The study has been prompted by the gap that exists regarding gender and land in Zimbabwean fiction. The study therefore seeks to interrogate the gender and land ownership discourse in Shona fiction in relation to the current conflict of access to land by race, class and gender. The study therefore examines the following fictional works; Feso (1956), Dzasukwa-Mwana-Asina-Hembe (1967), Pafunge (1972), Kuridza Ngoma Nedemo (1985), Vavariro (1990) and Sekai Minda Tave Nayo (2005). Of significance is the fact that the selected fictional works traverse the different historical periods that Zimbabwe as a nation has evolved through. Apart from analysing the selected fictional works, the study also collected data through open-ended interviews and questionnaires to triangulate findings from the fictional works. The selected fictional writers present the different experiences of black Zimbabweans through land loss and the strategies taken by the indigenous people in trying to regain their lost heritage, the land. The exegesis of the selected fictional works is guided by Afro-centred perspectives of Africana Womanism and Afrocentricity. Findings from most of the selected fictional works reveals the selective exclusion of blacks, both male and female, from accessing land and other vital resources from the colonial right up to post-independence periods in Zimbabwe. The study observes that Shona traditional culture accorded both genders the requisite space in terms of land ownership in the pre-colonial period. The study also establishes that colonialism through its numerous legislations stripped black men and women of the fertile land which they formerly collectively owned. The study also establishes that disillusioned black men and women worked extremely hard to regain their lost land as reflected in the unsanctioned land grabs as well as the government sanctioned Fast Track Land Reform Programme. Recommendations for future research include the expansion of such research to include works of fiction in other languages as well as different genres. Future land policies stand to benefit from the inclusion of women in decision making since women the world over have been confirmed as workers of the land. This is likely to deal with the gender divide regarding land ownership patterns both within and outside Zimbabwe. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

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.

The exodus tradition was passed on for posterity among the Jewish descendants about God who delivered their ancestors from bondage in Egypt, who divided the Red Sea waters and provided them with manna in the desert. The exodus tradition motivated them in many problematic situations about "God of their fathers" who delivered them. The modern post-biblical world has drawn some motivation from the exodus liberation motif, namely: Latin America, USA, South Africa, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, amongst others. The topic: Reading the Exodus Tradition from a Zimbabwean Perspective is necessitated by the Zimbabwean experience of oppression. The function of the exodus tradition during colonialism in Rhodesia is discussed because it forms the nucleus from which Zimbabwe was born. Recently, the Zimbabwean people have been subjected to unjust treatments by the Zimbabwean regime. The function of the exodus tradition in the Zimbabwean situation is explored in chapters five and six, respectively. / Biblical and Ancient studies / M.A. (Biblical Studies)

This study searches for the management attributes of excellent companies in Zimbabwe in order to reveal the management practices that have made these companies successful. Seven most successful companies from among those quoted on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange (ZSE) were selected in terms of their financial criteria and the macroeconomic criteria in their industrial categories. The research for attributes of excellence has been qualitative - consisting mainly of interviews of chief executives, departmental managers, skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled employees of the companies. The interviewees were also asked to complete two quantitative instruments: a semantic differential and an observation chart. Altogether 408 people were interviewed and given a semantic differential and an observation chart to complete. Of these, 398 responded to the semantic differential while 308 responded to the observation chart. Qualitative data for the study were content analysed and the data obtained through the quantitative instruments were analysed through the use of the Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS) at the Unisa Computer Services Centre. There was agreement in the results obtained through the use of the three different approaches of the research. The management attributes which were elicited by the study are that the Zimbabwean excellent companies : (a) have a participative style of management; (b) always engage in constant communication with all levels oftheir employees; (c) reward good work; (d) train their employees; (e) promote from within; (f) are concerned with the quality of their products and services; (g) care for customers; and (h) are involved in social responsibility. These management attributes can be applied by and could thus benefit any type of organisation, trading or non-trading, and private or public. The application of the attributes may not be limited to the enterprises in Zimbabwe - the host country in which the study was conducted - but it may also be effected in companies in other countries with a similar socioeconomic situation to Zimbabwe's. / Business Leadership / D.B.L.

The research examines the interface of history and fiction. It predominantly focuses on historical fiction on the Zimbabwean liberation war written in Shona, Ndebele and English and published after the attainment of political independence in 1980. Historical fiction on the liberation war is both biographical and autobiographical. Consequently, the study comes to the conclusion that historical fiction is a veritable stakeholder in the history issue in Zimbabwe. It becomes another type or source of history that cannot be papered over when dealing with the nation’s history. In a nation where liberation war history is not only taken seriously, but is also a vigorously contested terrain, historical fiction becomes part of those discursive contestations, particularly on nation and nationalism. It is in this regard that the study problematises the interface of history and fiction by reasoning that historical fiction published in the early 1980s largely advances a state-centered perspective which views history, nation and nationalism in positive terms. This discourse uses history in order to argue for a single nation that derives its identity from the heroic and symbolic guerrilla characters. Nationalism is exclusively presented as humanising and as being the sole legitimate political brand capable of leading the nation. On the other hand, historical fiction written in English and published in the late 1980s onwards represents alternative historical truths that contest nationalism and debunk official definitions of nation. This discourse leads to the pluralisation of perspectives on nation and nationalism. The focus on historical fiction published in three languages used in Zimbabwe is a conscious attempt to transcend ethnicity in critical scholarship. Discussing novels in Shona, Ndebele and English, which are the three main languages in Zimbabwe, makes it possible for the study to draw reasoned conclusions on the bearing of time, language, region and background among others on historical representation. This undertaking brings to the fore how literature responding to similar historical processes appears moderately conjunctive and principally disjunctive. Correspondingly, it also shows various trends in the development of liberation war fiction in Zimbabwe. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

From preface: The original purpose of this thesis was to make a comparative study of all the English literature which had been prescribed from 1945 to 1980 for study by all high school pupils in the Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe and the ex-High Commission Territories. This proved to be a formidable task. However, most of the material collected, including all the individual poems prescribed, was recorded in table form. This proved too bulky a system for comparative purposes and the field was narrowed to include only that English literature which had been prescribed for candidates writing Matriculation or Senior Certificate examinations on the higher grade as part of the English Language syllabus. From time to time, however, reference will be made in this thesis to prescriptions for the lower grades and for the lower standards.

This study looks at the construction of white identity within postcolonial conflict in Zimbabwe. Is it possible to be white and African? And how will the white African look when his identity as 'privileged' is stripped from his/her? This study also challenges the church to respond to the endemic violence by finding ways of bringing hope and healing. The role that trauma plays in our ongoing narratives is explored along with ways to exit these cycles without re-traumatizing large sectors of the community who are considered 'outsiders'. It ends with questioning the usefulness of 'white' and 'race', except as a political construction that benefits those in power to be able to tap into past historic pain and injustice. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology (Pastoral Therapy))

African-American and Zimbabwean women live and do theology from different cultural and contextual worldviews, although they share the same skin colour. The narrative stories of three Zimbabwean and one African-American Christian women and how they share inter culturally the struggle of identity, identity-formation and survival/liberation while maintaining their cultural uniqueness form die basis of this research project. These shared experiences can offer significant contributions to the broader feminist liberation theology. The Christian faith has served as a shared source of sustenance, resilience, healing and renewal as well as a shared source for constructive and affirming identity-formation for Zimbabwean and African-American women. Consequently, building strong relationships that address contextual issues facing women of Africa and the Diaspora, as suggested by this research, offers significant opportunities for eliminating some of the barriers and boundaries that prevent Zimbabwean and African- American women from enjoying the quality of life that God meant for everyone. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

The study investigated Zimbabwean Christian and Muslim women who had experienced domestic violence with a view to finding out the extent to which these women used provisions of the Domestic Violence Act of 2006. The study was conducted in urban Masvingo and its surroundings. The methodology applied to the empirical investigation was qualitative and was informed by the phenomenological, feminist and pragmatic theoretical frameworks. Data was collected, by means of in-depth semi-structured interviews, from 30 participants, 22 Christian and 8 Muslim, who were selected using purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques. In investigating the women’s experiences, some questions guided the study. These include: Where and to what extent does a select group of Christian and Muslim women who fall victim to domestic violence normally seek help? How do religious and cultural beliefs and practices influence the response to domestic violence by the abused as well as those to whom they report? To what extent do religious communities prevent selected victims of domestic violence from seeking legal assistance? Data was analysed by coding responses according to themes. The study revealed that the participants perceived domestic violence as having diverse causes and most of them saw their religion as crucial in addressing their plight. It emerged that a majority of the participants sought help from their religious communities as well as relatives and friends. Mixed responses emanated from these sources of help. The most common response, based largely on religious and cultural beliefs, was to encourage participants to avoid reporting to authorities. It also emerged that most of the participants were not willing to seek help from the police, courts or legal practitioners to seek redress because of the advice they received as well as their own internalised beliefs. Religious, social, and economic factors prevented most participants from appealing to provisions of the Domestic Violence Act.It was concluded that the Zimbabwean Domestic Violence Act had limited usefulness for participants because of religious, social and economic factors. It was recommended that if relevant stakeholders could jointly work together, domestic violence would be alleviated. Recommendations for further research were also made. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

This study examines the extent to which the teaching of Shona novels can be used to promote unhu (humanness) in Zimbabwean secondary schools where there has been a call for the teaching of cultural values. The school syllabi for Shona make this position abundantly clear. For that reason, anchoring the discussion on the role of literature in Africa as expounded by African scholars such as Ngugi wa Thiong’o (1981), p’Bitek (1986) and Achebe (1989) among others, the study observes that literature plays an important role in moulding character through advancing unhu. For instance, as Achebe (1989) argues that the novelist is a teacher, the study therefore locates literature as a life-affirming and life-extending affair. The discussion of the role of literature as a potential conduit for expressing unhu takes place within the theoretical confines of Afrocentricity, an African-centred theory that places the interests of Africa at the centre of any analysis involving African people. The selected novels namely Pfumo Reropa (1961), Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura? (1983) and Ndafa Here? (2007) are therefore interrogated from an Afrocentric point of view. The three novels are representative of different historical epochs in Zimbabwe’s cultural trajectory. In addition, they have featured quite prominently on the school syllabi for Shona. Through a combination of interviews and critical analysis of the novels, the study crucially observes that the proper teaching of literature can effectively transform the thinking of learners thereby locating them in their own cultural platforms. However, for this to happen, teachers must be properly trained in order that they develop an appreciation of the value of literature in imparting unhu among learners. As a result, the study thus proposes sufficient conscientisation of teachers and learners on the concept and practice of unhu be systematically carried out. At the same, there is need for greater planning in constructing a more informing syllabus, as well as the deliberate inclusion of texts that canonise unhu. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)