Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-202). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-202). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, May 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 17, 2010). "Department of English." Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-162).

Marechera the Zimbabwean writer, poet and novelist emerged in the late 1970s as a new voice in African literature, but his writing career lasted less than a decade. It was his iconoclastic, dense style that expressed the psychological disintegration prevalent in Africa during this period and challenged the central beliefs of both the nationalist and post-independence eras. Defying the limitations of nationality, race and culture, Marechera’s writing explores universal issues, particularly urban existence in the late twentieth century. Marechera’s life and work were closely linked. His outspoken views and unorthodox lifestyle brought him into frequent conflict with the authorities and contributed to him being perceived as a cult figure. Through his work and personality he became a major inspiration and role model for the younger generation of writers in Zimbabwe and other African countries. The present study is a psychobiographical case study with the primary aim being to explore and describe the personality development of Dambudzo Marechera (1952-1987) using Alfred Adler’s theory of Individual Psychology. It was through the use of a theory of psychological development that a better understanding of Marechera’s personality, based on his cultural and historical background was achieved and a new interpretation and explanation was reported. The findings of the study can be generalised to the theory of individual psychology through the process of analytical generalization.

This research will concentrate on various aspects of the screen adaptation of “Unyana womntu” (Saule, 1989). This study comprises of six chapters. In Chapter 1 of this study, the research aims and objectives are formulated. The research methods that are to be followed will involve a thorough reading of the written text, as well as a comprehensive repetitive viewing of all the episodes of the screen version. In the final part of Chapter 1, background information is provided on the personal life of the author as well as on his contributions to the African literary tradition. Background information on the production of the screen version is also provided. In the Chapter 2, the theoretical aspects of the phenomenon of literary adaptation are discussed. This discussion provides a framework for the analysis of the adaptation of “Unyana womntu” (Saule, 1989) in the remaining chapters of this study. The aim of this chapter is to identify and discuss the most important principles which come into play when the written text is adapted into a screen production. Since the screen production belongs to the genre of the performing arts, this chapter is introduced with a discussion on the performing arts and on the drama, in particular. The section will be concluded with a discussion on the different sub-types of the drama which can be found, including the screen production. The main emphasis is on an analysis of the basic features and principles of the drama in screen format. Since the screen play Unyana Womntu (1998) is based upon a novel by the same title, the literary features of the novel are to be discussed here as well. The specific features of the Xhosa novel will also receive attention.

MAAS / M. E. R. Mathivha Centre for African Languages, Arts and Culture

This study seeks to focus on the total female experience of African women and the reappropriation of a more authentic portrayal of the identity of women in African literature. In this dissertation, a chapter is devoted to each of the female protagonists in the three novels selected for discussion which are One is Enough (1981) by Flora Nwapa, Second-class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta (1975) and The Stillborn (1988) by Zaynab Alkali. Each chapter is named after the woman whose transformation it explores and the chapters are organised in a chronological sequence, that is, in the order that the writers of the texts were first published as authors of African literature, rather than according to the publication date of the text under discussion. The mode of treatment of the texts is dictated primarily by the womanist thrust and the central question of the way in which each of the female characters transcends the triple jeopardy of colour, class and gender to become a creative non-victim. The epithet 'creative transformation' in the title, therefore, describes the emergence of female characters in African writing who overturn the literary characterisation of the one-dimensional African woman who is a 'shadowy figure who hovers on the fringes of the plot, suckling infants, cooking' and 'plaiting' hair {Frank, 1987:14). The theoretical approach adopted for this study is largely of an eclectic nature but every effort has been made to establish a strong sense of the authenticity and credibility of the African woman's experience. In other words, the three texts chosen have been treated as both essentially social realist and African feminist texts read from a womanist perspective. The term ‘womanist’ is particularly valuable in the context of this study. The definition of womanism used in this study is that forwarded by critics such as Chikwenye Ogunyemi (1985) who states that ‘womanism believes in the freedom and independence of women like feminism’ but that ‘unlike feminism’, womanism ‘wants meaningful union between women and men and will wait for men to change their sexist stance’. The findings of this study show that the female protagonists achieve transformation not by reforming patriarchal systems, but by being creative and reappropriating their own identities within these often antagonistic systems. That is, the women achieve a measure of fulfillment and a strong sense of their own individuality within an imperfect context. Particularly in their individual responses to the experiences of marriage and motherhood in a traditional context and in their seeking an authentic identity, the characters in the novels studies create a framework that enables them to be the women they want to be and not the women society would like them to be: Amaka bears twins fathered by Izu, a Catholic priest; Adah – a mother of five – leaves a violent relationship to pursue a career as a writer and Li, after establishing an independent academic life, returns to her errant husband in the hope that they can rebuild their life together. / Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / English / unrestricted

Thesis (M.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1999. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2836. Typescript. Abstract appears on leaf [ii]. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-67).

MA (English) / Department of English / The prevalence of patriarchal norms and the privileging of the African man in African literary works gradually led to an erasure of women‘s identities, thereby leaving them to hold peripheral positions. This has motivated African women critics to engage in linguistic and performative methodologies to restructure African women‘s status in postcolonial writings. Using feminist literary theory, Marxist literary criticism and postcolonial theory, among others, this study explores the changing images of women as depicted in a selection of Yvonne Vera‘s works, namely: Butterfly Burning (1998); Under the Tongue (1996); Without a Name (1994) and Nehanda (1993). Close reading and textual analysis are employed in examining the strategies devised by Vera to assess patriarchal attitudes that suppress women as well as reconfiguring their identities. This study is inspired by the desire to investigate the techniques employed by an African woman writer in speaking against marginalisation, exploitation and oppression of women in a postcolonial literary environment. Of primary concern to this study, is an examination of how Vera unleashes, re-writes and re-negotiates the potential of an African woman in her novels. This study distinctly shows that, as a subaltern writer, Vera reconfigures her female characters‘ identities through social and economic liberalisation. It is clear in this study that economic liberty has a great impact on the life of an African woman. This study contributes to the growing body of works that appreciates women writers‘ efforts in transforming, reifying and reinstating the image of African women in fictional works. / NRF

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 266-288).