Thesis (Ph. D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.) in English--University of Maine, 2003. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 58).

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (January 13, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-57)

This thesis compares two novels each by Nigerian writer Ben Okri and Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun. By examining apparently transformative moments in the lives of each protagonist, Azaro and Zahra, its principal aim is to show how liminality characterises their identities, and is a source of personal and potentially political liberation, mirrored in the narrative techniques. The Introduction demonstrates the centrality of identity to these novels and the domain of postcolonial studies and defines the key concepts in relevant literary, theoretical and political contexts: identity, hybridity, liminality, magical realism and the postcolonial/postmodern debate. Chapter I establishes Azaro and Zahra as liminal beings from birth, whose childhood rituals are incomplete and who continually subvert parental and social expectation. This examination of liminality may be extended by reading the characters as emblems of their respective nations-in-waiting. Chapter II focuses on the tension between biology and culture within Zahra's gendered identity and demonstrates empowerment in her choice to remain liminal in a 'potential space'. Azaro's shifting sexual awareness is examined as a manifestation of his liminality. The allegorical reading of Zahra's life is continued, and a connection made between sexual and political corruption in the English texts. Chapter III centres on the fluidity of Azaro's boundaries and perception. Like Zahra's, his liminality is chosen, as he decides to live in a potential space between human and spirit. Zahra, too, has a special relationship with the spirit world; she and Azaro are shown to have revelatory visions of political significance. The Conclusion brings together the analysis of Azaro's and Zahra's identities before extending the liminal states of the protagonists to those of reader and artist. It concludes that these texts offer new opportunities for the understanding of postcolonial texts and moving beyond the duality of the postcolonial/postmodern debate.

This thesis deploys Homi Bhabha's perspective of postcolonial literary theory as a critical procedure to examine particular instances of fiction, as well as reportage on Botswana. Its unifying interest is to pinpoint the shifting nature or reality of Botswana and, by extension, of African identities. To that end, I use Bhabha's concept of liminality to inform the work of writers such as Unity Dow, Alexander McCall Smith, and instances of reportage (by Rupert Isaacson and Caitlin Davies), from the 1990s to date. The aims of the thesis are, among other things, to establish the extent to which Homi Bhabha's appropriation of the term liminality (which derives from Victor Turner's notion of limen for inbetweenness), and its application in the postcolonial context inflects the reading of the above works whose main motifs include the following: a contestation of any views which privilege one culture above another, challenging a jingoistic rootedness in one culture, and promoting an awareness of the existence of several, interlocking or even clashing realities which finally produce multiple meanings, values and identities. In short, it is proposed that identity is not a given but rather a product of a lived reality and therefore a social construct, something always in process. The thesis begins by theorizing liminality in Chapter 1 within the context of Homi Bhabha's understanding and interrogation of the colonial discourse. This is followed by the contextualization of liminality through the reading of, firstly, the fiction of Unity Dow in Chapters 2 and 3, and then the "detective" fiction of Alexander McCall Smith in Chapters 4 and 5. In the discussion of these works, I also touch on instances of reportage which relate to the lives of the authors. In the case of Smith's "detective" fiction, for example, reportage refers to his incorporation of actual historical events and personages whose impact, I argue, suggests the liminality of culture. In Chapter 6, the idea of reportage varies slightly to denote works of fiction in which there is a great deal of historical fact. Thus Rupert Isaacson's The Healing Land: A Kalahari Journey and Caitlin Davies' Place of Reeds are treated as works of reportage in line with Truman Capote's application of that term. What comes out most evidently in this study is the shifting idea of (Botswana/African) identity. It should be noted that rather than present an all-embracing account of the fiction on Botswana, the study only looks at the selected examples of writing and reportage. / University of South Africa National Research Foundation / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

Thesis (MA (Afrikaans and Dutch))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die wyse waarop die ruimtebeelding in Joe Speedboot deur Tommy Wieringa in wisselwerking tree met die identiteitsontwikkeling in die roman. Aan die hand van teoretisering deur onder andere Henri Lefebvre word die uitbeelding van die sosiale ruimte in die roman aan die orde gestel. Die klassifikasie van Joe Speedboot as ‟n ontwikkelingsroman is hierby ‟n noemenswaardige uitgangspunt, omdat Wieringa die sentrale karakters se adolessensie, oftewel vormingsjare, in die roman uitbeeld. Die identiteitskonstruksie wat in die roman voorgestel word, strook met teoretiese beskouings van identiteit as ‟n dinamiese en gekonstrueerde konsep wat deur sosiale en kulturele oorwegings beïnvloed word. ‟n Ondersoek na die gesimuleerde werklikheid waarin Wieringa sy hooffigure situeer, dui aan dat die parogiale ruimte in die roman as stagnerend en voorspelbaar uitgebeeld word. In teenstelling tot die stilstand wat die ruimte kenmerk, word ‟n preokkupasie met beweging en vooruitgang aan die sentrale karakters toegeskryf. Beide die fisiese én eksistensïele dimensies van beweging en beweeglikheid figureer prominent in die roman. Dit word nóú verweef met die liminale posisie wat die karakters as adolessente in die gemeenskap beklee. Daar word geponeer dat die opposisie tussen stilstand en beweging nie net ingespan word by die ruimtebeelding en strukturele samestelling van die roman nie, maar ook ten grondslag lê aan die uitbeelding van die hoofkarakters se ontwikkelende identiteite. Die outeur kies in Joe Speedboot ‟n hoofkarakter met beperkte opsies en demonstreer hoe sy fisieke belemmeringe onafwendbaar op ‟n slot afstuur wat negatief óf positief geïnterpreteer kan word. In die lig van die hoë lof wat hierdie roman toegeswaai is, val dit vreemd op dat so min navorsing tot dusver oor Joe Speedboot onderneem is. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the way in which the construction of space interacts with the development of identity in Joe Speedboot by Tommy Wieringa. On the basis of theoretical perspectives of, inter alia, Henri Lefebvre attention is given to the construction of the social space in the novel. The classification of Joe Speedboot as a Bildungsroman is an important point of departure in this regard, due to the fact that Wieringa depicts the central characters‟ adolescence in the novel. The portrayal of the construction of identity in the text corresponds with theoretical thoughts on identity as a dynamic and constructed concept that is affected by social and cultural considerations. An exploration of the simulated reality in which Wieringa situates his characters, indicates that the parochial space in Joe Speedboot is sketched as being stagnant and predictable. In contrast to the standstill which characterizes the social space, a preoccupation with movement and progress is ascribed to the central characters. Both the physical and existential dimensions of movement and mobility figure prominently in the novel. It is also interwoven with the liminal position the characters occupy in the community due to their adolescence. It is postulated that the opposition between stagnation and movement is not only exerted in the construction of space and the structural composition of the text, but is also presented as playing a determinative role in the development of the characters‟ identities. The author chooses for a main character with limited prospects and demonstrates how his physical handicap necessarily leads to a conclusion that allows for both positive and negative interpretations. Given the critical acclaim that the novel has received, it seems strange indeed that Joe Speedboot has thusfar not been the subject of analytical research.

This thesis deploys Homi Bhabha's perspective of postcolonial literary theory as a critical procedure to examine particular instances of fiction, as well as reportage on Botswana. Its unifying interest is to pinpoint the shifting nature or reality of Botswana and, by extension, of African identities. To that end, I use Bhabha's concept of liminality to inform the work of writers such as Unity Dow, Alexander McCall Smith, and instances of reportage (by Rupert Isaacson and Caitlin Davies), from the 1990s to date. The aims of the thesis are, among other things, to establish the extent to which Homi Bhabha's appropriation of the term liminality (which derives from Victor Turner's notion of limen for inbetweenness), and its application in the postcolonial context inflects the reading of the above works whose main motifs include the following: a contestation of any views which privilege one culture above another, challenging a jingoistic rootedness in one culture, and promoting an awareness of the existence of several, interlocking or even clashing realities which finally produce multiple meanings, values and identities. In short, it is proposed that identity is not a given but rather a product of a lived reality and therefore a social construct, something always in process. The thesis begins by theorizing liminality in Chapter 1 within the context of Homi Bhabha's understanding and interrogation of the colonial discourse. This is followed by the contextualization of liminality through the reading of, firstly, the fiction of Unity Dow in Chapters 2 and 3, and then the "detective" fiction of Alexander McCall Smith in Chapters 4 and 5. In the discussion of these works, I also touch on instances of reportage which relate to the lives of the authors. In the case of Smith's "detective" fiction, for example, reportage refers to his incorporation of actual historical events and personages whose impact, I argue, suggests the liminality of culture. In Chapter 6, the idea of reportage varies slightly to denote works of fiction in which there is a great deal of historical fact. Thus Rupert Isaacson's The Healing Land: A Kalahari Journey and Caitlin Davies' Place of Reeds are treated as works of reportage in line with Truman Capote's application of that term. What comes out most evidently in this study is the shifting idea of (Botswana/African) identity. It should be noted that rather than present an all-embracing account of the fiction on Botswana, the study only looks at the selected examples of writing and reportage. / University of South Africa National Research Foundation / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

Thesis (MA (Afrikaans and Dutch))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / This thesis is a comparative literature study of a Dutch and an Afrikaans novel that can be read by the youth and adults alike and display similarities with regard to genre, content, structure and theme. The novels are Winterijs (2001) by Peter van Gestel and Roepman (2004) by Jan van Tonder. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction. In chapter 2 concepts such as “crossover literature”, “cross publication”, “dual audience authors” and “dual audience literature” are discussed. Chapter 3 presents an overview of the theory that provides a conceptual framework for this study. The method of investigation that is followed by Helma Van Lierop-Debrauwer and Neel Bastiaansen-Harks (2005) in their study of the similarities and differences between an adolescent novel for the youth and an adolescent novel for adults is used, as well as the theory of Victor Turner (1969) on the concept of liminality. As it provides a useful method for approaching and analyzing the two texts, the above mentioned theories are applied to Winterijs and Roepman in Chapters 4 and 5, with specific reference to the representation of a male child narrator with liminal characteristics. In chapter 6 the similarities and differences between the two novels are pointed out and summarized. Conclusions are drawn and possibilities for further research are presented in chapter 7.

Places are deeply specific, and often richly resonant for us in terms of memory, emotion, and association, yet we nevertheless frequently move through them insensible of their constitution and diversity, or the shaping influences they have upon our lives. As such, place affords a vital window into the creation and experience of poetry where the poet is herself attuned to the presence and effect of places; the challenge for the scholar is to articulate place's nature and role with respect that poetry. In