M.A. / A specific identity is not an inherent quality of human nature. Yet all humans have identities. The question then arises as to how identities are formed and what influences their formation. In this study it is asserted that identities are constructions and that, as such, they occur within a space and time. The particular interrelations and meanings that occur in a space and time result in the formation of a place. Place, then, influences the constructions of the identity. In this study the Tablīgh Jamā̉at (TJ), a movement that seeks to improve the practice of Islam amongst Muslims, was investigated to assess what influenced the construction of an identity amongst its members in Johannesburg. The Tablīgh Jamā̉at, which is the single largest Islamic movement in the world, originated in India in 1927 and was established in South Africa in the early 1960s. The movement has a large presence in the Muslim community of Johannesburg. The execution of activities related to the movement, the promotion and manipulation of the message and activities of the movement, as well as physical and material capabilities independent of the movement were found to influence the construction of the identity. These, together, have shaped the meaning, in a place, due to the manipulation of shared experience. However, there are also physical and material constraints that limit the further construction of identities. The reliance of the identity on factors that are not inherent to it poses a challenge for the development of theory regarding social identities. / Prof. Peter Alexander

This collection is representative of the studies I have completed during my time in the MFA program. Poetry workshops and seminars on prosody, translation, fragmentation, and constraint-based writing have contributed to the creation of this project. Thematically, my work is largely concerned with identity, the relationship between the external world and internal experiences, and perception. It attempts to capture something of the epiphanic, those rare moments when the ordinary becomes ineffable.

About a Girl is a coming-of-age memoir set in Montana, a place that I yearned to belong to, but was also desperate to flee. My girlhood was in some ways idyllic--I was a bright child, the oldest of six, and the bulk of my early education took place in rural one-room schools. When school was out, I ran free and wild in the relative safety of several ranches and farms that my stepdad worked on over the years. But as I entered adolescence, I began experimenting with drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and other high-risk behaviors. This memoir explores themes of family, identity, isolation, and longing for transformation. My shifting relation to self is mirrored in my shifting relation to place, as my family moves to increasingly isolated locales during my girlhood; as I bounce between my mom's and dad's homes during a turbulent adolescence; and as I seek to establish independence by moving to Denver as soon as I graduate high school. Like many rural kids, I was ill prepared for the urban existence I'd idealized, and once I was on my own, I quickly progressed from being evicted from my first apartment to living on the streets. By using techniques such as dialogue, characterization, and scene building to give my memories narrative form, I seek to reconcile the girl I was with the woman I have become. In exploring the distance between these two selves, I also attempt to make peace with the stories I tell about who I am and how I came to be. For some of us, it is only by nearly destroying ourselves that we are able to find out who we are, and only by leaving home that we are able to make our way back.

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This project focuses on graffiti art as not an unconstructive form of artwork as society might assume, but a way of coping and establishing an identity for youth mostly males who are searching for who they are.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Africa, 2001.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment in compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Fine Art, Durban Institute of Technology, 2012. / I believe that the election in 1994 of the first democratic government in South Africa has presented a challenge to all South Africans in different ways. I believe that one of the principal challenges that the 1994 elections presented to my conservative Calvinistic Afrikaner community was to address its personal, family, community, national and international identity/ies. Arising out of this perspective and perception, I have explored my and my family memory/ies to answer questions about my identity. My study is a journey of awareness: a self-study exploring my identity through critical self-reflection and the development of my art practice. My self-study is multi- disciplinary: it employs interchangeable methodologies allowing for various forms of knowledge generation. My journey of awareness is a “living theory” in which I have developed my “living standards of judgement” and addressed my “living contradictions” (Whitehead 1985; 1989; 2008a; b; c; d). My study illustrates the symbiotic research and creative process of developing an understanding of my identity as a white Afrikaans woman through practicing my art. My art practice assisted in the action/reflection process as well acting as a tool for social action and transformation. / M

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Violence in South Africa is a serious problem and young men have been and still are the driving force behind the high levels of violence in South Africa. Although young men commit the most violence researchers have largely neglected the critical examination of young men and their association with violence. This study set out to examine this phenomenon by conducting focus group and group interviews with 23 adolescent boys between the ages of 14-16. The boys were selected from two schools in the Cape region. Two focus groups and one group interview was conducted in order to gain insight from the participants on what they thought were the motivations for young mens‟ tendencies to enact violence. As a result, various themes emerged from the participants responses. The participants provided rich descriptions about what they thought motivated men to enact violence. Overwhelmingly all the themes highlighted that men and boys who endorse traditional dominant ideals of masculinity that encourage toughness, dominance and willingness to resort to violence were more likely to enact violence. However, what was apparent was that for most boys violence played an integral part in the construction of their masculinity. It was defining characteristic of what it meant to be a man. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geweld in Suid-Afrika is 'n ernstige probleem en jong mans was en is nog steeds die dryfkrag agter die hoë vlakke van geweld in Suid-Afrika. Ten spyte van jong mans se beeld as oortreders van geweld is jong mans se geweld deur navorsers geïgnoreer. Hierdie studie het 'n ondersoek gedoen om uit te vind wat die motivering is wat sommige jong mans na geweld toe dryf. As gevolg, het hierdie studie 23 adolessente jong mans tussen die ouderdom van 14 tot 16 'n onderhoud met hulle waargeneem. Die seuns is gekies uit twee skole in die Kaapse streek. Twee fokusgroepe en een groep onderhoud is uitgevoer met die adolessente seuns om 'n begrip te kry van hierdie fenoneem. Verskeie temas is uit die deelnemers antwoorde geneem. In al die temas kon ek aflei dat mans en seuns wat die tradisionele dominerende ideale van manlikheid omhels is meer geneig om geweld uitgevoer. Wat egter duidelik is vir die meeste seuns is dat geweld 'n integrale deel is in die konstruksie van hul manlikheid. Dit is 'n kenmerk van wat dit beteken om 'n man te wees.

This master’s thesis has the intent of showing that the tattoo can be regarded as an individuals document according to prevailing notions in archival science. Suzanne Briets definition of the concept of document is used in this thesis as a widening definition, a document does not have to presented in a defined form, it is only required to represent an object or intellectual phenomenon and to be informative. Tattoos are presented in this thesis as informative with regard to the status and position of russian/soviet convicts and as such presenting an individuals identity within a specific context. As documents they also provide the individual with the essential evidence of his or her endeavours in a criminal environment. Also, they have the ability to function as an individuals memories of relationships, hardships and comradeships. Memory, evidence and identity are concepts upon which archival theorists are reworking the role of archives and documents in society and culture. The method presented in this thesis is image analysis applied to a selected number of photographs and drawings owned and published by a design and publishing company in London. The image analysis has as its focus the tattoos visible upon individuals bodies, these tattoos are interpreted and made relevant with regard to historical circumstances and the prison environment. The image analysis in this thesis is complemented by litterature studies. The thesis also provides a recapitulation regarding previous research concerning tattoos within the human and social studies. The conclusion this thesis presents is that it is possible to view the tattoo as a document, bound to an individual, which mirrors the society and culture in which the individual finds himself. It is also possible to view the tattoo as mirroring indivudals possibilities, wishes and memories. Finally, the tattoo presents itself, in this context, as a document that may represent a critique of a dominant society or simply the voice of the alienated.