Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral)--Université Rennes 2, Haute Bretagne, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 355-371) and index.

This thesis is an in-depth analysis of <i>La Vie et demie</i>, the first novel of the Congolese writer Sony Labou Tansi, which I consider as a foundational text to the five novels he wrote subsequently.  The novel concerns an imaginary and chaotic country called Katamalanasie which is ruled by the Guide Proventiel, a cruel and sadistic dictator, followed in time by a string of equally barbaric and ruthless tyrants. The thesis explores in close detail the novel’s underlying themes, discusses the literary or mode it belongs to, and maps out the possible effects it has on the reader. My analysis has as its theoretical focus the violence, the ambiguity and the uncanny which characterize three important episodes. Following Christopher L. Miller’s recommendation, that a better understanding by a Western reader of a text emanating from, and embedded in, Africa should involve a dialogic reading of other texts, the thesis is structured as a dialogue between a range of theorists in the fields of the fields of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, and literary theory.  This thematic exploration leads me to identify one overarching theme, namely the precariousness of the state of culture and the dangers of the state of nature.  The literary aspects of this analysis shows that the highly ambiguous nature of the novel forces the reader to question and relativize his or her approach to any African writer whose work is set within an African context. And in a concluding stage to my thesis, I show how the effects of the violence, the ambiguity and the uncanny eventually give way to abjection, causing the reader to experience him or herself the dangers that the breakdown of the state of culture by barbarism represents.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / Online company registration is a service, which has been claimed by Congo-Brazzaville immigrant entrepreneurs. It has taken centuries for scientists to develop computers that successfully enable businesses to grow in an effective erasure of national frontiers for business purposes. B2B e-commerce, which heralded the dawn of globalisation in the EU, USA, India, New Zealand and South Africa, is not yet applicable in Congo- Brazzaville. Presently, B2B e-commerce has made the global economy porous, which consequently activated online business registration. This porosity has enabled SMMEs to save supply chain management costs, create jobs, improve customer care and contribute to the country’s GDP. However, owing to the characteristics of Congolese immigrants’ SMMEs in Cape Town, online business registration has become imperative to enable them to expand in Congo and to save supply chain management costs and contribute to the country’s economic reconstruction process. Recently, the Centre For Business and Administrative Procedures (CFBAP): Centre des Formalités Administratives des Entreprises’ (CFE) B2B e-commerce website has become in demand. Furthermore, at a national level, e-commerce website adoption at CFBAP will leverage the country’s standards of conducting business and will boost the pride of CFBAP, as an organisation, as well as its partners in an aspect that is at the core of its values. The main objective of this study is to analyse the benefits of online business registration for Congo-Brazzaville immigrant entrepreneurs in Cape Town. The study has established motivating factors to implement an e-commerce website at CFBAP in Brazzaville, but did not recommend any specific e-commerce technology for the institution. The research has also made an earnest attempt to illicit reasons why Congo-Brazzaville immigrant entrepreneurs invest in Brazzaville in spite of being well established in Cape Town. The research target population included Congo-Brazzaville immigrant entrepreneurs who were selected from their association and who live in Cape Town, where the study was conducted. The nature of the research dictated both quantitative and qualitative methodologies in order to gain a better understanding of the research problem that was identified. Key words: E-commerce, CFE, Congo-Brazzaville, World Bank, SMMEs, immigrants, Centre for Business and Administrative Procedures (CFBAP).

A Dissertation Presented to the Department of African Literature University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg In Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy / This two part study of Tchicaya U Tam'Si's novels reflects the twin objectives of the research project. By showing in the first part the need for critical criteria founded in the socio-historical and linguistic realities of Africa, the hegemony of the Western aesthetic canon with respect to African writing is challenged. In the second part, by applying a contextualised, syncretic critical approach to U Tam'Si's prose works, important features not only of his narrative but also of his poetic discourse are illuminated. This movement from broad questions of theory to focus on a specific body of writing makes it possible to identify elements that may be considered characteristic of African writing in general while at the same time contributing to a better understanding of a particular writer's creative expression. (Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2019