A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements of degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, 2015 / The ways in which we have come to know the world through expressions and performances of dominant versions of masculine and feminine gendered identities is challenged, refracted and altered on a daily basis through social interactions. This work situates itself within the various spheres of dominant masculinity production such as neo-traditional African cultural practices, sexuality, the family unit, race and class, as well as other contributory factors such as migration and lack of social advancement opportunities. Through the use of the novelistic genre, this work examines how contemporary black South African novels of English expression engage with the production of dominant masculinity, in order to critique the taken-for-granted access by dominant men to social power over other men, women and children. Not only does this study concern itself with the extent to which core elements of dominant masculinities are being transformed, it tracks transformation in literary figurations of men, and is interested in the alternative masculine identities that these novels proffer. This works’ search for alternative identities is predicated on the primacy of a symbiotic relationship between strategies of self re-presentation, personal agency and the power of social structures. This study concludes that the central codes of contemporary dominant black masculinities are forced to change because their legitimising narratives are put under scrutiny. Fluctuating social, political and economic factors also mediate their constant breakdown and recreation. However, the development of the alternative gendered identities imagined in these novels is thwarted by the prevailing socio-cultural practices of the contemporary era.

No description available.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A)-University of Durban-Westville, 2004.

Post-apartheid South African fiction has been the subject of much heated debate. One specific aspect of this debate has revolved around the role of history in this fiction. This is linked to general concerns in the country around ways of understanding history, especially in relation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s research into the past. Tracing the lines of debate which emerged out of the discussions around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this research report focuses on the way history is presented in two novels from the post-apartheid period. These novels are This Day and Age by Mike Nicol and The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda. Each of the two novels concerns a specific incident from the past of South Africa, the Bulhoek massacre and the Xhosa cattle-killing respectively. Through tracing their intertextual relations with mainstream accounts of the historical events, the research shows how they interrogate these accounts. Detailed examination of the portrayal of history in each of the novels leads to conclusions being drawn about the way in which the novels conceive of such historical ideas as causality, linearity and responsibility. Finally, the research examines the role of prophecy in the novels, showing how in both of the texts prophecy can be read as an alternative explanation for events. The research endeavours ultimately to contribute to the body of critical thought concerning the analysis of post-apartheid South African fiction.

ABSTRACT This dissertation explores identity as its central theme. There are three components to the dissertation. The first is the academic essay which explores identity through the perspective of queer theory and proposes a three-dimensional conception of an “identity cloud”. The second component is the creative essay which consists of ten chapters towards a final novella entitled “troll”. The creative component’s central theme is the lead protagonist’s struggle in assimilating the identities of “gay” and “addict” after receiving a liver transplant. The third and final component is an essay detailing the manner in which the creative and academic created and informed one another.

No description available.

Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Creative Writing., July 2012 / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Creative Writing, 2017 / XL2018

Thesis (M.A.) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The study deals with ubuntu as reflected in the selected novels of Magau, A.W and Maumela, E.T. Qualitative research method was employed. The study has discovered that ubuntu appears in many forms in Tshivenḓa such as respect for the dignity and worth of human beings, honesty, compassion, solidarity, generosity and forgiveness and reconciliation. The findings also reveal that Tshivenḓa puts more emphasis on activities which signify ubuntu than material wealth. The study also found that there are activities that are emical to ubuntu such as disrespect, dishonesty, cruelty, selfishness and greed and lack of forgiveness and reconciliation. Ubuntu occupies a central position amongst the Vhavenḓa and anyone who negates what ubuntu promotes and upholds has been regarded as non-human.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.