Grace Paley's fiction has suffered from being labeled as (alternately) post-modernist and feminist. There is a critical assumption that post-modernist and feminist works are plotless because they are nontraditional. Plot has been defined in Aristotelian terms, and those terms have colored the thinking of critics who attempt to discuss non-Aristotelian plots. Ironically, even feminist critics who are keenly aware that language is empowerment use the traditional language of literary criticism to describe nontraditional plots.As a result, post-modernist and feminist narrative modes are seen as fragmentary. This judgment often as not is simply a reaction to the Aristotelian emphasis on the unity of plot. Literary "unity" is not, however, an antonym for "fragmentation." To assume that nontraditional works such as Paley's are fragmented is to ignore the stories. The opposite of literary unity is not fragmentation, but amalgamation.Similar critical assumptions are that Paley's work is plotless and carries no implicit meaning. Careful readings of the stories in question lay both of these assumptions to rest. The point here is to make reading and understanding the stories the first priority. To use the stories as merely a chance to apply theory is to do both theory and the stories a disservice. / Department of English

The volume of poetry Kleur kom nooit alleen nie (Colour never comes on its own) by Antjie Krog, is analysed extensively in this thesis. The main focus of the study is the way in which metaphors associated with boundaries, bordering, transgression and the crossing of boundaries are used to represent the struggle to come to terms with a traumatic past and to rethink new possibilities of co-existence in the future. In the poems the boundaries of the word, the text and the genre of poetry, as well as geographical and political boundaries and the boundaries of gender, especially the boundaries instituted by the patriarchal order, are challenged. The narration of alternative histories to supplement and correct documented history may also be considered as a boundary-crossing activity. Although colour is the most obvious metaphor of the divisions between people and is indeed used as the central metaphor throughout the volume, many other, sometimes more subtle examples of boundaries and bordering are explored and developed. There is for instance a strong focus on the psychological complexity of creativity and of writing poetry. The poet's withdrawal to a liminal zone which incorporates the almost spiritual dimension of her creative activities clearly forms a kind of leitmotiv in the collection. The text clearly suggests that the artist as a liminal figure achieves an enhanced ability to understand the forces at work in a community. Sharing the results of this insight from the liminal zone with the community implies that the artist can stimulate innovative processes which will obliterate boundaries and enable people to co-exist peacefully. Although the crossing of borders in most cases result in being wounded, there are also the possibilities of recovery and healing. The resultant scars are often regarded as strong identity-shaping features in people. Krog argues that language plays a decisive role in processes of reconciliation and that the text itself becomes a threshold area where different discourses interact and cross-fertilise one another. The structure of the thesis reflects the theoretical approach and is an attempt to present a balanced discussion of the aesthetic and the ideological aspects of Kleur kom nooit alleen nie as a poetic text. Appropriate theories are implemented to do justice to both the aesthetic qualities and the ideological undercurrents of single poems as well as the volume as such. Two discourses are therefore superimposed in order to present an adequate reading of this polyphonic and ambivalent text. 'The exploration of the varied manifestations of the boundary forms a continuous thematic line throughout the thesis but related themes such as identity, liminality and hybridity are also incorporated. On account of the postmodernistic nature of the text, the basic theoretical framework is that of literary postmodernism, with narrativity of the text, intertextuality, post-colonialism and feminism as its most significant manifestations. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The aim of this study was to investigate the specific role that the nuclear family as a primary faith unit has to play in a postmodern context, and the challenges that confront it, as well as the ways in which the church can support the family in this. The study was done through a basis-theoretical investigation of Biblical evidence about the family and about its destiny as well as about the historical development and vicissitudes of the family over the past two millennia, through a meta-theoretical investigation into and analysis of sociological and psychological evidence and views about the relationship between the family and value transfer and faith formation, and through a qualitative empirical investigation into the situation of a number of families in a suburban reformed church, the latter part being informed by the insights derived from the basis- and meta-theoretical study. On the basis of the aforesaid a practice theory was formulated that aims to support the ministry to families. In the basis-theoretical study of Biblical evidence it was indicated that, in spite of widely divergent family forms and situations over many centuries, there were a number of basic functions always common to families, among which the most important is that of the family as the conduit of salvation, as well as its role of nurturance and education. Strong emphasis was also put on the interactive relationship between the church and the family, not only in the family being a part of the church but also in it being a metaphor for the church. On the basis of an analysis of the history of the family over centuries, certain basic aspects of the family were again identified. In this part of the study specific attention was paid to the postmodernism as phenomenon and its implications for the experience of community and for the family. In the empirical study interviews were conducted with six families on the basis of a number of essential themes identified from the study thus far, to determine what their experience of and problems with those facets of their family life are. An interview with a focus group about the same themes was also conducted. On the basis of these conversations the basic themes were further reduced to six in number, and a variety of common concerns or problems, or merely ways of handling certain matters, were identified. In the development of a practice theory emphasis was put on the fact that the address of such a theory or model cannot be in the first place only the church as it performs its work through its offices, but it needs also be the faithful, with the family itself as the autonomous body. Without running the risk of making to rigid a distinction between the various responsibilities of these three, recommendations were made about a number of fields in which the ministry to families can concentrate to counteract the growing danger of privatisation and isolation of families, and again to make families viable building blocks of the church of Christ. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The study was prompted by the lack of existing research with regard to what people locally think and believe about dreams. The study aimed to uncover, explore, and describe current, local dream related beliefs, discourses, and practices (in the Vaal-Triangle area of South-Africa), using a postmodern, social constructivist, as well as a generally sociological approach. In support of this aim, a literature review of various religious, cultural, and psychological dream related discourses was executed. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with twenty respondents who were purposively selected from the administrative database of a Vaal-Triangle University on the basis of culture and gender. The interviews were recorded and the edited transcriptions thus derived served as basis for a thematic qualitative analysis of the respondents' dream related beliefs and practices. The findings were also examined with regard to cultural and gender related patterns, as well as in relation to existing dream discourses. Findings included that dreams were accorded differing degrees of importance by the respondents, that dreams were believed to originate both from internal factors such as an individual's mental and emotional state and neurological processes, as well as from external factors such as daily events and experiences, deceased relatives, and God. Furthermore, dreams were believed to serve several different functions such as mental processing, releasing pent-up emotions, expressing fears or desires, predicting the future, or providing warnings and solutions to problems. Dreams also often served as basis for decisions and actions, most often in order to avoid a negative outcome, or actualize a positive scenario shown by a dream. Several types of unusual dream experiences were reported, including precognitive dreams, dreams that provided contact with a deceased relative or ancestor, spiritual experiences in dreams, as well as sleep paralysis. The most significant sociological findings included that dreams often influence the nature and content of social interaction between individuals, frequently serving as a source of humour and entertainment; that the mother often serves as the "keeper" of knowledge about dreams, and that local dream discourses and practices might in part be transmitted matrilineally. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005

The purpose of this auto-ethnographic and art-based study is to examine how the experiences throughout my life have influenced my practice as an artist. It is within the context of a socially constructed past and present place that I will explore my own process in terms of collaboration and the implications for an artist-teacher, or teaching artist. I reflect upon how my values and philosophy as an art educator have been formed from the synthesis of my experiences. My relationships with a gallery, its clients, and a fellow artist provide the context for reflecting about my process and gaining insights into my potential role as a model and influence on my future students.

The process of identification for émigrés in host countries requires an investigation into the “politics of identity”, and epistemological tensions of how identity is conceptualized and practiced in the context of multicultural environments. Indeed, multiculturalism frameworks in Canada have emerged from attempts to manage coexisting cultures living in the nation-state. This research is a comparative theoretical discussion that mobilizes postmodern perspectives to open limited notions of Canadian identity, and describes the potential challenges that English Canadian and Francophone Quebec multicultural frameworks raise in cultural identification for Canada as a whole, and specifically for émigrés. Secondary literature for the analysis of multicultural frameworks is examined with citizenship markers from Census of Canada questionnaires, to conceptualize Canadian identity through discourse. The findings: (1) postulate how the multiculturalist framework in English Canada and the politics of intercultural identity in Quebec intervene in the meaning-making process of national identity and thus impede on the preservation and development of different cultural identities; and (2) discover that both frameworks of multiculturalism and interculturalism, as an institutionalization of social justice and equality, should be reframed or refined due to the limiting conceptualization of cultural identity as fluid. The findings conclude that multiculturalism, interculturalism, and citizenship frameworks may not provide effective strategies to balance the relationship between different groups with regards to ethnic and cultural rights and equality, and that these frameworks should be revisited to account for, and represent, the complexities of identity in Canada.

The volume of poetry Kleur kom nooit alleen nie (Colour never comes on its own) by Antjie Krog, is analysed extensively in this thesis. The main focus of the study is the way in which metaphors associated with boundaries, bordering, transgression and the crossing of boundaries are used to represent the struggle to come to terms with a traumatic past and to rethink new possibilities of co-existence in the future. In the poems the boundaries of the word, the text and the genre of poetry, as well as geographical and political boundaries and the boundaries of gender, especially the boundaries instituted by the patriarchal order, are challenged. The narration of alternative histories to supplement and correct documented history may also be considered as a boundary-crossing activity. Although colour is the most obvious metaphor of the divisions between people and is indeed used as the central metaphor throughout the volume, many other, sometimes more subtle examples of boundaries and bordering are explored and developed. There is for instance a strong focus on the psychological complexity of creativity and of writing poetry. The poet's withdrawal to a liminal zone which incorporates the almost spiritual dimension of her creative activities clearly forms a kind of leitmotiv in the collection. The text clearly suggests that the artist as a liminal figure achieves an enhanced ability to understand the forces at work in a community. Sharing the results of this insight from the liminal zone with the community implies that the artist can stimulate innovative processes which will obliterate boundaries and enable people to co-exist peacefully. Although the crossing of borders in most cases result in being wounded, there are also the possibilities of recovery and healing. The resultant scars are often regarded as strong identity-shaping features in people. Krog argues that language plays a decisive role in processes of reconciliation and that the text itself becomes a threshold area where different discourses interact and cross-fertilise one another. The structure of the thesis reflects the theoretical approach and is an attempt to present a balanced discussion of the aesthetic and the ideological aspects of Kleur kom nooit alleen nie as a poetic text. Appropriate theories are implemented to do justice to both the aesthetic qualities and the ideological undercurrents of single poems as well as the volume as such. Two discourses are therefore superimposed in order to present an adequate reading of this polyphonic and ambivalent text. 'The exploration of the varied manifestations of the boundary forms a continuous thematic line throughout the thesis but related themes such as identity, liminality and hybridity are also incorporated. On account of the postmodernistic nature of the text, the basic theoretical framework is that of literary postmodernism, with narrativity of the text, intertextuality, post-colonialism and feminism as its most significant manifestations. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The aim of this study was to investigate the specific role that the nuclear family as a primary faith unit has to play in a postmodern context, and the challenges that confront it, as well as the ways in which the church can support the family in this. The study was done through a basis-theoretical investigation of Biblical evidence about the family and about its destiny as well as about the historical development and vicissitudes of the family over the past two millennia, through a meta-theoretical investigation into and analysis of sociological and psychological evidence and views about the relationship between the family and value transfer and faith formation, and through a qualitative empirical investigation into the situation of a number of families in a suburban reformed church, the latter part being informed by the insights derived from the basis- and meta-theoretical study. On the basis of the aforesaid a practice theory was formulated that aims to support the ministry to families. In the basis-theoretical study of Biblical evidence it was indicated that, in spite of widely divergent family forms and situations over many centuries, there were a number of basic functions always common to families, among which the most important is that of the family as the conduit of salvation, as well as its role of nurturance and education. Strong emphasis was also put on the interactive relationship between the church and the family, not only in the family being a part of the church but also in it being a metaphor for the church. On the basis of an analysis of the history of the family over centuries, certain basic aspects of the family were again identified. In this part of the study specific attention was paid to the postmodernism as phenomenon and its implications for the experience of community and for the family. In the empirical study interviews were conducted with six families on the basis of a number of essential themes identified from the study thus far, to determine what their experience of and problems with those facets of their family life are. An interview with a focus group about the same themes was also conducted. On the basis of these conversations the basic themes were further reduced to six in number, and a variety of common concerns or problems, or merely ways of handling certain matters, were identified. In the development of a practice theory emphasis was put on the fact that the address of such a theory or model cannot be in the first place only the church as it performs its work through its offices, but it needs also be the faithful, with the family itself as the autonomous body. Without running the risk of making to rigid a distinction between the various responsibilities of these three, recommendations were made about a number of fields in which the ministry to families can concentrate to counteract the growing danger of privatisation and isolation of families, and again to make families viable building blocks of the church of Christ. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This thesis examines a body of contemporary Japanese films in order to unpack the various portrayals of some of Japan’s socially marginalized groups including women, alienated and rebellious youth, mentally unstable and socially withdrawn individuals, immigrants, and others who don’t adhere to the rigorous standards of social hierarchies and cultural traditions. Postmodernism provides the theoretical framework for the analysis of these films. I argue that Japanese postmodern films and their celebrations of the periphery are essential to contemporary Japan for three related reasons: These postmodern films represent sites of renewal - a positive view of the periphery; a neutral definition of the periphery as part of everyday life; and lastly, as a negative critique of an illusory meta-Japan. The intended outcome of this paper will be to find contrasting/contradictory representations of the periphery - as portrayed by Japanese filmmakers. Japan’s filmic representations of the complex social difficulties faced by the peripheral groups that exist within contemporary Japanese society can provide valuable social awareness and commentaries that are not readily found in other facets of Japanese society. / Graduate

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