Text in English / The study unravels moral perversion in selected post-independence detective Shona novels. Moral perversion is a multi-faceted concept and the study focuses on corruption, sexual harassment, abuse of office, stealing, poaching and illegal manufacturing of intoxicating products as the key definers of moral perversion. Afrocentricity merged with Kawaida philosophy are the lenses used to pass critical judgements on the extent the selected literary practitioners portrayed literature rooted in the African ontological existence on moral perversion. Fictional works used as primary sources are Sajeni Chimedza (1984), Mutikitivha Dumbuzenene (1991), Munzwa mundove (1999) and Dandemutande, (1998). All the novels are set in the post-independence era in Zimbabwe when moral perversion is rife. The study is qualitative in nature and data was gathered using questionnaires and interviews from literary critics, publishers and novelists. Particular attention is paid on the causes of moral perversion, images of people in leadership positions and the implications of character assassination of leaders in relation to the development of purposeful literature. The study contends that moral insanity is an acknowledged problem in the post-independence era and novelists are portraying leaders as the chief culprits manning factionalism and unorthodox ways of acquiring resources at the expense of the majority of citizenry. Guided and informed by Afrocentricity, the study argues that novelists are raising pertinent issues although their views are myopic, simplistic and self-defeating because they are failing to see that the leaders are also victims who are victimizing other victims. Blaming the leadership on moral perversion ignoring the impact of colonialism, and neo-colonialism in shaping African personality creates more harm than good as this exonerates the imperialistic system of exploitation which impinges on African culture and personality. Therefore, the study argues that novelists erroneously blame individuals for the sins of a system. There is need to interrogate both external and internal factors to establish sustainable home-grown problem solving solutions to improve human condition and the development of functional literature in Africa. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

Submitted by Angela Maria de Oliveira (amolivei@uepg.br) on 2017-10-16T15:41:55Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Renan Fagundes.pdf: 14965955 bytes, checksum: fa383276f6bcac970603bf242121e506 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-16T15:41:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Renan Fagundes.pdf: 14965955 bytes, checksum: fa383276f6bcac970603bf242121e506 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / As reflexões que trago nesta dissertação têm por objetivo identificar os traços de africanidades na literatura infantil e juvenil em língua espanhola em seu contexto afro-diaspórico. Para apresentar tais traços de africanidades, tive que repensar, de que forma a matriz africana aparece nos contos em língua espanhola e em como consistem. Para isto, elenquei em forma de categorias de análise, as africanidades encontradas. Sendo estas categorias: As representações de Ananse; O poder e importância da palavra para as culturas africanas; Áfricas: memória e comunidade; A presença de animais/personagens. No que concerne ao desenvolvimento teórico e metodológico, parto do reconhecimento dos estudos clássicos que abordam a temática da literatura infantil e juvenil no decorrer da trajetória histórica deste gênero literário. Tais como: Támes (1990); Coelho (2000, 2006); Hunt (2010), entre outros/as. Todavia, me pauto principalmente nas discussões em relação à representação das personagens negras, como se detiveram as pesquisas de: Rosemberg (1985); Oliveira (2003, 2010); Gouvêa (2005); Jovino (2006); Araujo (2010, 2015); Debus (2012); entre outros/as. No tocante à elucidação teórica dos conceitos de africanidades(s) e afrocentricidade, quais são eixos norteadores desta pesquisa, se fez necessário estudos de cunho reflexivo dialogando-os com postulações de pesquisadores/as afro-brasileiros e africanos. Já, para a metodologia de análise dos contos, me baseio na práxis da africanidade, postulada por Silva (2008). Enegreço também que a análise se fará em uma perspectiva afrocentrada, priorizando base teórica afro-diaspórica. Em relação ao corpus deste estudo, as obras escolhidas foram: Anancy en Limón (2002), da Costa Rica e Multiculturalidad y Plurilingüismo – Tradición Oral y educación plurilingüe en África Central y Austral (2012), da Guiné Equatorial. Os resultados apontam que as pesquisas com literatura infantil e juvenil que discutem sobre representação de personagens negras, por mais que se tenha avanços ainda persistem resquícios de estereótipos como destacados por Rosemberg (1985), Oliveira (2003, 2010), Araujo (2010, 2015). Vale ressaltar o caráter didático e pedagógico das narrativas e importância da argumentação, articulação, desenvolvidos por Ananse, o poder da palavra, os animais e memória e comunidade para as culturas africanas. / The reflections I bring in this dissertation aim to identify the traits of Africanities in children's and young people's literature in the Spanish language in its Afro-Diasporic context. To present such traits of Africanities, I had to rethink how the African matrix appears in Spanish-language short stories and in what they consist. For this, I listened in the form of categories of analysis, the found africanities. Being these categories: The representations of Ananse; The power and importance of the word for African cultures; Áfricas: memory and community; The presence of animals / characters. With regard to theoretical and methodological development, I start from the recognition of the classical studies that approach the theme of children's and youth literature during the historical trajectory of this literary genre. Such as: Támes (1990); Coelho (2000, 2006); Hunt (2010), among others. However, I focus mainly on the issues regarding the representation of the black characters, the research of Rosenberg (1985); Oliveira (2003, 2010); Gouvêa (2005); Jovino (2006); Araujo (2010, 2015); Debus (2012); among others. With regard to the theoretical elucidation of the concepts of africanities and afrocentricity, which are the guiding axes of this research, it was necessary to carry out reflective studies by discussing them with postulations of Afro-Brazilian and African researchers. Already, for the methodology of analysis of short stories, I’m based on the African praxis, postulated by Silva (2008). I’m also explain that the analysis will be done in an afro centered perspective, prioritizing Afro-diasporic theoretical basis. Regarding the corpus of this study, the works chosen were: Anancy in Limón (2002), Costa Rica and Multiculturality and Plurilingualism - Oral Tradition and multilingual education in Central and Southern Africa (2012), from Equatorial Guinea. The results point out that the researches with children and young people's literature that discuss the representation of black characters, although there are still some vestige of stereotypes, as highlighted by Rosemberg (1985), Oliveira (2003, 2010), Araujo (2010, 2015 )). It is worth emphasizing the didactic and pedagogical character of the narratives and the importance of the argumentation, articulation, developed by Ananse, the power of the word, animals and memory and community for African cultures.

Thesis (Ph. D. (International Politics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / The United States of America’s (US) foreign policy towards Africa has been the subject for debate. This is partly because the country’s relationship with African countries is not consistent. By and large, such relations are shaped by a number of factors which include political orientation and material resources. Within this context, the present study uses case studies from two different parts of Africa to tease out US foreign policy towards Africa. This explorative study uses Ghana and the United Republic of Tanzania (hereafter referred to as Tanzania) as test cases to compare and critique the post-Cold War foreign policy of the US towards Africa. It does this by first analysing and constructing the theoretical material on the three pillars of the US Africa policy (oil, democracy and security) and subsequently, contemporaneously locating the US relationship with Ghana and Tanzania. Largely, the study carries a historical sensibility as it traces the US relationship with Ghana and Tanzania from as far as the colonial era. History is crucial in this regard because the past provides a sound basis for understanding the present and future. To add, in International Politics theory holds sway and history is used as a laboratory. In this thesis, the researcher proposes Afrocentricity as an alternative theoretical paradigm crucial in understanding US foreign policy towards Africa. As it shall be seen, such a paradigm (theoretical lens) remains critical in highlighting the peculiarity of the US relationship with Ghana and Tanzania. It is envisaged that a deeper understanding of the US foreign policy towards Ghana and Tanzania is achievable when its analysis and interpretation is located within a broader continental context of Africa. To realise the purpose of this study, the researcher relies methodologically on interdisciplinary critical discourse and conversations in their widest forms. With reference to the test cases for this study, the agenda for democratic consolidation features prominently on both of them while oil is only applicable to Ghana in this regard. In contrast, Tanzania distinguishes itself both as a victim of terrorism and equally so as a strategic partner on the US anti-terrorism efforts in East Africa. Yet, oil in West Africa’s Ghana is important for the US both as an economic resource and a strategic energy source during wartime periods. Overall the ‘differential’ foreign policy towards individual African states is also a significant observation which dispels the myth of a universal US foreign policy framework. Keywords: Africa, Afrocentricity, democracy, East Africa, foreign policy, Ghana, oil, security, Tanzania, United States of America, West Africa.

Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / This study discusses African identity as portrayed in Zakes Mda’s The Madonna of Excelsior (2002) and Bessie Head’s Maru (1971). It explores identity and its subcomponents within the South African context as asserted in these novels. Mda employs a retrospective communal voice that blends historical accounts with fiction in order to subvert and satirise apartheid nationalism. Head, on the other hand, constructs a positive image of feminine identity in the world characterised by tribalism, patriarchal system and stereotypical subjugation of women. She dismantles established racial and ethnic prejudice against minority groups and the underprivileged. The study applies a trilogy of theoretical framework to analyse and interpret selected data: Discourse Analysis, Text Analysis and Afrocentricity. It further examines a fluidity of identities in both social and political spheres and demonstrates how suppression of these identities affects individuals and nation states. It reveals that, as a microcosm of Africa, South Africa reflects atrocious injustices of the past, carried out in the form of colonisation and apartheid, bringing about a different kind of identity of the African people. These two novels take us back to the past so that we can understand the present and subsequently build Africa’s identity of the future. KEY CONCEPTS Afrocentricity; Identity; Discrimination; Miscegenation; Otherness; Hybridity; Animalistic Dehumanisation.

According to the National Rites of Passage Institute (NROPI), African Americans have lost their authentic identity, which has led to inauthentic, broken individuals and communities. In order to reverse these trends, according to NROPI, African Americans must rediscover their authentic identity through a rites of passage program that plucks them from a Eurocentric narrative and places them into an Afrocentric one. This thesis explores how NROPI is a religious response to adversity that takes on a decidedly American form of contemporary religiosity. I argue that by analyzing NROPI and other contemporary rites of passage programs through the lens of religious studies, scholars can gain a deeper understanding of how these programs fit into the broader American religious landscape, and provide commentary on the changing nature of that religiosity, and how their language and rituals can be used as rhetorical strategies for social cohesion and control.

In recent years, there has been a significant amount of new attention to white dominance and privilege (or whiteness) as the often unmarked inverse of racial oppression. This interest has spawned the academic domain called Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS). While the critical investigation of whiteness is not new, and has been pioneered by Black scholars beginning at least since the early 1900s in the work of W. E. B. Du Bois, what is notable about this new interest in whiteness is its advancement almost exclusively by white scholars. The paucity of literature centering the Black voice in the study of whiteness both suggests the lack of appreciation for the importance of this perspective when researching the phenomenon of racial dominance, and raises questions about the manner in which racial equity work is approached by some Whites who do work that is intended to advance racial equity. This study investigates the context of racial equity collaborations between Blacks and Whites, responding to this knowledge deficit in two ways: a) it centers the Black voice, specifically and intentionally seeking the perspectives of Blacks about racial equity collaborations b) it investigates the nature and effects of the relationships between Blacks and Whites in these collaborative endeavours. This qualitative research study uses in-depth interview data collected from ten Black racial equity workers who collaborate with Whites in doing racial equity work. The data makes evident that the Black participants find these collaborations to be necessary and strategic while at the same time having the potential to undermine their own agency. The study examines this contradiction, discussing several manifestations of it in the lives of these Black racial equity workers. It outlines the importance of Black embodied knowledge to racial equity work and to these collaborations, and outlines an epistemology of unknowing and a politics of humility that these Blacks seek in their white colleagues. The study also outlines the collective and individual strategies used by these Black racial equity workers to navigate and resist the contradictory terrain of their collaborations with Whites in racial equity work.

The current study is an African-centred critique of the idea of ‘good governance’; which since the 1990s, has been a prescription of the international development institutions for all development challenges facing developing countries. Despite almost two decades of implementation of good governance reforms in Nigeria, poverty, corruption and underdevelopment persist. The analysis showed that the limited involvement of local people in the design of donor-sponsored good governance reforms mainly produced a universal, donor-conceptualized good governance agenda, which did not fully capture local issues. Given this, the main objective of the current study was to develop a cultural, context-specific governance model that shares local citizens’ understanding of governance, as well as, addresses challenges of governance at local levels in Nigeria. However, given the diversity of cultures in Nigeria and the uniqueness of each of them, this study only focused on Southwest Nigeria. Afrocentricity is the theoretical framework for this study. Mainstream development theories have mainly guided the development efforts of African countries but these theories are based on the experience of the European countries and primarily seek their interests. Given the failure of Eurocentric development theories in Nigeria, this study deemed it fit to adopt a theoretical framework that is based on African experience and that seeks African interests. Afrocentricity is the only theory in which the centrality of African interests, principles, and perceptions predominate (Pellebon 2007: 174). In terms of methodology, this study adopted the case study design. The study also used both the qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. But the study was largely qualitative because it relied on participants’ interpretations. The inclusion of quantitative data was for purposes of expanding and complementing the interpretive information. The study is significant because the findings provide agency to indigenous people in Nigeria by the voicing their perception of governance. The study also identified context-specific issues affecting governance in Nigeria, which were not captured in the donor’s universal good governance agenda. The study proposed how the principles that have enabled the effectiveness of traditional governance systems could be incorporated into formal governance to achieve better government performance. Most importantly, this study offers context-specific and people-centred recommendations to address Nigeria’s governance and development challenges. This study’s Afrocentric approach to the understanding of good governance is an epistemological rupture against the Eurocentric idea of good governance. / Development Studies / PhD (Philosophy)

This study pursues the quest and struggle for total liberation in post-independence Shona poetry. The study also relies on views of key respondents obtained through interviews and questionnaires. Couched and guided by Afrocentricity and Africana womanism, the study elucidates the politico-economic and socio-cultural factors that militate against Africa’s total liberation in general as well as women’s liberation, respectively. Simultaneously, critical judgments are passed on the extent to which poets immerse their art in African existential philosophy. The study is energized by the idea that pursuing the quest for authentic liberation provides a lens through which one can understand threats to Africa’s true liberation. It observes that poets and key informants largely attribute ersartz independence to internal problems. The researcher holds that it is problematic to hold a domesticated vision of the African condition to the extent that poets and other literary workers need to widen their canvas beyond fighting internal oppression and internationalise the struggle. The researcher argues that it is myopic and self-defeating to protest against Africa itself without giving adequate attention to the incapacitating hegemonic world system. Therefore, the poetry is lacking on its critique on domination. The centerpiece of the thesis is that in order to be purposeful and functional, poets need to grapple with both endogenous and exogenous factors that obstruct the march towards genuine liberation. The study also observes that in some instances poets produce cheap literature which is marked by a narrow and moralistic approach and this is attributable to the fact that poets lack a scientific vision in understanding reality. Concerning women’s authentic liberation, the commonly identified obstacles to women’s freedom are the male counterpart, self-depreciation, lack of education and culture. The study observes that women poets in Ngatisimuke (1994) and key respondents seem to approach gender relations from a feminist perspective and hence fail to situate women’s condition in the context of the history and culture that shape African gender relations. Women poets in Ngatisimuke fall short of internationalising their struggle in concert with the male counterpart such that their poetry degenerates into sponsored and misguided activism. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The purpose of the study was two-fold. First, the study explored how self-identified Afrocentrist professors in higher education utilized Afrocentric pedagogy and andragogy to address the learning needs of students, specifically Black women students. Second, the study explored the ways in which Black women students experienced that learning in the higher education classroom. The purpose was advanced through an in-depth analysis of Afrocentric teaching and learning in the higher education. A sample of five self-identified Afrocentric faculty members - three females and two males - and five Black women students who studied with those professors was identified. Participants were interviewed individually in-person and by telephone. Data analysis resulted in the themes of the importance of living an Afrocentric life in which the African body is centered and elevated, rejection of European dominance and universalism, re-routing history, and introducing Afrocentricity as a methodology from which to analyze human life. These themes presented core values, approaches, practices and characteristics utilized in Afrocentric teaching. Findings also showed that the Black women student participants received multiple benefits from receiving an Afrocentric education that assisted them in their journeys through higher education. Study findings provided a foundation for the guidebook "Teach Me, Toward Me Kuongoza, "a tool for educators who choose to explore the Afrocentric journey, and for those who are curious about Afrocentricity's intent. The guidebook may be utilized by higher education institutions with a commitment to the academic lives of their Black students as well as those of diverse cultural backgrounds.

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