This study was influenced by two sociological theories namely: Durkheim’s Structural Functionalism and Relativism. In terms of Durkheim’s Structural Functionalism, I claim that the aspects of social structures, cultural norms and values, which are among its main components, are also among the main components of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). In line with Relativism, this study argues against Durkheim’s claim that social structures, and cultural norms and values determine human choices and behaviour. It is claimed that in line with my understanding of IKS in this study social structures, cultural norms and values are relative aspects, because they change and differ from context to context even if their carriers are the same, and human choice in different times and places play a vital role in determining decisions. These theories have been applied practically by examining the relationship between Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and good governance. The study asserts that IKS has the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policies at the local municipality level. Thus, the study has sought to understand the extent to which IKS is incorporated in the policy development and implementation at the local municipality level. This investigation has been undertaken in the thematic context of HIV/AIDS. I investigated the extent to which IKS is incorporated into policy development and implementation related to HIV/AIDS at the local municipality level. The study has argued that the extent to which IKS is appropriated into policy development and implementation relies on the power dynamics between the provincial and national spheres of government on the one hand, and the local municipality leaders and officials on the other. The study has found that local municipality leaders and officials have a strong affinity to the IKS due to their proximity to the local citizens. But, political leaders at the national and provincial spheres of the South African government exert influence on the local municipality leaders and officials to exercise their power with limited response to the IKS needs of the local communities. / Sociology / D. Phil. (Sociology)

Critical Theory, as posited by members of The Frankfurt School, was evaluated with the objective of attaching an implied ethical dimension. This was discovered in their privileging of a particular type of aesthetic, as evinced in their analysis of certain works of autonomous High Modernism. This implied ethic, which is one based around the concept of enlightenment as potential for emancipation, was then applied as a norm for the evaluation of art. This ethic, however, does not seek to impose a particular reading on (specifically) literary production: Rather, it seeks to impart the importance of a commitment by the literary critic in the use of an ethically based norm, an ethic, what is more, that is based and supported by a discussion of the concepts 'freedom' and Enlightenment. Finally, with this ethic firmly established, the discussion then attempted to distinguish between modernism and post-modernism, using this implied ethic as a guide to separation. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Theory of Literature)

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