in this thesis. Including discussions on the hippie movement and development of the world trade, the anti-apartheid movement, the successful implementation of import substitution strategies in Europe and North America from the 1980’s, and South Africa’s incorporation into the global trade, this thesis illustrates how the apartheid system (and its collapse) influenced the region’s cannabis trade.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Paterson, Craig
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Cannabis -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Cannabis -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Cannabis -- Law and legislation -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Drugs -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Drugs -- Government policy -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Drugs -- Law and legislation -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Drugs -- Law and legislation -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Drug traffic -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 19th century Drug traffic -- Africa, Southern -- History -- 20th century Substance abuse -- Social aspects -- Africa, Southern
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2551 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002403
- Description: Looking primarily at the social and political trends in South Africa over the course of the last century and a half, this thesis explores how these trends have contributed to the establishment of the southern Africa cannabis complex. Through an examination of the influence which the colonial paradigm based on Social Darwinian thinking had on the understanding of the cannabis plant in southern Africa, it is argued that cannabis prohibition and apartheid laws rested on the same ideological foundation. This thesis goes on to argue that the dynamics of cannabis production and trade can be understood in terms of the interplay between the two themes of ‘prohibition’ and ‘resistance’. Prohibition is not only understood to refer to cannabis laws, but also to the proscription of inter-racial contact and segregation dictated by the apartheid regime. Resistance, then, refers to both resistance to apartheid and resistance to cannabis laws in this thesis. Including discussions on the hippie movement and development of the world trade, the anti-apartheid movement, the successful implementation of import substitution strategies in Europe and North America from the 1980’s, and South Africa’s incorporation into the global trade, this thesis illustrates how the apartheid system (and its collapse) influenced the region’s cannabis trade.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
The political economy of development aid: an investigation of three donor-funded HIV/AIDS programmes broadcast by Malawi television from 2004 to 2007
- Authors: Mulonya, Rodrick K A R
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Economic assistance -- Malawi -- Management , Public service television programs -- Malawi , AIDS (Disease) and mass media -- Malawi , HIV infections -- Information services -- Malawi , Communication in public health -- Malawi , Economic assistance -- Social aspects -- Malawi , Malawi -- Social conditions , Mass media -- Social aspects -- Malawi , Mass media criticism -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3471 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002926
- Description: Development aid in most of the developing countries can sometimes compromise the principles of public service broadcasting (PSB). This may be true when reflected against the tension between donor financed programmes in Malawi and the mandate of Television Malawi (TVM). Although the donor intentions are noble, the strings attached to the funding are sometimes retrogressive to the role of PSBs. A case in point is how donors dictate terms on the HIV/Aids communication strategies at TVM. Producers receive money from donors with strings attached on how the money should be used and accounted for. If producers deviate they are sanctioned through withholding funding, shifting schedules and reducing the funding frequency. The donors also dictate who to interview on what subject, how to conduct capacity building. Some scholars have researched much on the impact of commercialisation of the media. This study is a departure from these traditional interferences; it interrogates the interest of philanthropy tendencies by international donors in the three chosen HIV/Aids programmes broadcast by TVM. The study investigates the extent of pressure exerted by donors on the producers of HIV/Aids programmes in Malawi. Thus, the study seeks to illicit specifics in the power relationship between the donor and the producer hence the study employs the political economy of development aid as applied to the public service broadcasting and communication for development. The study employed qualitative research methods and techniques (in-depth interviews, case study and document analysis). The study reveals how donor ideologies dominate the Aids messages-content output of the texts constructed. The study argues that cultural alienation of the Malawian audiences retards efforts of donors in combating HIV infection rate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mulonya, Rodrick K A R
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Economic assistance -- Malawi -- Management , Public service television programs -- Malawi , AIDS (Disease) and mass media -- Malawi , HIV infections -- Information services -- Malawi , Communication in public health -- Malawi , Economic assistance -- Social aspects -- Malawi , Malawi -- Social conditions , Mass media -- Social aspects -- Malawi , Mass media criticism -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3471 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002926
- Description: Development aid in most of the developing countries can sometimes compromise the principles of public service broadcasting (PSB). This may be true when reflected against the tension between donor financed programmes in Malawi and the mandate of Television Malawi (TVM). Although the donor intentions are noble, the strings attached to the funding are sometimes retrogressive to the role of PSBs. A case in point is how donors dictate terms on the HIV/Aids communication strategies at TVM. Producers receive money from donors with strings attached on how the money should be used and accounted for. If producers deviate they are sanctioned through withholding funding, shifting schedules and reducing the funding frequency. The donors also dictate who to interview on what subject, how to conduct capacity building. Some scholars have researched much on the impact of commercialisation of the media. This study is a departure from these traditional interferences; it interrogates the interest of philanthropy tendencies by international donors in the three chosen HIV/Aids programmes broadcast by TVM. The study investigates the extent of pressure exerted by donors on the producers of HIV/Aids programmes in Malawi. Thus, the study seeks to illicit specifics in the power relationship between the donor and the producer hence the study employs the political economy of development aid as applied to the public service broadcasting and communication for development. The study employed qualitative research methods and techniques (in-depth interviews, case study and document analysis). The study reveals how donor ideologies dominate the Aids messages-content output of the texts constructed. The study argues that cultural alienation of the Malawian audiences retards efforts of donors in combating HIV infection rate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Revolt as a strategy of de-reification in contemporary performance practice
- Authors: Smit, Sonja
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mantero, Vera Bouwer, Jaco, 1973- Performance art -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2147 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002379
- Description: This thesis investigates the concepts of revolt and de-reification and how these can be perceived and implemented within the context of performance. The argument focuses on the ability of revolt to question and unsettle processes of reification which in turn manifest a strategy of de-reification. I investigate the potential in contemporary performance practice to challenge prevailing modes of perception and restore the production of desire to the spectator through strategies of de-reification. This research is approached through a qualitative process which entails a reading and application of critical texts to the analysis. This reading/application is engaged in a dialogue with the interpretative and experiential aspects of the two works selected for analysis. Chapter One functions as an introduction to the concept of reification and the necessity of a process geared towards de-reification through revolt. I argue that revolt is already embedded in avant-garde artistic practices through an experimental and questioning approach to artistic practice and the production of meaning. Chapter Two is an analysis of Vera Mantero’s solo work, one mysterious Thing said e.e cummings* (1996). This is structured around two identifiable elements, one being the resistance to signification (designification), which is argued as a strategy of revolt within the piece. The second is the notion of abjection, which works doubly to aid the resistance to signification as well as working as a strategy of revolt by its implication in the work. Chapter Three analyses Jaco Bouwer’s Untitled (2008), specifically dealing with the notion of absence as a strategy of revolt and de-reification. The discussion is focused on the potential complication of desire through absence as enacting a larger project of revolt. As in Chapter Two, this is similarly related to the fragmentation of signs through designification which emphasises the strategy of absence. This thesis concludes with the idea that meaning-making in performance can be considered a process. Instead, the lack or failure of meaning within these selected performance practices enables a return to the individual (performer and spectator) as the agent of desire.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Smit, Sonja
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mantero, Vera Bouwer, Jaco, 1973- Performance art -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2147 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002379
- Description: This thesis investigates the concepts of revolt and de-reification and how these can be perceived and implemented within the context of performance. The argument focuses on the ability of revolt to question and unsettle processes of reification which in turn manifest a strategy of de-reification. I investigate the potential in contemporary performance practice to challenge prevailing modes of perception and restore the production of desire to the spectator through strategies of de-reification. This research is approached through a qualitative process which entails a reading and application of critical texts to the analysis. This reading/application is engaged in a dialogue with the interpretative and experiential aspects of the two works selected for analysis. Chapter One functions as an introduction to the concept of reification and the necessity of a process geared towards de-reification through revolt. I argue that revolt is already embedded in avant-garde artistic practices through an experimental and questioning approach to artistic practice and the production of meaning. Chapter Two is an analysis of Vera Mantero’s solo work, one mysterious Thing said e.e cummings* (1996). This is structured around two identifiable elements, one being the resistance to signification (designification), which is argued as a strategy of revolt within the piece. The second is the notion of abjection, which works doubly to aid the resistance to signification as well as working as a strategy of revolt by its implication in the work. Chapter Three analyses Jaco Bouwer’s Untitled (2008), specifically dealing with the notion of absence as a strategy of revolt and de-reification. The discussion is focused on the potential complication of desire through absence as enacting a larger project of revolt. As in Chapter Two, this is similarly related to the fragmentation of signs through designification which emphasises the strategy of absence. This thesis concludes with the idea that meaning-making in performance can be considered a process. Instead, the lack or failure of meaning within these selected performance practices enables a return to the individual (performer and spectator) as the agent of desire.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An investigation into the journalistic identities of news workers at the state owned Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Newspaper
- Authors: Kotele, Mothepane
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Mass media -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Social aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Employees Journalists -- Lesotho Sotho newspapers Journalistic ethics -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3449 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002903
- Description: Informed by the political economy framework and the public service role of media in democracy, the main objective of the study was to use in-depth semi-structured interviews to understand news-workers’ professional journalistic identities in relation to their status as government employees and the understanding of their public service role as outlined in the paper’s mission statement. The main interest was to understand the complexity of negotiating these role identities. Through reference to the theories of journalism professionalism, the study highlighted the extent to which news-workers in the small newsroom of Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today see themselves as public service journalists in a democratic country. The interest was borne partly out of the views of the paper’s critics who see it as not serving the public but rather promoting the activities and policies of the government of the day, thus falling short of its democratic role. The contention of the study was that as a public service newspaper, the paper should have news-workers who do impartial journalism and reflect the public’s right to know in their reporting. The findings of the study suggests that news-workers at Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today continuously have to strive to negotiate the potential conflict between being a professional and working for a government-controlled newspaper. While they sometimes lay claim to being journalists, the reality is that in their political coverage they end up adopting the role of government mouthpieces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Kotele, Mothepane
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Mass media -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Social aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Employees Journalists -- Lesotho Sotho newspapers Journalistic ethics -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3449 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002903
- Description: Informed by the political economy framework and the public service role of media in democracy, the main objective of the study was to use in-depth semi-structured interviews to understand news-workers’ professional journalistic identities in relation to their status as government employees and the understanding of their public service role as outlined in the paper’s mission statement. The main interest was to understand the complexity of negotiating these role identities. Through reference to the theories of journalism professionalism, the study highlighted the extent to which news-workers in the small newsroom of Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today see themselves as public service journalists in a democratic country. The interest was borne partly out of the views of the paper’s critics who see it as not serving the public but rather promoting the activities and policies of the government of the day, thus falling short of its democratic role. The contention of the study was that as a public service newspaper, the paper should have news-workers who do impartial journalism and reflect the public’s right to know in their reporting. The findings of the study suggests that news-workers at Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today continuously have to strive to negotiate the potential conflict between being a professional and working for a government-controlled newspaper. While they sometimes lay claim to being journalists, the reality is that in their political coverage they end up adopting the role of government mouthpieces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
"Rape and cable theft on the increase": interrogating Grocott's Mail coverage of rape through participatory action research
- Authors: McLean, Nicolene Cindy
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Rape in mass media Rape -- South Africa Women -- Crimes against -- South Africa Violence in mass media Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalistic ethics -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Action research Sexism in mass media Journalism -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Newspapers -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Stereotypes (Social psychology) in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3466 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002921
- Description: This study investigates Grocott’s Mail’s rape reporting through a participatory action research process. It draws on feminist cultural studies, sociology of news, and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The participatory action research process explored three areas with the journalists at Grocott’s Mail: their understanding of the community they serve and their own professional identity as a community of practice, roles of the media in society which inform reporting, and rape as a social issue and problem. Through this process the study found that the pervasiveness of rape in the Grahamstown community, the complexities around rape reporting which include the significant legal challenges, the personal impact rape cases have on journalists, and the journalistic roles and approaches employed in rape reporting all influence how the paper covers rape. In analysing these matters the study found that the primary factor inhibiting a successful strategy for managing rape reporting was that Grocott’s Mail does not place gender-based violence on their news agenda as an issue requiring attention in order to develop the community they serve.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: McLean, Nicolene Cindy
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Rape in mass media Rape -- South Africa Women -- Crimes against -- South Africa Violence in mass media Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalistic ethics -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Action research Sexism in mass media Journalism -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Newspapers -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Stereotypes (Social psychology) in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3466 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002921
- Description: This study investigates Grocott’s Mail’s rape reporting through a participatory action research process. It draws on feminist cultural studies, sociology of news, and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The participatory action research process explored three areas with the journalists at Grocott’s Mail: their understanding of the community they serve and their own professional identity as a community of practice, roles of the media in society which inform reporting, and rape as a social issue and problem. Through this process the study found that the pervasiveness of rape in the Grahamstown community, the complexities around rape reporting which include the significant legal challenges, the personal impact rape cases have on journalists, and the journalistic roles and approaches employed in rape reporting all influence how the paper covers rape. In analysing these matters the study found that the primary factor inhibiting a successful strategy for managing rape reporting was that Grocott’s Mail does not place gender-based violence on their news agenda as an issue requiring attention in order to develop the community they serve.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Learning about water through the African catchment game : the refinement of a role playing simulation game
- Authors: Fraenkel, Linda Anne
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Water -- South Africa -- Management -- Simulation methods Water -- Management -- Study and teaching Rain and rainfall -- South Africa -- Simulation methods Simulation games in education Role playing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:4842 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005518
- Description: This research has undertaken two key mandates. One was to develop modifications to the African Catchment Game (ACG), a role playing simulation game, in order to simulate rainfall and water management processes representative of the southern African context. The other was to understand what, if any, learning associated with water management issues had taken place as a result of playing the ACG. The modification process took the form of an action research process. The initial modifications were trialed with South African students as part of their undergraduate Geography course offered at Rhodes University, South Africa. Subsequent modifications were implemented over a five month period with three diverse participant groups, namely Finnish, American and South African participants. An interpretive research orientation was employed in order to analyse both the qualitative and quantitative data that was generated. Pre- and Post-Game Questionnaires were used in order to identify the learning and understanding which the participants constructed as a result of playing the ACG. The Chi-Square Test was also applied to each of the pre- and post- questions to establish statistical significance. Subsequent analysis of these questions identified and traced patters and trends associated with learning and understanding across the three game runs. This research study draws on social constructivism and experiential learning as the dominant education theory that underpins it. Results revealed that for all three game runs learning took place. Participants identified dominant themes and environmental dimensions both before and after playing the ACG. The analysis of these responses indicated a deeper awareness of water as a contributing factor for sustainable economic development while the game runs enabled the researcher to adjust the water availability within each game run until rainfall and water management processes representative of a southern African context were successfully simulated in the last game run.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Fraenkel, Linda Anne
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Water -- South Africa -- Management -- Simulation methods Water -- Management -- Study and teaching Rain and rainfall -- South Africa -- Simulation methods Simulation games in education Role playing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:4842 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005518
- Description: This research has undertaken two key mandates. One was to develop modifications to the African Catchment Game (ACG), a role playing simulation game, in order to simulate rainfall and water management processes representative of the southern African context. The other was to understand what, if any, learning associated with water management issues had taken place as a result of playing the ACG. The modification process took the form of an action research process. The initial modifications were trialed with South African students as part of their undergraduate Geography course offered at Rhodes University, South Africa. Subsequent modifications were implemented over a five month period with three diverse participant groups, namely Finnish, American and South African participants. An interpretive research orientation was employed in order to analyse both the qualitative and quantitative data that was generated. Pre- and Post-Game Questionnaires were used in order to identify the learning and understanding which the participants constructed as a result of playing the ACG. The Chi-Square Test was also applied to each of the pre- and post- questions to establish statistical significance. Subsequent analysis of these questions identified and traced patters and trends associated with learning and understanding across the three game runs. This research study draws on social constructivism and experiential learning as the dominant education theory that underpins it. Results revealed that for all three game runs learning took place. Participants identified dominant themes and environmental dimensions both before and after playing the ACG. The analysis of these responses indicated a deeper awareness of water as a contributing factor for sustainable economic development while the game runs enabled the researcher to adjust the water availability within each game run until rainfall and water management processes representative of a southern African context were successfully simulated in the last game run.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Beyond coming out: lesbians' stories of sexual identity in the context of a historically white university
- Authors: Gibson, Alexandra Farren
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lesbianism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Homosexuality -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Coming out (Sexual orientation) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Sexual behavior Rhodes University College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social conditions College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Conduct of life College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social life and customs Homosexuality and education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Gender identity in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Discourse analysis, Narrative -- Psychological aspects Discursive psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002490
- Description: Substantial contributions have been made by lesbian and gay developmental theorists in understanding the development of lesbian and gay sexual identities, or what has come to be known as the coming out process. “Coming out of the closet” has become a central metaphor, in western contexts, for the recognisable process gay men and lesbians undergo in order to claim a relatively stable and enduring sexual identity, while overcoming obstacles such as heterosexism. Lesbians’ sexual identities are examined in this thesis through a Foucauldian lens which is fused with a narrative-discursive perspective. The aim of this study is not to trace a progressive development of identity, but rather to consider how lesbians in this study are located within a specific context, namely, a historically white university in post-apartheid South Africa, and how their identities are dynamic products of ever-shifting socio-historical spaces. Eight lesbians’ stories are analysed using the narrative-discursive method, which allows for a consideration for how the construction and negotiation of identities is shaped and constrained by social and discursive conditions. The women in this study do utilise the concept of coming out to some extent in their stories, but this narrative does not entirely account for their experiences. Instead, these women’s accounts reflect the way in which they personally experience heterosexism, and how they constantly negotiate their sexual identities within certain social and geographical spaces. When the nuances of lesbians’ contexts are taken into account, it becomes clear that claiming a lesbian identity is more than just about “coming out”, and rather about an on-going process of identity management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Gibson, Alexandra Farren
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lesbianism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Homosexuality -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Coming out (Sexual orientation) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Sexual behavior Rhodes University College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social conditions College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Conduct of life College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social life and customs Homosexuality and education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Gender identity in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Discourse analysis, Narrative -- Psychological aspects Discursive psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002490
- Description: Substantial contributions have been made by lesbian and gay developmental theorists in understanding the development of lesbian and gay sexual identities, or what has come to be known as the coming out process. “Coming out of the closet” has become a central metaphor, in western contexts, for the recognisable process gay men and lesbians undergo in order to claim a relatively stable and enduring sexual identity, while overcoming obstacles such as heterosexism. Lesbians’ sexual identities are examined in this thesis through a Foucauldian lens which is fused with a narrative-discursive perspective. The aim of this study is not to trace a progressive development of identity, but rather to consider how lesbians in this study are located within a specific context, namely, a historically white university in post-apartheid South Africa, and how their identities are dynamic products of ever-shifting socio-historical spaces. Eight lesbians’ stories are analysed using the narrative-discursive method, which allows for a consideration for how the construction and negotiation of identities is shaped and constrained by social and discursive conditions. The women in this study do utilise the concept of coming out to some extent in their stories, but this narrative does not entirely account for their experiences. Instead, these women’s accounts reflect the way in which they personally experience heterosexism, and how they constantly negotiate their sexual identities within certain social and geographical spaces. When the nuances of lesbians’ contexts are taken into account, it becomes clear that claiming a lesbian identity is more than just about “coming out”, and rather about an on-going process of identity management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Becoming a business journalist in Malawi: a case study of The Daily Times and The Nation newspapers
- Authors: Manjawira, Ellard Spencer
- Date: 2010 , 2013-07-17
- Subjects: Journalists -- Malawi Journalism -- Study and teaching -- Malawi Journalists -- Training of -- Malawi Journalists -- Education -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007440
- Description: In the past few decades, the proportion of business news compared to general news has increased tremendously across all media platforms in Africa. While the critical role played by business journalism is recognised, little is known about the people who write and report such news. Most studies on business reporting have tended to focus on analysing the content of business news, rather than the specific processes through which business journalists are socialized and trained. The findings of this study are drawn mainly from in-depth interviews with business reporters and editors at two leading newspapers in Malawi, The Daily Times and The Nation. Three major findings emerge trom the study data. First, business journalists vary in their educational and professional backgrounds, as well as the reasons for working on this beat. Second, the majority of them have no prerequisite formal education and training in business journalism and, therefore, have little knowledge and skills about what constitute good business journalism. Third, professionalism in the sub-field is constrained by a host of factors, influence of advertisers being the critical one. The study recommends that business reporting become an integral component of journalism education and training programmes to adequately prepare future generations of business journalists. In addition there is need for media houses to devise strategies to counter obstacles that business journalists face for them to effectively contribute to political economy debate. , KMBT_363
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Manjawira, Ellard Spencer
- Date: 2010 , 2013-07-17
- Subjects: Journalists -- Malawi Journalism -- Study and teaching -- Malawi Journalists -- Training of -- Malawi Journalists -- Education -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007440
- Description: In the past few decades, the proportion of business news compared to general news has increased tremendously across all media platforms in Africa. While the critical role played by business journalism is recognised, little is known about the people who write and report such news. Most studies on business reporting have tended to focus on analysing the content of business news, rather than the specific processes through which business journalists are socialized and trained. The findings of this study are drawn mainly from in-depth interviews with business reporters and editors at two leading newspapers in Malawi, The Daily Times and The Nation. Three major findings emerge trom the study data. First, business journalists vary in their educational and professional backgrounds, as well as the reasons for working on this beat. Second, the majority of them have no prerequisite formal education and training in business journalism and, therefore, have little knowledge and skills about what constitute good business journalism. Third, professionalism in the sub-field is constrained by a host of factors, influence of advertisers being the critical one. The study recommends that business reporting become an integral component of journalism education and training programmes to adequately prepare future generations of business journalists. In addition there is need for media houses to devise strategies to counter obstacles that business journalists face for them to effectively contribute to political economy debate. , KMBT_363
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Business journalism ethics in Africa: a comparative study of newsrooms in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mare, Admire
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Journalism, Commercial Journalistic ethics Journalism, Commercial -- South Africa Journalism, Commercial -- Kenya Journalism, Commercial -- Zimbabwe Business Day (South Africa) Business Daily (Kenya) Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3458 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002912
- Description: This study provides an insight into the state of business journalism ethics in Africa, firstly through an examination of newsroom ethical policies and secondly through an exploration of the way in which African business journalists negotiate ethical decision-making in their day-to-day news processing practices. Thirdly, it examines how the three African media organisations have responded in their newsroom policies and practices to the debates on the Africanisation of journalism ethics. In order to collect data, the researcher employed document analysis, semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Three financial newspapers namely: Business Day in South Africa, Business Daily in Kenya and Financial Gazette in Zimbabwe were purposively chosen. In these African countries, business journalism has been steadily growing since the late 1960s, fuelled by the presence of robust stock exchanges, making the issue of business journalism ethics of central importance. Grounded in the sociology of news production paradigm, Bourdieu’s journalistic field theory and debates on Africanisation of journalism ethics, this study identifies three major issues. First, the research found that while all three newspapers had clear ethical guidelines in place, and editors and journalists recognised the importance of ethical behaviour, ethical practice did not always follow. A disconnect exists between words (codes of ethics) and actions (practice) especially in Kenya and Zimbabwe, where business journalists are more susceptible to economic and political pressures. The argument is ethical considerations notwithstanding, people need to survive. This is largely due to the precarious economic basis of news organisations, lack of effective monitoring, and a pervasive culture of unethical behaviour at some sites. Second, the study also shows that institutional factors such as advertising, powerful news sources and interference from senior management make ethical business journalism difficult to practice. Third, Africanisation remains an academic issue with little movement towards that direction in most newsrooms studied. The findings of this study demonstrate that business editors in African newsrooms are confused on what ‘Africanisation’ entails especially given their shared view that journalism practices are universal. It recommends that business journalism codes of ethics informed by African values are long overdue. In terms of enforcement and monitoring of codes, it is important to use compliance officers or ombudsperson and periodically run in-house refresher courses on ethics and professionalism. It is imperative that the financial press improve the working conditions of its employees in order to lessen incidences of corruption which are threatening the credibility of media content and media organisation themselves.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mare, Admire
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Journalism, Commercial Journalistic ethics Journalism, Commercial -- South Africa Journalism, Commercial -- Kenya Journalism, Commercial -- Zimbabwe Business Day (South Africa) Business Daily (Kenya) Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3458 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002912
- Description: This study provides an insight into the state of business journalism ethics in Africa, firstly through an examination of newsroom ethical policies and secondly through an exploration of the way in which African business journalists negotiate ethical decision-making in their day-to-day news processing practices. Thirdly, it examines how the three African media organisations have responded in their newsroom policies and practices to the debates on the Africanisation of journalism ethics. In order to collect data, the researcher employed document analysis, semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Three financial newspapers namely: Business Day in South Africa, Business Daily in Kenya and Financial Gazette in Zimbabwe were purposively chosen. In these African countries, business journalism has been steadily growing since the late 1960s, fuelled by the presence of robust stock exchanges, making the issue of business journalism ethics of central importance. Grounded in the sociology of news production paradigm, Bourdieu’s journalistic field theory and debates on Africanisation of journalism ethics, this study identifies three major issues. First, the research found that while all three newspapers had clear ethical guidelines in place, and editors and journalists recognised the importance of ethical behaviour, ethical practice did not always follow. A disconnect exists between words (codes of ethics) and actions (practice) especially in Kenya and Zimbabwe, where business journalists are more susceptible to economic and political pressures. The argument is ethical considerations notwithstanding, people need to survive. This is largely due to the precarious economic basis of news organisations, lack of effective monitoring, and a pervasive culture of unethical behaviour at some sites. Second, the study also shows that institutional factors such as advertising, powerful news sources and interference from senior management make ethical business journalism difficult to practice. Third, Africanisation remains an academic issue with little movement towards that direction in most newsrooms studied. The findings of this study demonstrate that business editors in African newsrooms are confused on what ‘Africanisation’ entails especially given their shared view that journalism practices are universal. It recommends that business journalism codes of ethics informed by African values are long overdue. In terms of enforcement and monitoring of codes, it is important to use compliance officers or ombudsperson and periodically run in-house refresher courses on ethics and professionalism. It is imperative that the financial press improve the working conditions of its employees in order to lessen incidences of corruption which are threatening the credibility of media content and media organisation themselves.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
A critical discourse analysis of the coverage of operation "Restore Order" (Operation Murambatsvina) by Zimbabwe's weekly newspapers, the state-owned The Sunday Mail and the privately owned The Standard, in the period 18 May to 30 June 2005
- Authors: Mukundu, Rashweat
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Operation Murambatsvina, Zimbabwe, 2005- Political persecution -- Zimbabwe Mass media -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe Press and politics -- Zimbabwe Freedom of the press -- Zimbabwe Newspapers -- Objectivity -- Zimbabwe Journalistic ethics -- Zimbabwe Critical discourse analysis Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe) The Standard (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3470 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002925
- Description: On May 16 2006 the government of Zimbabwe embarked on a clean-up programme of urban centres, destroying informal human settlements and informal businesses. This operation, which the government called operation "Restore Order", resulted in the displacement of nearly one million people and left thousands of families homeless. This study is a discussion and an analysis of the coverage of the clean-up operation by two of Zimbabwe's leading Sunday newspapers, The Sunday Mail and The Standard. The Sunday Mail is owned by the Zimbabwe government and The Standard is privately owned and perceived to be oppositional to the current Zimbabwe government. The two newspapers, therefore, covered the clean-up operation from different perspectives and often presented conflicting reports explaining why the clean-up operation was carried out and the extent of its impact on the lives of millions of Zimbabweans. The chosen research approach is the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework as developed by Fairclough (1995). Using CDA, this study seeks to find out and expose the underlying ideological struggles for hegemony between different social and political groups in Zimbabwe and how the newspapers became actors in this process. This process is made possible by looking at how news reporting is organised in the two newspapers, issues of language use, sourcing and external factors that influenced the coverage of the operation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mukundu, Rashweat
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Operation Murambatsvina, Zimbabwe, 2005- Political persecution -- Zimbabwe Mass media -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe Press and politics -- Zimbabwe Freedom of the press -- Zimbabwe Newspapers -- Objectivity -- Zimbabwe Journalistic ethics -- Zimbabwe Critical discourse analysis Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe) The Standard (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3470 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002925
- Description: On May 16 2006 the government of Zimbabwe embarked on a clean-up programme of urban centres, destroying informal human settlements and informal businesses. This operation, which the government called operation "Restore Order", resulted in the displacement of nearly one million people and left thousands of families homeless. This study is a discussion and an analysis of the coverage of the clean-up operation by two of Zimbabwe's leading Sunday newspapers, The Sunday Mail and The Standard. The Sunday Mail is owned by the Zimbabwe government and The Standard is privately owned and perceived to be oppositional to the current Zimbabwe government. The two newspapers, therefore, covered the clean-up operation from different perspectives and often presented conflicting reports explaining why the clean-up operation was carried out and the extent of its impact on the lives of millions of Zimbabweans. The chosen research approach is the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework as developed by Fairclough (1995). Using CDA, this study seeks to find out and expose the underlying ideological struggles for hegemony between different social and political groups in Zimbabwe and how the newspapers became actors in this process. This process is made possible by looking at how news reporting is organised in the two newspapers, issues of language use, sourcing and external factors that influenced the coverage of the operation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
The neo-diaspora : examining the subcultural codes of hip-hop and contemporary urban trends in the work of Kudzanai Chiurai and Robin Rhode
- Authors: Stirling, Scott
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Chiurai, Kudzanai, 1981- Rhode, Robin Hip-hop African diaspora Rap (Music) Art, Modern -- 21st century Art, South African -- 21st century Hip-hop dance -- South Africa Hip-hop dance -- United states Hip-hop -- Influence -- South Africa Hip-hop -- Influence -- United states
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2423 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002219
- Description: This thesis is structured around an exploration of the global phenomenon hip-hop. It considers how its far-reaching effects, as a cultural export from the United States,have influenced cultural production in South Africa. The investigation focuses specifically on the work of two visual artists: Zimbabwean born, Johannesburg-based Kudzanai Chiurai, and Cape Town born, Berlin-based Robin Rhode. The introduction familiarises the reader with the two artists and briefly outlines their histories and methods, as well as giving a short history of the development of hip-hop as a subculture from its beginnings in 1970s New York. The first chapter follows this brief introduction to outline some of the parallels, especially concerning race relations, between 1970s America and post-apartheid contemporary South Africa. This comparison aims to highlight similarities that gave rise to the hip-hop phenomenon and which also place South Africa in a prime position to welcome such influences. The second half of the chapter explores how migration theory and issues of diaspora have not only influenced the development of hip-hop, but have also become points of focus for both artists, who are in fact disporans themselves. The second chapter explores ‘ground level’ concerns of everyday life in the city. Issues of crime,gangsterism, politics and activism are characterised as focal elements of Chiurai’s and Rhode’s artwork and also of hip-hop musical content. Inner city contexts in different parts of the globe are compared through a discussion of the art and music that come out of them. This comparison of the philosophical and conceptual content of the art and music is extended, in Chapter three, into a comparison of methods of production, considering how these influence various readings of the artistic output, whether musical or visual. Ideas of authenticity are discussed and finally the focus shifts to explore how both the conceptual and practical concerns of musicians and artists are being shaped by an increasingly ‘globalized’ world. The conclusion explores the challenges that globalization poses to cultural practitioners and seeks to highlight some of the artists’ methods as examples with which to facilitate the growth of a more inclusive global aesthetic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Stirling, Scott
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Chiurai, Kudzanai, 1981- Rhode, Robin Hip-hop African diaspora Rap (Music) Art, Modern -- 21st century Art, South African -- 21st century Hip-hop dance -- South Africa Hip-hop dance -- United states Hip-hop -- Influence -- South Africa Hip-hop -- Influence -- United states
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2423 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002219
- Description: This thesis is structured around an exploration of the global phenomenon hip-hop. It considers how its far-reaching effects, as a cultural export from the United States,have influenced cultural production in South Africa. The investigation focuses specifically on the work of two visual artists: Zimbabwean born, Johannesburg-based Kudzanai Chiurai, and Cape Town born, Berlin-based Robin Rhode. The introduction familiarises the reader with the two artists and briefly outlines their histories and methods, as well as giving a short history of the development of hip-hop as a subculture from its beginnings in 1970s New York. The first chapter follows this brief introduction to outline some of the parallels, especially concerning race relations, between 1970s America and post-apartheid contemporary South Africa. This comparison aims to highlight similarities that gave rise to the hip-hop phenomenon and which also place South Africa in a prime position to welcome such influences. The second half of the chapter explores how migration theory and issues of diaspora have not only influenced the development of hip-hop, but have also become points of focus for both artists, who are in fact disporans themselves. The second chapter explores ‘ground level’ concerns of everyday life in the city. Issues of crime,gangsterism, politics and activism are characterised as focal elements of Chiurai’s and Rhode’s artwork and also of hip-hop musical content. Inner city contexts in different parts of the globe are compared through a discussion of the art and music that come out of them. This comparison of the philosophical and conceptual content of the art and music is extended, in Chapter three, into a comparison of methods of production, considering how these influence various readings of the artistic output, whether musical or visual. Ideas of authenticity are discussed and finally the focus shifts to explore how both the conceptual and practical concerns of musicians and artists are being shaped by an increasingly ‘globalized’ world. The conclusion explores the challenges that globalization poses to cultural practitioners and seeks to highlight some of the artists’ methods as examples with which to facilitate the growth of a more inclusive global aesthetic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Robert Herrick's self-presentation in Hesperides and his Noble numbers
- Authors: Faull, Lionel Peter
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674 Criticism and interpretation Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674. Hesperides Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674. Noble numbers English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2207 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002250
- Description: Literature has tended to be cut from the moorings of its authorial origins under the influential literary criticism of the past forty years. This thesis is an attempt to re-moor a work of literature to its authorial origins; particularly a work of literature in which the author-poet‘s self-referential markers are so overtly and persistently present as is the case in Hesperides and His Noble Numbers. Although there is a significant overlap between the real-life Herrick and the Hesperidean Herrick, the two figures cannot be regarded as identical. Instead, Herrick‘s deployment of specific genres and not of others, his chosen conventions for ordering a collection of miscellaneous poems, and his adoption of certain conventional poetic stances provide him with a semi-fictionalised way of declaring who he understands himself to be and how he wants himself to be understood. At the same time, the rich classical mythological associations of Herrick‘s title, Hesperides, declare his status as an inheritor of the classical literary tradition, whose hallmark during the Renaissance was the melding of classical, Christian and secular associations into new and complexly polyvalent literary works. For example, Herrick‘s appropriation of the classical mythological figure of Hercules provides him with both a narrative way and an allegorical way of reconciling the so-called secular, or profane poetry of Hesperides with the so-called religious, or divine poetry of Noble Numbers. In Noble Numbers, Herrick reveals new facets of his self-presentation to the reader, whilst also making explicit the theological congruencies between the two works. Herrick‘s religious self-presentation demonstrates his expansive scholarly interests, as well his instinct to include, rather than to exclude, the religious beliefs of others within his syncretistic sense-of-self. Finally, the placement of Noble Numbers after Hesperides is not a signal that Herrick privileged the former, or took his religion less seriously than he did his love for classical poetry, but rather that in Herrick‘s understanding of his world, man‘s fleeting glimpses of God in the secular sphere give way to a fuller comprehension of Him in the divine sphere.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Faull, Lionel Peter
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674 Criticism and interpretation Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674. Hesperides Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674. Noble numbers English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2207 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002250
- Description: Literature has tended to be cut from the moorings of its authorial origins under the influential literary criticism of the past forty years. This thesis is an attempt to re-moor a work of literature to its authorial origins; particularly a work of literature in which the author-poet‘s self-referential markers are so overtly and persistently present as is the case in Hesperides and His Noble Numbers. Although there is a significant overlap between the real-life Herrick and the Hesperidean Herrick, the two figures cannot be regarded as identical. Instead, Herrick‘s deployment of specific genres and not of others, his chosen conventions for ordering a collection of miscellaneous poems, and his adoption of certain conventional poetic stances provide him with a semi-fictionalised way of declaring who he understands himself to be and how he wants himself to be understood. At the same time, the rich classical mythological associations of Herrick‘s title, Hesperides, declare his status as an inheritor of the classical literary tradition, whose hallmark during the Renaissance was the melding of classical, Christian and secular associations into new and complexly polyvalent literary works. For example, Herrick‘s appropriation of the classical mythological figure of Hercules provides him with both a narrative way and an allegorical way of reconciling the so-called secular, or profane poetry of Hesperides with the so-called religious, or divine poetry of Noble Numbers. In Noble Numbers, Herrick reveals new facets of his self-presentation to the reader, whilst also making explicit the theological congruencies between the two works. Herrick‘s religious self-presentation demonstrates his expansive scholarly interests, as well his instinct to include, rather than to exclude, the religious beliefs of others within his syncretistic sense-of-self. Finally, the placement of Noble Numbers after Hesperides is not a signal that Herrick privileged the former, or took his religion less seriously than he did his love for classical poetry, but rather that in Herrick‘s understanding of his world, man‘s fleeting glimpses of God in the secular sphere give way to a fuller comprehension of Him in the divine sphere.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
"The secret rapport between photography and philosophy" considering the South African photographic apparatus through Veleko, Rose, Goldblatt, Ractliffe and Mofokeng
- Authors: Mountain, Michelle Fiona
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Veleko, Nontsikelelo Rose, Tracy Goldblatt, David Ractliffe, Jo 1961- Mofokeng, Santu, 1956- Photographers -- South Africa Photography -- Philosophy Photography -- Social aspects -- South Africa Apartheid in art Documentary photography -- South Africa Space (Art) -- South Africa South Africa Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2415 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002211
- Description: This thesis is an attempt at understanding South African photography through the lens of Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko, Tracy Rose, David Goldblatt, Jo Ractliffe and Santu Mofokeng. Through the works discussed this thesis intends to unpack photography as a complex medium similar to that of language and text, as well as attempt to understand how exploring South African experiences and spaces through the lens of photography shapes and mediates them. Furthermore it also attempts to understand how these experiences and spaces conversely affect the discourse of photography or at the very least our perception of it. Through these photographers and their works it is hoped that ultimately the interconnected relationship of exchanging codes that takes place between photography and society will be highlighted. The example of connectivity or dialogue I believe exists between the medium of photography and the physical/social and psychological spaces it photographs will be mediated through Deleuze and Guattari‟s conception of “the wasp and the orchid” where “the wasp becomes the orchid, just as the orchid becomes the wasp...an exchanging or capturing of each other‟s codes”. Other theorists I will be looking at include Vilém Flusser, focusing in particular on his book Towards a Philosophy of Photography, as well as Susan Sontag, Roland Barthes and others. The main aims and objectives of this thesis are to understand the veracity of the documentary image and whether or not the image harbours any objective truth, as well as whether truth, if it can truly be said to exist in the world, resides between the camera and the seen world. This dichotomy is further complicated by the matter of subject-hood and technical and philosophical understandings of the camera as an apparatus. At no point do I aim to be conclusive, rather it is hoped that by developing the dynamic tension between the theory and the image world that I will be able to bring fresh insight into the reading of a changing South African condition and the subject position of the photographer in relation to this condition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mountain, Michelle Fiona
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Veleko, Nontsikelelo Rose, Tracy Goldblatt, David Ractliffe, Jo 1961- Mofokeng, Santu, 1956- Photographers -- South Africa Photography -- Philosophy Photography -- Social aspects -- South Africa Apartheid in art Documentary photography -- South Africa Space (Art) -- South Africa South Africa Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2415 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002211
- Description: This thesis is an attempt at understanding South African photography through the lens of Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko, Tracy Rose, David Goldblatt, Jo Ractliffe and Santu Mofokeng. Through the works discussed this thesis intends to unpack photography as a complex medium similar to that of language and text, as well as attempt to understand how exploring South African experiences and spaces through the lens of photography shapes and mediates them. Furthermore it also attempts to understand how these experiences and spaces conversely affect the discourse of photography or at the very least our perception of it. Through these photographers and their works it is hoped that ultimately the interconnected relationship of exchanging codes that takes place between photography and society will be highlighted. The example of connectivity or dialogue I believe exists between the medium of photography and the physical/social and psychological spaces it photographs will be mediated through Deleuze and Guattari‟s conception of “the wasp and the orchid” where “the wasp becomes the orchid, just as the orchid becomes the wasp...an exchanging or capturing of each other‟s codes”. Other theorists I will be looking at include Vilém Flusser, focusing in particular on his book Towards a Philosophy of Photography, as well as Susan Sontag, Roland Barthes and others. The main aims and objectives of this thesis are to understand the veracity of the documentary image and whether or not the image harbours any objective truth, as well as whether truth, if it can truly be said to exist in the world, resides between the camera and the seen world. This dichotomy is further complicated by the matter of subject-hood and technical and philosophical understandings of the camera as an apparatus. At no point do I aim to be conclusive, rather it is hoped that by developing the dynamic tension between the theory and the image world that I will be able to bring fresh insight into the reading of a changing South African condition and the subject position of the photographer in relation to this condition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Humour's critical capacity in the context of South African dance, with two related analyses
- Authors: Elliott, Nicola
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Dance -- South Africa Choreography -- South Africa Dance criticism -- South Africa Theater -- South Africa South African wit and humor
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2137 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002369
- Description: This thesis spans two fields - South African dance and the philosophy of humour - and attempts to link them through an understanding of their formal mechanisms. I attempt to establish two main ideas: that there is a need for a critical praxis in South African dance, and that humour in dance can be part of this process. In Chapter One, I discuss elements of the South African dance and theatre industries pre- and post-1994 towards arguing my first point (that South African dance would benefit from a critical praxis). I probe some of the challenges facing artists and describe howchoreographers are dealing thematically and stylistically (but not formally) with the concept of the 'New' South Africa. Through an investigation of concerns voiced by critics regarding choreographic form in the country, I argue that South African dance would benefit from critical formal investigations in dance-making. Finally, I discuss traditional views of humour in South African dance/theatre and in philosophy, which suggest that humour is predominantly seen as frivolous and unworthy of serious attenfion. In Chapter Two, I offer a defence for humour's more profound critical aspects, suggesting that humour can in fact be seen as critical 'thinking in action'. A discussion of theories about humour reveals that the basis for humour is the incongruous. A subsequent discussion of form in theatre and dance shows how the incongruous might work within dance form to create meta-dance. In this way, I attempt to link the two fields of humour and South African dance and to make the connection between the critical capaci~ies of meta-dance and those of humour. I suggest, in other words, that humour in dance can create a critical awareness, of the likes advocated in Chapter One. In Chapter Three, I discuss aspects of two works: my own This part should be uncomfortable (2008) and Nelisiwe Xaba's Plasticization (2004). The two analyses differ from each other as does the humour in both works. Despite the differences, I argue that humour in both works is operating on a critical level that includes a meta-level of signification.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Elliott, Nicola
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Dance -- South Africa Choreography -- South Africa Dance criticism -- South Africa Theater -- South Africa South African wit and humor
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2137 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002369
- Description: This thesis spans two fields - South African dance and the philosophy of humour - and attempts to link them through an understanding of their formal mechanisms. I attempt to establish two main ideas: that there is a need for a critical praxis in South African dance, and that humour in dance can be part of this process. In Chapter One, I discuss elements of the South African dance and theatre industries pre- and post-1994 towards arguing my first point (that South African dance would benefit from a critical praxis). I probe some of the challenges facing artists and describe howchoreographers are dealing thematically and stylistically (but not formally) with the concept of the 'New' South Africa. Through an investigation of concerns voiced by critics regarding choreographic form in the country, I argue that South African dance would benefit from critical formal investigations in dance-making. Finally, I discuss traditional views of humour in South African dance/theatre and in philosophy, which suggest that humour is predominantly seen as frivolous and unworthy of serious attenfion. In Chapter Two, I offer a defence for humour's more profound critical aspects, suggesting that humour can in fact be seen as critical 'thinking in action'. A discussion of theories about humour reveals that the basis for humour is the incongruous. A subsequent discussion of form in theatre and dance shows how the incongruous might work within dance form to create meta-dance. In this way, I attempt to link the two fields of humour and South African dance and to make the connection between the critical capaci~ies of meta-dance and those of humour. I suggest, in other words, that humour in dance can create a critical awareness, of the likes advocated in Chapter One. In Chapter Three, I discuss aspects of two works: my own This part should be uncomfortable (2008) and Nelisiwe Xaba's Plasticization (2004). The two analyses differ from each other as does the humour in both works. Despite the differences, I argue that humour in both works is operating on a critical level that includes a meta-level of signification.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Wattle we do? alien eradication and the 'ecology of fear' on the fringes of a world heritage site, South Africa
- Authors: Merron, James Lawrence
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Wattles (Plants) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Invasive plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1994- South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- Environmental degradation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape World Heritage areas -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Political aspects Social ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Applied anthropology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2092 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002655
- Description: In their article ―Naturing the Nation: Aliens, the Apocalypse and the Post Colonial State (2001) Jean and John Comaroff look at ―the contemporary predicament of South Africa through the prism of environmental catastrophe. Through it they reveal the context in which alien plants have become an urgent affair of the state. Following their lead, I show how alien plants (particularly Australian wattle) continue to provide grounds for new social and political aspirations in South Africa, though in a different setting. With reference to a group of private landowners on the fringe of a World Heritage Site -- the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa -- I show how an increasingly apocalyptic and xenophobic environmental agenda has influenced local activists seeking to address social and ecological issues in tandem with alien-eradication. These local activists adhere to a particular brand of environmentalism which Milton (1993) argues can be considered a social, cultural and religious phenomenon. The subjects of my main empirical investigation offer practical ways of achieving a transformational end through a new ritual activity in relation to a spread and exchange of environmental ideas and practices on a world-wide scale. On the ground this group practices ecosocietal restoration through which they aspire to mend the bond between people and the land in a spiritual and moral sense, bolstering intrinsic incentives for environmental stewardship and achieving ―cultural reconciliation in an attempt to reimagine what South Africa could be.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Merron, James Lawrence
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Wattles (Plants) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Invasive plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1994- South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- Environmental degradation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape World Heritage areas -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Political aspects Social ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Applied anthropology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2092 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002655
- Description: In their article ―Naturing the Nation: Aliens, the Apocalypse and the Post Colonial State (2001) Jean and John Comaroff look at ―the contemporary predicament of South Africa through the prism of environmental catastrophe. Through it they reveal the context in which alien plants have become an urgent affair of the state. Following their lead, I show how alien plants (particularly Australian wattle) continue to provide grounds for new social and political aspirations in South Africa, though in a different setting. With reference to a group of private landowners on the fringe of a World Heritage Site -- the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa -- I show how an increasingly apocalyptic and xenophobic environmental agenda has influenced local activists seeking to address social and ecological issues in tandem with alien-eradication. These local activists adhere to a particular brand of environmentalism which Milton (1993) argues can be considered a social, cultural and religious phenomenon. The subjects of my main empirical investigation offer practical ways of achieving a transformational end through a new ritual activity in relation to a spread and exchange of environmental ideas and practices on a world-wide scale. On the ground this group practices ecosocietal restoration through which they aspire to mend the bond between people and the land in a spiritual and moral sense, bolstering intrinsic incentives for environmental stewardship and achieving ―cultural reconciliation in an attempt to reimagine what South Africa could be.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Israel and Palestine: some critical international relations perspectives on the 'two-state' solution
- Authors: Pienaar, Ashwin Mark
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Arab-Israeli conflict Jewish-Arab relations Nationalism -- Israel Nationalism -- Palestine Land settlement -- West Bank Land settlement -- Gaza Strip Realism Liberalism Palestinian Arabs -- Politics and government -- 20th century Israel -- Politics and government -- 20th century Israel -- Foreign relations -- Palestine Palestine -- Foreign relations -- Israel
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2820 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003030
- Description: This research questions whether Israel and Palestine should be divided into two states. Viewed through the International Relations (IR) theories of Realism and Liberalism, the ‘Two-State’ solution is the orthodox policy for Israel and Palestine. But Israelis and Palestinians are interspersed and share many of the same resources making it difficult to create two states. So, this research critiques the aforementioned IR theories which underpin the ‘Two-State’ solution. The conclusion reached is that there ought to be new thinking on how to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Israel and Palestine: some critical international relations perspectives on the 'two-state' solution
- Authors: Pienaar, Ashwin Mark
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Arab-Israeli conflict Jewish-Arab relations Nationalism -- Israel Nationalism -- Palestine Land settlement -- West Bank Land settlement -- Gaza Strip Realism Liberalism Palestinian Arabs -- Politics and government -- 20th century Israel -- Politics and government -- 20th century Israel -- Foreign relations -- Palestine Palestine -- Foreign relations -- Israel
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2820 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003030
- Description: This research questions whether Israel and Palestine should be divided into two states. Viewed through the International Relations (IR) theories of Realism and Liberalism, the ‘Two-State’ solution is the orthodox policy for Israel and Palestine. But Israelis and Palestinians are interspersed and share many of the same resources making it difficult to create two states. So, this research critiques the aforementioned IR theories which underpin the ‘Two-State’ solution. The conclusion reached is that there ought to be new thinking on how to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
The advent of the 'Festivore' an exploration of South African audience attendance in the performing arts at the National Arts Festival
- Authors: Antrobus, Richard Roy
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Standard Bank National Arts Festival -- Economic aspects , Arts -- Economic aspects , Performing arts festivals -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Arts -- South Africa -- Economic aspects , Arts -- South Africa -- Finance , Arts -- South Africa -- Political aspects , Arts audiences -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2130 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002362
- Description: In South Africa, the performing arts have contributed to enhancing national identity and distinctiveness despite coming up against weak legislation, policy and infrastructure to support their growth and proliferation (Fredericks, 2005: 9). Coupled with a decline in both government and consumer support and the contradictory disparity between valuing the arts and the funding of the arts, theatre companies can no longer rely on the comfort of external subsidies and financial support. In order to be economically viable and sustainable to ensure their survival, there is an increasing demand for theatre companies to look to novel ways of increasing audience demand for theatre and improving audience attendance. However, instead of risking artistic integrity and the performance product to satisfy the market, this research suggests that promotion and development of theatre at arts festivals provides a platform to access a wider theatre-going public, which therefore facilitates a change in the market focus toward appreciation of the product (production). It explores leading arguments pertaining to the attendance of arts and cultural events, namely, Peterson and Simkus (1992), later updated by Peterson‟s (2005)„omnivore-univore‟ argument. The argument purports cultural consumption as binary in nature: either significant and diverse or limited, if not absent altogether. Supported by a number of case-studies, including Chan and Goldthorpe (2005) and Montgomery and Robinson (2008) and Snowball et al. (2009), the investigation challenges Bourdieu‟s (1984) theory on cultural distinction as well as the homology and individualisation argument. In determining the factors that influence cultural taste and consumer behaviour, including motivators and inhibitors of attendance and a predominant emphasis on audience risk and information asymmetry, the research was placed in a local context, providing an overview of the socio-economic theatre environment in South Africa. It investigated the nature, structure and impact of local festivals (as events) in changing audience demand and theatre attendance. With specific reference to the South African National Arts Festival (NAF) the research notes the effects of Hauptfleisch‟s „eventification‟ phenomenon on univore attenders and therefore expands the omnivore-univore theory to include a new breed of attender: the “Festivore”. A case study explored the “Festivore” hypothesis through empirical research, surveys and face-to-face qualitative interviews and on-seat questionnaire responses by festival attenders. Personal interviews and communication was also carried out with leading experts in the field. The data was then analysed using SPSS 13 electronic statistical analysis programme to determine the socio-demographics and the factors that affect theatre attendance of existing, as well as potential target, theatre audiences at the National Arts Festival The study concluded that South African theatre attenders are generally omnivorous consumers and that, more importantly, there seems to be a shift towards „festivorous‟ consumption. Furthermore, evidence supports the development and proliferation of festivals as a means not only to support and promote the arts in South Africa but, more importantly, to generate new theatre audiences and entrench theatre attendance into South African culture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Antrobus, Richard Roy
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Standard Bank National Arts Festival -- Economic aspects , Arts -- Economic aspects , Performing arts festivals -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Arts -- South Africa -- Economic aspects , Arts -- South Africa -- Finance , Arts -- South Africa -- Political aspects , Arts audiences -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2130 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002362
- Description: In South Africa, the performing arts have contributed to enhancing national identity and distinctiveness despite coming up against weak legislation, policy and infrastructure to support their growth and proliferation (Fredericks, 2005: 9). Coupled with a decline in both government and consumer support and the contradictory disparity between valuing the arts and the funding of the arts, theatre companies can no longer rely on the comfort of external subsidies and financial support. In order to be economically viable and sustainable to ensure their survival, there is an increasing demand for theatre companies to look to novel ways of increasing audience demand for theatre and improving audience attendance. However, instead of risking artistic integrity and the performance product to satisfy the market, this research suggests that promotion and development of theatre at arts festivals provides a platform to access a wider theatre-going public, which therefore facilitates a change in the market focus toward appreciation of the product (production). It explores leading arguments pertaining to the attendance of arts and cultural events, namely, Peterson and Simkus (1992), later updated by Peterson‟s (2005)„omnivore-univore‟ argument. The argument purports cultural consumption as binary in nature: either significant and diverse or limited, if not absent altogether. Supported by a number of case-studies, including Chan and Goldthorpe (2005) and Montgomery and Robinson (2008) and Snowball et al. (2009), the investigation challenges Bourdieu‟s (1984) theory on cultural distinction as well as the homology and individualisation argument. In determining the factors that influence cultural taste and consumer behaviour, including motivators and inhibitors of attendance and a predominant emphasis on audience risk and information asymmetry, the research was placed in a local context, providing an overview of the socio-economic theatre environment in South Africa. It investigated the nature, structure and impact of local festivals (as events) in changing audience demand and theatre attendance. With specific reference to the South African National Arts Festival (NAF) the research notes the effects of Hauptfleisch‟s „eventification‟ phenomenon on univore attenders and therefore expands the omnivore-univore theory to include a new breed of attender: the “Festivore”. A case study explored the “Festivore” hypothesis through empirical research, surveys and face-to-face qualitative interviews and on-seat questionnaire responses by festival attenders. Personal interviews and communication was also carried out with leading experts in the field. The data was then analysed using SPSS 13 electronic statistical analysis programme to determine the socio-demographics and the factors that affect theatre attendance of existing, as well as potential target, theatre audiences at the National Arts Festival The study concluded that South African theatre attenders are generally omnivorous consumers and that, more importantly, there seems to be a shift towards „festivorous‟ consumption. Furthermore, evidence supports the development and proliferation of festivals as a means not only to support and promote the arts in South Africa but, more importantly, to generate new theatre audiences and entrench theatre attendance into South African culture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010