This thesis is an in-depth study of Shona fiction about the liberation war in Zimbabwe. It looks at the way Zimbabwe’s liberation war is portrayed in Shona fiction and focuses on the factors that shaped writers’ perspectives on that war. It is argued that Shona war fiction writers romanticised the war and in the process simplified and distorted history. The researcher postulates that writers’ perspectives on this liberation war were shaped by factors that include the mood of celebration and euphoria, the dominant ideology of the time, the situations of independence and freedom, and literary competitions. The thesis further raises and illustrates the point that writers produced romances of adventure because they were writing on the theme of war, and if one writes on the theme of war one ends up writing an adventure story. However, it is also acknowledged that because authors were writing on a historical event they could not ignore history completely. Some aspects of history are incorporated into the fiction, thereby retaining a semblance of historical realism. The post-independence period is also seen as a time of cultural revival and this is considered as the reason behind the authors’ tendency to celebrate Shona traditional institutions and culture. The celebration of Shona traditional religion and culture introduced into the fiction the element of the supernatural that strengthened the romance aspect of the novels. Shona war fiction writers also perpetuate female stereotyping. Female characters are depicted as everything except guerrilla fighters. It is argued that there are no female characters that play roles of guerrilla fighters because during the actual war women were not visible at the war front, fighting. The thesis argues that men, who were pioneers of the guerrilla war and writers of the war stories, excluded women from liberation war discourse and ultimately from literary discourse as well. A few writers who comment on the quality of Zimbabwe’s independence and freedom show the disillusionment and despair of the peasants and ex-combatants as they struggled to settle down and recover from the war. / African Languages / D.Litt. et Phil.

A partir de uma análise comparativa de duas obras do romance moçambicano, Os sobreviventes da noite (2008), de Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, e Neighbours (1995), de Lilia Momplé, é possível visualizar certo tipo de estruturação da narrativa em que o tempo presente parece afetado por engastes narrativos que interceptam constantemente o avanço da ação. A esses engastes narrativos correspondem inúmeras camadas de passado em que as histórias pessoais de cada personagem ganham vez na economia da obra e se sobrepõem ao tempo que corresponde à ação no presente. Essa característica estética, aqui chamada de presente dependente, é analisada à luz de uma crítica materialista que tenta conectar o dado estético à dimensão histórica do período em que essas obras foram escritas e a que ambas fazem referência. O enredo dos dois romances situa-se no conflito armado que se seguiu à independência de Moçambique. Nesse sentido, a investigação avança sobre as hipóteses que, entre a literatura e a história, motivam o fato de duas obras tratarem de um mesmo momento histórico através de estruturas estéticas aproximáveis. / Starting from a comparative analysis of two novels pertaining to the literature from Mozambique, Os sobreviventes da noite (2008), by Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, and Neighbours (1995), by Lilia Momplé, its possible to visualize a certain kind of narrative structuring in which the present seems affected by narrative insertions that constantly intercept the progress of the action. These narrative insertions are the countless layers of a past in which the personal stories of each character have the turn in the economy of the novel and put themselves on the top of the present, when the action is happening. This esthetic characteristic, here nominated as dependant present, is analyzed illuminated by a materialist criticism that tries to connect the esthetic fact to the historic dimension of the period when these novels were written and both make reference to. The plot of the two novels is situated in the armed conflict that emerged after the independence of Mozambique. In this meaning, the investigation advances in the hypothesis that, among literature and history, motivates the fact that both the novels treat about the same historic moment using esthetic structurings that, possibly, are close one to the other.

This dissertation for the M.A. in Creative Writing consists of a full-length play, titled Last Laugh and a mini-dissertation. The mini-dissertation explores the phenomenon of Theatre-for-Development, which differs significantly from the performance tradition of classical African drama. The study identifies ways in which Theatre-for-Development practitioners, animators or catalysts, (interchangeable names given to agents who teach target community members theatre-for-development skills) abandon the conventions of classical African drama performances, in terms of the form of plays, stage management and costumes. They find different and less formal ways to tackle the social problems which the target communities experience. The origins of Classical African drama are traced from the western tradition, from which it borrows heavily, and there is some discussion of the socio-historical conditions that prevailed during the time when African playwrights performed those plays, and the rise of nationalism in colonised African states, which in part influenced their production. This study then examines how the socio-political dynamics in the Zimbabwean post-farm-invasions era gave rise to Theatre-for-Development projects in the newly resettled farming communities that faced social development challenges. Despite the land gains peasants enjoyed, the resettled communities found themselves in places far away from schools, hospitals, shops and social service centres. That was the source of their problems. It will be shown how government sponsored Theatre-for-Development groups to mobilise the people, through theatre, to initiate home-groomed solutions to their social and economic problems during a time when the government was bankrupt and the country’s economy was shattered by the destruction of the agricultural and mining sectors, triggered by the invasions of the white commercial farms. The Ziya Community Theatre’s production of Sunrise is analysed in the light of these considerations. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / English / unrestricted

This dissertation is mainly on Wole Soyinka as a dramatist. It aims to show that Soyinka, far from being an irrelevant artist as some of his fiercest critics have alleged, is a deeply committed writer whose works are characterised by a strong sense of concern with basic human values of right and wrong, good and evil. Furthermore, the dissertation shows that although Soyinka is not an admirer of Marxist aesthetics, he is certainly not in the art-for-art's-sake camp either, I because he is fully aware of the utilitarian value of literature. Soyinka's works are much influenced by his social and historical background, and the dissertation shows that Soyinka's socio-political awareness pervades all these works, although it will be seen that in the later plays there is a sharpened political awareness. Although largely concerned with his own country's issues, Soyinka also emerges as a keen observer of humanity universally / English Studies / M.A. (English)

The research is an Afrocentric engagement that analyses selected songs by Tongai Moyo and Hosiah Chipanga in post-independence Zimbabwe. The study is informed by Afrocentricity, which provides the theoretical anchorage to the exposition and elucidation of the pursuit for independence, liberation and freedom of Zimbabweans in the post-independence era. The study analyses selected sungura songs composed and sung by Hosiah Chipanga and Tongai Moyo in post-2000 era. The study indicates that post-independence Zimbabwe of 2000 to 2010 reflects a decade of crisis. The exposition unfolds through a critical exegesis of selected songs by these sungura artists. The two sungura musicians are among the leading musical voices in Zimbabwe. The study is largely qualitative in nature and used interviews and questionnaires to solicit information from research participants. Respondents comprise musicians, music producers and academics in the Zimbabwe. The study stimulates more interest and research in sungura music as well as illuminating the significance of their messages to ongoing debates on the Zimbabwean crisis/crises thereby establishing the relationship between music and politics. This position is made against the backdrop of their commitment and courageous efforts by such protest musicians to comment on ‘big’ political and economic issues seriously affecting the performance of Zimbabwean economy. The study also establishes that cronyism, patronage and corruption have become major industries of the day in Africa. Through fighting for the voiceless masses, the study argues that Zimbabwe is faced by the crisis of governance and the nation has taken the medals of humiliating its own people. Pertaining to the leadership crisis in Zimbabwe, the study also shows that musicians who include Hosiah Chipanga and Tongai Moyo insinuate that the deep seated Zimbabwean challenges are a manifestation of a nation that is parentless. In their protest music, the artists reiterate that poverty, hunger, diseases and other forms of sufferings that the country encountered and continue to face are a sign of a country that is an orphan implying the dearth of people centred leadership. Additionally, findings from the study show that the land issue is one of the commonly identified factors that are ascribed to partial independence in Zimbabwe translating into crisis. The land question invited attention from Hosiah Chipanga as reflected in his post-2000 music where he suggests that Zimbabweans were to a larger extent betrayed by ZANU (PF) leadership. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Phil. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

This dissertation is mainly on Wole Soyinka as a dramatist. It aims to show that Soyinka, far from being an irrelevant artist as some of his fiercest critics have alleged, is a deeply committed writer whose works are characterised by a strong sense of concern with basic human values of right and wrong, good and evil. Furthermore, the dissertation shows that although Soyinka is not an admirer of Marxist aesthetics, he is certainly not in the art-for-art's-sake camp either, I because he is fully aware of the utilitarian value of literature. Soyinka's works are much influenced by his social and historical background, and the dissertation shows that Soyinka's socio-political awareness pervades all these works, although it will be seen that in the later plays there is a sharpened political awareness. Although largely concerned with his own country's issues, Soyinka also emerges as a keen observer of humanity universally / English Studies / M.A. (English)

The aim of the study was to investigate participants’ views on the role of school governing bodies (SGBs) in enhancing school effectiveness in South African schools with a view to promoting learners’ sustainable academic achievement. The study was undertaken at ten (10) South African schools in the Western Cape *Province in South Africa, in a metropolitan area. The study adopted the case study as the principal research design, and it was informed by the mixed methods paradigm; thus, qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. Non-probability and probability sampling techniques were used for the selection of the site of study and the participants. A representative sample of 189 participants was used from a target population of 567 participants. The study was informed by multiple theories. The study found that most of the participants perceived maladministration and mismanagement of the SGBs as a major problem affecting the governance in most public schools in South Africa. It was found that the adoption of a vibrant and robust school governance strategy is the solution/panacea to solving this persistent problem of a lack of proper governance in schools. The introduction of a school governance education and regulatory framework for the SGBs was singled out to be the ‘pivotal’ strategy that policy-makers should adopt to strengthen the role of the SGBs. It was further established that the role of the SGBs in South African schools should be strongly supported by a multi-agency response to enhance the effective running of the education system to propel learners’ academic achievement. The study findings further revealed that the SGBs in South African schools lack the necessary assumed or anticipated knowledge regarding school governance. The study has the potential to contribute to the scholarly literature on how the SGBs can be supported to enhance effectiveness in South African schools and improved academic achievement. An analysis of global experiences and best practices revealed some new insights which could improve the functioning of the SGBs in South African schools. It also emerged that training trainers or educating teachers and other stakeholders can help capacitate individuals and transform South Africa’s basic education. The study concluded that school governing bodies are an indispensable entity in education and require the necessary backing by multi-stakeholders. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the local school governance strategies and support existing mechanisms currently being employed in South African schools to successfully provide an environment that supports learners’ sustainable academic achievement. In line with the above, the study recommends the resourcing of the SGBs to assist them in executing their mandate. In addition, the study recommends further research in this seemingly grey area to contribute to the knowledge body regarding instituting good school governance in South African schools. / Educational Management and Leadership / Ph. D. (Education Management)