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In this thesis I contribute to arguments showing how the human body is much more than a vessel that enables us to experience the world through our senses. Our sense of embodiment and our embodied performances give meaning to and shape the world in which we live. I argue that our bodies are crucial to socio-political change and subverting discriminatory cultural assumptions and ideologies. Deviant performances can cause us to be less than intelligible individuals. That is, according to Judith Butler, we become less than intelligible when we do not perform in such a way that meets certain cultural expectations. Dominant expectations are typically implicitly understood to be common-sense values. Unfortunately, many of our implicit values have embedded unjust prejudices that directly affect our thinking and behaviour. These discriminatory implicit values are couched in “the background.” Alexis Shotwell’s expansion of what John R. Searle terms “the background” is particularly useful to understand the political nature of implicitly held beliefs. These discriminatory assumptions couched in the background systematically oppress us. However, the prejudices of the background can be exposed through repeatedly performing our bodies in certain ways. Additionally, our performances can enable us to pool our intellectual resources together and live out the socio-political change we desire. In doing so, performances and identities that were once considered unintelligible can become intelligible and can alter cultural climates. / Thesis (Master, Philosophy) -- Queen's University, 2012-10-09 13:54:49.323

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This thesis explores the representation of political and social issues in the work of a selection of contemporary Italian authors, aiming to assess what has become of the notion of political commitment ('impegno'), as debated by intellectuals in the sharply-defined political climate following World War II, and whether the institutional seizure then crisis of the 1980s and 1990s has encouraged a comparable literary response. In part one, I examine the critical works of Vittorini and Calvino, two authors central to the early discussion about the social role of literature, revealing the tensions between their conceptions of the relationship between writers and society, which, despite their close collaboration, are identifiable in their writings of the 1950s and 1960s. I then trace these different veins of thinking - which I have termed 'fault lines' in the solid mass of 'impegno' - into the works of Celati and Palandri, who express the socio-political consciousness of youth in the 1960s and 1970s. In the six chapters of the main body of my thesis, I consider the further breakdown, in the recent climate of political diffidence, of the traditional sense of commitment to a specific cause, into a fragmentary exposure of a variety of 'minority' issues in the work of individual authors or groups of the 1980s and early 1990s, broadly classifiable under the 'giovani narratori' label. This allows me to consider well-known contemporary authors, such as Tabucchi, De Carlo and Tondelli, from a specific perspective, alongside Ballestra, a young and little studied writer. My last two chapters discuss a selection of established women writers and barely-known African immigrant writers, assessing the impact of specific interest-groups on the 'impegno' question. I conclude by considering the specificity of these 'fragments' to Italian culture, within the general context of the postmodern lapse of faith in ideologies.

This is an ethnographic study from within mathematics teacher education in Sweden. A methodological insider approach enabled to view teacher education from the students’ perspectives, by focusing how discursive power-relations affected what becoming mathematics teachers brought forward as concerning during two years of education. I took a socio-political theoretical perspective and understood discourse, power and positioning as dynamically interrelated concepts, which allowed the analysis to foreground several aspects simultaneously and to illustrate elusive phenomena as they occurred and disappeared. The results show that the mathematics education and mathematics discourses are open and multifaceted and reveal empowered positionings, whereas the language/culture and institutional discourses both are narrower and more constraining. These constraints, in turn, affect students’ possibilities to enact empowered positionings within the more open discourses. The core of education, that is mathematics and mathematics education, may therefore be obscured by discourses of “truths”. The study shows a need for further research on how to strengthen students’ possibilities to influence their education, and to ask questions like why education is organised this way, and who benefits from that.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The thesis is about an action research project which had an emancipatory educational intent. The social situation in which this research took place involved people in a specific workplace. Because education is historically constructed, the process of education in the research was considered in relation to the historical background and prevailing socio-political, educational and business situation. The research efforts in this context were directed towards seeking "truth; not as an absolute category, but as a structural and relational one" (Giroux, 1988b:xx). Ostensibly this research was about my own practice. On the one hand, I wanted to examine traditional views of workplace operation in an educational context, and on the other hand, reveal new possibilities which would change my practice and the traditional approach to education that I was part of. In the process a practical learning experience for employers and employees, in a particular workplace, was set in motion. The need for this learning experience was identified by the people in the specific workplace and the attempts at change-action were developed based on the democratic values of equality; justice; empowerment; participation; responsibility and accountability. The primary focus of the employers (and hopefully the employees) in the workplace, was to produce profitable productive work, but one cannot work in a social and political vacuum. Ignoring the reality that a workplace was an area of accommodation and contestation among differentially empowered people was problematic. Issues such as culture, race, gender, economic access and educational opportunity were (are) highlighted in the South African situation and needed to be confronted Workplaces retreat into discourses of management and administration with a focus on issues of efficiency, control and results. It is a myth to believe a workplace can do without these. However, through this research I intended to alert people in workplaces that they need to develop a discourse which reveals the understanding of experiences by questioning, inquiring and reflecting on these experiences. As experiences become meaningful, alternatives and possibilities for change, could emerge. It was essential that the existing discourse was approached critically, analyzed and negotiated in a process of learning that formed an integral part of all aspects of the company culture. All employers and employees would have the opportunity to make learning meaningful to them and in the process understand the purpose of training and development within a structured education programme. The people involved would have the opportunity to experience and to understand where they are, where they were and where they are going to. Workplaces are not neutral sites and education and politics cannot be separated. The political nature of this process, however, was to be essentially democratic. This led to the challenging of power relations (between managemennt workers and management/unions) and an attempt to re-distribute power. A situation developed whereby barriers to taking the authority to be responsible had to be removed if the disempowered hoped to experience a self empowering process. Conclusions that I arrived at in the process of this research informed me (and others) that empowerment did not provide an easy option in which managers would lose control. Empowerment increased the responsibility of managers and workers alike to act responsibly and be accountable. Empowerment increased the responsibility of managers to be inclusive, participatory and to lead change action by challenging the situation on an ongoing basis. There needed to be agreed expectations and understanding between employers and employees. Both employers and employees were learners in the situation as was the facilitator-educator acting as a change-agent. The change agent kept the process in motion by posing critical questions and encouraging reflection to enable the development of alternative possibilities and the development of a philosophical framework. All people in the workplace need to interact in order to unveil challenges and understand the realities of the situation they are in. In this way a relationship between theory and practice can be developed, with its origin in the experience of practice. Theory emerged within this experience and interventions were introduced on this basis of informed praxis. The differences, ambiguities and contradictions that were revealed in this research provided the basis of critique and enriched the learning process in this thesis. As an education process was developed in the research project the workplace was problematized and alternatives that emerged were seen as fundamental to the dynamics of change.

The research is a practical theological exploration which analysed prophetic preaching in neo-Pentecostal Christianity during the socio-economic and socio-political crisis. At the centre of Pentecostalism is the notion of preaching and prophecy. In an attempt to understand prophetic preaching in these neo-Pentecostal churches the study examines the trends and behaviour of the neo-Pentecostal prophets and the critical aspect of how these ministries communicate the gospel to its adherents. The critical focus of the research is the question of whether the meaning of prophetic preaching refers to sermons that in some way predict the future or to preaching that addresses significant social issues and concerns. It also questions whether the adherents of these new ministries are inspired by the gospel of faith or are they driven by the socio-economic and socio-political crisis which may eventually not be accurate understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The research addresses the terrors and doubts of many people who are trapped between Christian belief and terror and reaction to the declaration of the prophetic gospel of prosperity by the neo-Pentecostal prophets particularly in Zimbabwe. The theoretical statement of this research is that there appears to be an understated renewal element in the theology of neo-Pentecostal Christianity in Zimbabwe as is evidently expressed through the movement of Christians from the traditional churches to these neo-Pentecostal churches in tendencies which reflect the fluctuating religious topography and the expression of African Christianity in general and Zimbabwean Christianity in particular. The research explores the landscape, influence and importance of neo-Pentecostal Christianity in Zimbabwean community in general. The identity and nature of neo-Pentecostal Christianity in its practical theological exploration discussed the origins of the neo-Pentecostal prophets, their churches and the sermons they preach and the dynamics that promote the growth of these ministries in the context of God’s plans for evangelism and the community in particular. Fundamental to this kind of Christianity are the similes of power and prosperity which are believed to be symbols of faith. The effect and impact of this type of faith expression in the socio-economic and socio-political scene has been fully reconnoitred. The primary methodology in this research is the qualitative method complemented by quantitative methods. A practical theological framework was used in the research especially with Osmer’s core tasks of practical theological interpretation, as it was used to interpret the unfolding trends of the phenomenon under exploration. The research discloses how people’s socio-economic and socio-political fears and hopes in the hub of life’s challenges lure them toward new ministries which promise to absolutely encourage a magnificent life with real results being received in the ‘here and now’. This study has reviewed how religion and politics interacted specifically in the Zimbabwean context and how they affect each other. It has also reviewed how religion especially neo-Pentecostal Christianity, has been seen as a platform of a lavish life in the environment of people’s desires and challenges. There is longing in neo-Pentecostal Christianity, for wealth and health as expressions of salvation and a faithful Christian life. Strangely, there is diminutive references to moral and ethical issues from the neo-Pentecostal prophetic preaching, it was noted that their preaching is centred on declarations, prosperity, prophecy, deliverance, health, and miracles. These themes are the pillars of prophetic preaching in neo-Pentecostal Christianity in Zimbabwe and they are considered as signs of being saved and to have received blessings from God. When one lacks these things and economic success one is regarded as demons possessed and it causes poor health hence one needs to be delivered from the bondage of Satan. Such teachings have accustomed the potential converts to seek after material things and values as acute features of the significance of salvation and the mission of Christ. The fundamentals of the research compared the Old Testament prophets’ prophetic preaching with that of neo-Pentecostal prophets and finds that neo-Pentecostalism preaching has failed to be prophetic in the sense of eighth century prophets like Elijah, Isaiah, Amos, and Elisha who rebuked the kings, merchants, and priests for their immoral practices. Prophecy as seen from the Old Testament prophets is described as a medium of communication between God and his chosen nation Israel; prophecy was meant to rebuke, challenge and change Israel’s attitude and follow the statutes and commandments of God which were the basis for their everyday living. Hence the research has noted that the neo-Pentecostal prophets failed to meet this standard set by the ancient prophets. The research went on to expose that neo-Pentecostal Christianity encourages in an indirect way of making disciples instead of the traditional way of faith response to the gospel proclamation. But does this neo-Pentecostal gospel alleviate poverty or does it have any relevance to edify one’s life to have a better relationship with God? The eight chapters of this research has embarked on these questions, pointing the way to the four elements of preaching as a new theory for praxis. These four elements ended up looking at the gospel of contentment as a response to a dependable Christian evangelisation that is alive and related to the meaning of salvation and bring this nation out of this socio-economic and socio- political crisis. The research concludes that the four elements of preaching and especially gospel of contentment is the panacea providing meaning and solutions to the varied human fears, corruption, economic and political meltdown of the country that portrays the provisional nature of human existence. This can be achieved when the church practices prophetic preaching as the men of the eighth century did. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Practical Theology / PhD / Unrestricted

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / The researcher's concern for the topic was founded on the fact that previous research on child labour in Rwanda did not qualitatively explore the working and living conditions of child domestic workers in this specific contextual setting. The aim of the study therefore, was to explore the living and working conditions of child domestic workers in a contextual setting of Kigali city and its periphery. To achieve the objectives of this study, a qualitative approach was envisaged, utilizing a case study strategy. The population was selected among child domestic workers in four districts of Kigali city and its periphery. The criteria of selection and reaching participants were snowball sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Data was collected by means of a semi-structured interview with open-ended questions. The collected data was analyzed through a model that is presented as a spiral image including: Collecting and recording data; managing data; reading and writing memos; describing, classifying and interpreting; representing and visualizing (Creswell, 1998: 142-165). In order to increase trustworthiness, triangulation as a process that uses multiple perceptions to clarify meaning, was used through child workers themselves, their employers, neighbours and local authorities. Colleagues helped to verify translations from mother tongue into English. Participants, especially child domestic workers revealed that the main factors pushing them into the job market was poverty and family and socio-political conflicts. Findings concerning working and living conditions also indicate experiences of exploitation and maltreatment. It has also been revealed that most participants were ignorant about children's rights. Finally discussions allowed the researcher to discover what participants and especially child domestic participants were expecting in their future and suggestions of how child domestic work would be abolished.