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The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the space provided by a readerresponse transaction between girls and the text, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Taylor 1977) .. empowered pupils to tell their own stories. It also sought to identify ways in which the problems and possibilities perceived by these pupils might guide curriculum decisions in a transforming education system. In addition to engaging in reader-response activities around the text, drama and videos providing social context were integral to the programme. Related work in the subject areas of history and lifeskills was also undertaken. Data was drawn from pupils' reading journals, responses to specific passages, transcripts of small group discussions, and interviews. The study is ethnographic in nature and all the data qualitative. Theoretical insights were drawn from the felds of cultural studies, postmodern criticism, and postructural modes of cultural and social analysis inasfar as they illuminate and inform the relationship between language, knowledge and power. The research was conducted in an historically white, girls' school which adopted a nonracial admissions policy in January 1991. Despite the fact that existing traditions and values of the the school to a very large extent influence what is taught, the data suggests that pupils were becoming agents in their own learning and were taking up multiple identities both within and without the world of the school.

This thesis is concerned with the negotiation of cultural and literary matters in South African public life during the period 1938 to 1960. While I begin with an exploration of the more 'orthodox' or 'academic' traditions of literary-cultural discussion in South Africa, the far more urgent preoccupation has been to explore a hitherto undocumented tradition of cultural-political debate in the South African public sphere, one which arose in the ' counter-public' circles of oppositional South African political groups. What has emerged is a rich and heterogeneous public debate about literature and culture in South Africa which has so far gone unrecorded and unrecognised. What sets this 'minority' discussion apart from more mainstream cultural discourses, I argue, is its overt engagement with contemporary socio-political issues. Articulated mainly by 'subaltern' writer-intellectuals - who occupied a precarious position in the social order either by virtue of their racial classification, class position or political affiliation - this is a cultural debate which offers a forthright critique of existing race and class norms. In these traditions, literary-cultural discussion becomes a vehicle for the articulation of radical political views and a means whereby marginalised individuals and groups can engage in oppositional public debate. In this regard, I argue, literary-cultural debate becomes a means of engaging in the kind of public political participation which is not available in the ' legitimate' public sphere. Focusing in the first instance on literary criticism 'proper', this thesis considers the distinctive reading strategies, hermeneutic practices, and evaluative frameworks which mark these alternative South African discursive traditions . Here I argue that the political, content-oriented, historical and ideological emphases of an alternative South African tradition are in marked contrast to the formalist, abstracted and moralising tendencies of more normative approaches. What the thesis points to is not only the existence of a substantial body of anti-colonial criticism and response in South Africa from the mid-1930s onwards, but also to a vigorous tradition of Marxist literary criticism in South Africa, one which predates the arrival of Marxist approaches in South African universities by some thirty years. Aside from the more traditional critical arena of literary consumption and evaluation, the thesis also considers a more general public discussion, one in which questions such as the place of politics in art, the social function of literature/culture, and the complex 'postcolonial' questions of cultural allegiance, identity and exclusion are debated at length. In this regard, culture becomes one of the primary sites of a much broader contestation of ruling class power. Regarded by many in these traditions as intrinsic to the operations of class and colonial oppression, culture also figures as one ofthe primary nodes of resistance. In seeking out these marginal South African 'subaltern counterpublics', the project has sought to retrieve a history of radical cultural-political debate in South Africa which is not available as part of the existing literary-cultural archive. In this regard, I hope not only to keep these ideas ' afloat' as a way of complicating and interrogating the present, but also seek to provide a more accurate and inclusive sense of the South African public sphere during the period under review. In particular, I offer a sense of the many competing intellectual discourses which formed the broader intellectual context out of which the dominant English Studies model was eventually constellated. I also give attention to the complex social processes by means of which certain intellectual discourses are granted legitimacy and permanence while others are discarded: what emerges in this regard, as I suggest, is gradual 'outlawing' of politics from South African cultural debates which coincides with the rise of the apartheid state. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This paper explores the discourses of emigration in a South African daily newspaper from 1988 to 2001, and discusses the implications of these discourses on the way in which emigration is constructed within South African society In this paper, Potter and Wetherell 's (1987) approach to discourse analysis is utilized. It makes use of interpretative repertoires, to explore the functions and consequences of the discourses. The discursive framework thereby reveals the different subject positions related to nationalism, race and class. It is argued that economics and notions of culture and social class, do more than provide a useful medium through which the phenomenon of emigration can be understood. They also support the affirmations of certain groups of people above others, by claiming that emigration is unpatriotic and disloyal. This paper concludes by identifying the negative connotations of media discourses in the construction of emigration and acknowledges that many alternate constructions are silenced in this matter.

A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Fine Arts. / American critic Hal Foster argues that conceptions of 'the natural' are not universal, they are historically and discursively produced, There is no unmediated presence of 'the natural' in painting. He proposes 'denaturalization' as a form of critical postmodemist aesthetic which questions universalist tendencies in contemporary cultural production" This research examines selected theories and visual. representations of 'the natural' in order to explore different ways in which Foster's notion of denaturalization may be productive in assessing the complexity of critical visual art practice in South Africa. My approach to the topic is largely fragmentary in order to reflect on and engage with the diverse terms of 'the natural' as manifest in visual art practice. To this end I discuss selected works of contemporary South African artists William Kentridge and Penelope'Siopis, While Foster's notion of denaturalization is productive in trying to engage with"critical issues' of art practice it is difficulr, if not impossible to determine if cenaln works conform with either his notion of a postmodernism of resistance or postmodernism of reaction. I will also explore the notion of denaturalization with reference to my practical work. / Andrew Chakane 2018

Art South Africa is currently the leading, professionally published art magazine in South Africa. The magazine plays an important role in the dissemination of art discourse and art news and is the only ongoing, printed forum devoted exclusively to South African contemporary art. In this paper I will be looking at Art South Africa to describe the type of art texts it presents and the particular position it has taken in the contemporary art world of South Africa. In doing this I will be analysing the magazine to register the types of writing and other information in formats such as art news, exhibition reviews, artist bios, interviews and even advertising. This paper will also be analysing selected texts to determine the key issues that are represented and the way those issues have been represented with a critical position. Looking at Art South Africa from many angles will show that criticality is one of the magazine’s ideological aims and though the magazine’s format changes over time, it has continually sought to engage its readers in critical discourse.

Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / Refer to the document

This study concerns the writing of Geoffrey Hugh Durrant. Durrant’s writing is to a large extent academic in nature, but he also comments on the broader South African society during the course of the 1940s and 1950s. The study has two interrelated objectives, the first archival in nature and the second more theoretical. The archival objective entails bringing to attention Durrant’s writing produced during the period he spent in South Africa. At present this archive remains largely unexplored. The second objective is to relate this body of writing to current thinking regarding the mission of university English Studies in South Africa. The study of languages and literatures in South Africa today finds itself in a complex situation of ongoing changes within the university as an institution, the broader system of education, and a society which in many respects can still be described as becoming a “New South Africa”. This is also true for university English Studies. It will be argued that in this process of transition Durrant’s writing, informed by the challenge to university English Studies to define itself as an independent academic discipline with an essential educational and social function, offers a valuable perspective. In defining the task of English Studies at the university Durrant aligns himself with the critical tradition which at a conceptual level originated in the writing of Matthew Arnold by the middle of the nineteenth century, but came to full fruition only after 1917 in the Cambridge English School. Durrant has to be credited for a measure of original thought and for making a personal contribution to this critical framework in for instance his definition of the concept “practical criticism”. He also has to be credited for including politics into the cultural analysis implicit in this critical framework, something which was never done by the Cambridge critics. This, for Durrant, means that his duty as citizen is not to be separated from his duty as university teacher. Durrant believes that indifference and failure to judge unacceptable political developments will ultimately endanger the values of society and make a self-respecting existence impossible. For university teachers an attitude of indifference will eventually leave the universities with no authority, unable to fulfil their essential task. Durrant sees the university as guardian of a specific type of intellectual activity and therefore as indispensable to society. The essential duty of the university is to cultivate an ability of critical discernment, and it is in this realm that the task of the university and that of English Studies coincide. For Durrant the social mission of English Studies depends on the fostering of a critical ability through engagement with the particular form of language use unique to the literary text. The standards of thought and understanding set by the literary text function as touchstones for life in all its various aspects, and mastery of this type of text affords the level of critical discernment necessary as foundation for a civil self capable of critical judgement. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This research is based on the hypothesis that response-based approaches to teaching literature and an outcomes-based system of education (OBE) are conceptually incompatible. This thesis claims that reader response involves processes that cannot be accommodated pedagogically within a system based on pre-determined outcomes. Furthermore, the kind of assessment prescribed by OBE is inappropriate to the nature of reader response. The hypothesis is based on three main premises. The first is that each reader brings a highly individual and complex set of personal schemata to the reading of imaginative texts, and these schemata have a decisive influence on the nature of a reader’s response. This means that response during imaginative engagements with literary texts tends to be idiosyncratic, and therefore largely unpredictable. Because of this, it would be inappropriate for a teacher, working within an OBE system, to try to teach towards pre-selected outcomes and to attempt to ensure that these outcomes, based on responses to literary texts, are in fact achieved. The second premise is that readers’ imaginative engagements with literary texts are essentially hidden events, which even the individual reader cannot fully bring to the surface and articulate. Because they are complex, and to some extent inaccessible, it would be inappropriate to assess the processes of response in the form of tangible evidence that a particular kind of response has taken place, or an outcome achieved. The third premise is that responses need time to grow and develop and do not merely happen quickly and cleanly. Consequently, aesthetic response, already a complex and inaccessible process, has no clearly distinguishable beginnings or endings. It would therefore be inappropriate to try to pinpoint the exact nature and parameters of a particular response or fragment it into a discrete unit of competence or knowledge. A two-dimensional problem emerges. The first is a conceptual one: whether there is an inherent tension between encouraging response to imaginative literature on the one hand, and accepting the rationale for OBE, on the other. The second dimension of the problem is empirical: whether teachers of literature experience any tension of either a conceptual or a practical nature when following response based approaches within the OBE system of Curriculum 2005, and if so, what they do in order to cope. In exploring the conceptual problem, the argument of this thesis is supported by reception theory and reader response criticism. The former provides key theoretical principles and insights that illuminate the nature of aesthetic reading, while the latter describes and analyses the nature, extent and manifestations of response in educational contexts, underpinned by both reception theory and empirical research. Together they offer evidence that personal response is determined by a complex range of processes, and is the core activity in reading for aesthetic purposes. This thesis also examines the conceptual basis and the structure of OBE as interpreted in both Curriculum 2005 and the revised National Curriculum Statement. The purpose of this is to establish the extent to which the philosophy and modus operandi of these curricula are rooted in notions of competence, and the requirement that learners give tangible demonstrations of pre-determined outcomes being achieved. If it is found that the curricula do lean heavily on pre-determined outcomes in regard to competencies that must be demonstrated, it may be concluded that 1) reader response activities are incompatible with OBE in a South African context, and 2) the potential exists for such incompatibility to create obstacles to creative and effective literature teaching. This can lead to difficulties for the teacher, who will then have to adopt acceptable strategies to cope with the situation. These strategies may ultimately be to the detriment of the pupils, particularly if the teacher seeks a compromise between genuine response and the kinds of activities that would yield precise, palpable measures of attainment that can be easily demonstrated. Exploring the empirical dimension of the problem involves investigating the responses of both teachers and teacher trainers to the experience of promoting response-based literature teaching and learning in an OBE environment. In order firstly investigated whether the practitioners do encourage reading response as a core activity in reading for aesthetic purposes. The extent to which practitioners have a sound grasp of the conceptual issues relevant to this research is also investigated. Insight into such issues depends on teachers and teacher trainers understanding the nature of reader response, on the one hand, and the rationale and structures of the relevant OBE curricula, on the other. Whether, and to what extent, practitioners experience tensions through their awareness of conceptual incompatibilities is also investigated. It should be borne in mind that practitioners work in real contexts in which a variety of complex factors play a role in determining how they respond to pressures from the environment. It cannot therefore be expected that teachers and others involved in delivering the curriculum will be able to reflect on purely conceptual issues without being influenced to an extent by more practical or logistical considerations. However, this study argues that the extent to which they are able to identify the relevant factors that affect the conceptual underpinnings of their practice will determine the degree to which their responses support the argument of this thesis. Together, the empirical and the theoretical findings offer qualitative evidence that should illuminate the nature and extent of the problem.

Thesis (M .A. (African Languages)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / This research “Nxopaxopo wa tinsimu ta vanhwanyana va xikhale va Vatsonga wu kongomisa eka manghenelo, xitatimendhe xa xipiqo, xikongomelo, nkoka wa maendlelo ni tinhlamuselo ta matheme lama nga tirhisiwa” deals with path which was paved by young girls of the older generations before married. In our discussion in this research I will touch some few things about their songs like the teaching of the nation, good behaviour for themselves even as adults and culture in totality etc. The other thing is language which the girls used when performing their songs. This research consists of six chapters. Chapter 1: It outlines the research proposal as follows. The introduction, statement of problem, aim of the study, the significance of the research, definition of terms, methods used and literature review. Chapter 2: This chapter explains the upbringing of young girls of the olden generation. Secondly, it outlines the stages that they undergo and the relationship between these stages. Furthermore it brings forth norms and values to be followed when these girls get married. Chapter 3: The chapter deals with the analysis of the chosen songs by young girls of the olden generations. Emphasis is based on the sense of the poem and the usage of figurative language. Chapter 4: Firstly it deals with the meaning of the word “theme”. It also outlines the theme of young girls of olden generations as per their varying categories, involves life in general, like unfaithfulness to their brother in law, love one another, for the love of culture etc. Chapter 5: Deals with the findings which this research discovered about the songs of the young girls of the olden generations. It also deals with the suggestion and recommendations. Chapter 6: It provides a list of various references used in this research