Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this research explores Zimbabwean literary and other cultural texts within the broader context of the construction of identities and the politics of inclusion and exclusion in nationalist and oppositional discourses. It also analyzes two texts by major non-Zimbabwean African writers to examine the thematic links between Zimbabwean and other African writing. Through combining historical, anthropological and political approaches with postcolonial, postmodern and feminist critical theories, the thesis explores the ways in which African writing and performance represent alternative histories to official versions of the nation. It further investigates questions of gender and their significance in nationalist discourses and shows how writing on war, trauma and healing informs and develops readers’ understanding of the relationship of the past to the present. Considered together as a coherent body of work, the published items submitted in this thesis explore how Zimbabwean and other African writers, through re-visioning history and writing from oppositional or marginal positions, intervene in political debates and suggest new transformative ways of constructing and negotiating identities in postcolonial societies.

A multi-method study investigating incarcerated women’s experiences of rage towards their intimate partners was conducted. The sample was drawn from a Philadelphia prison's recovery unit for women. Phenomenological and feminist critical theory perspectives guided the study; these combined approaches captured the essence of rage, while also offering a critical analysis for understanding complexities involved in the cultivation of rage. Three primary forms of data collection methods were used: (a) the Aggression Questionnaire, which was completed by 60 inmates; (b) a Demographic Worksheet, which was completed by 46 inmates and used to screen for subsequent interviews; and (c) in-depth interviews, which was completed by 37 women. Focus groups were used to debrief participants at the completion of the study. Results indicated rage as a distinct experience from anger. Past sources of emotional pain, embedded within shame and trauma, were revealed as fueling current actions of rage. Links between women's social location, their experiences of rage, and their involvement within the criminal justice system were revealed. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study is to discover if there has been quantitative change in the gender balance of the employment profile of the ACT Department of Education from 1976 to 1991 and to explore possible reasons for such change. It should be noted that the Department has had several changes of name over the period covered by this study including the ACT Department of Education, the ACT Department of Health, Education and the Arts, and it is presently known as the ACT Department of Education and Training. For the sake of clarity it will be referred to throughout as the ACT Department of Education. The employment configuration will be studied from 1976, the earliest year of available data, to 1991 to measure relative changes in the position of men and women. This paper will examine significant events in the ACT Education system, in particular the introduction of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) legislation in 1984, to determine whether the introduction of legislation and/or other initiatives brought about moves toward Equal Employment Opportunity for women. The study will develop and consider hypotheses and examine several theoretical explanations for the changes or lack of them in the position of men and women. Recommendations will be made concerning future directions for research and action to achieve equal employment opportunity for women, the largest group of the four groups targeted in the EEO legislation. The central argument of the study is that the adoption of quantitative approaches to measure success/failure in EEO programs is of limited use. These theoretical approaches, largely informed by liberal feminism, offer inadequate understanding of the resistances to change. Other theoretical perspectives are needed if the issue is seen as "what are the resistances and what are the policies and strategies that can be developed to overcome them?". Feminist critical theory, however, enables more productive questions to be raised about how social power is constructed and maintained, about hegemonic culture, and about the language and cultural biases embedded in administrative structures in education. Insights thus gained into issues, events and resistances give individuals and groups agency, the power to act for change.

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