Masters Degrees (English, Media and Performance Studies)

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Some aspects of the nature and incidence of stuttering among Indian primary school children in Durban.
(1971) Jithoo, Roychand.; Sneddon, Elizabeth.
Stuttering has been a complex problem ever since the early history of man. It has been found to exist in some cultures to a greater extent than in others. In certain primitive cultures the phenomenon of stuttering was reported to be unknown, yet when members of these cultures were influenced by western environments some incidence of stuttering occurred among them. The influence of the environment therefore cannot be disregarded when considering causes of stuttering. Although much research has been done by speech pathologists among various world cultures they have by no means completed their task for there are many groups, living in a variety of societies, which are yet to be studied. The present rudimentary investigation into stuttering among Indians living in Durban may be regarded as a contribution to the knowledge that has already been accumulated.
In a manner of speaking : some aspects of structure, including narration, in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell.
(1980) Daymond, Margaret Joan.
No abstract available.
'The artist woke': Perceval Gibbon: from reporter to novelist.
(1989) Stewart, Graham Douglas James.
My contention is that the development in Gibbon's narrative technique shows evidence of a liberalising ideological change, which enabled the author to transcend the racist attitudes apparent in his early works and attain a more tolerant point of view in Margaret Harding, his last novel. I draw a distinction between Gibbon's authorial 'point of view' and 'narrative viewpoint' to differentiate between his own occasionally-expressed racism, and his ironic portrayal of racist characters. Gibbon ultimately overcomes his ambivalence by refining his style; a process that not only mirrors the resolution of his personal response to the question of race but also marks his progress from news reporter to accomplished artist In my Introduction I argue that Gibbon, whose preoccupation was with social issues rather than the individual moral development of his characters, has tended to be ignored by critics who favoured the psychological (or realist) novel. In Chapter 1, the short stories of The Vrouw Grobelaar's Leading Cases are shown to reveal two key elements of Gibbon's writing: a readiness for personifying typically South African attitudes, and a concern with relationships between people of different races. Gibbon's narrator does not, however, distance himself sufficiently from Vrouw Grobelaar's bigoted views. Souls in Bondage addresses a theme that Gibbon recognises as the matrix out of which South Africa's future society must develop: the relationship between white colonials and the local black population. The central character, Thwaites, reflects in ·his shifting sympathies Gibbon's own growing apprehension of racism, and is evidence of Gibbon's firmer control over the narrative and moral centre of his material. While Salvator ignores the racial predicament in South African society, it reveals some development of Gibbon's command of narrative viewpoint. The theatrical 'placement' of juxtaposed characters anticipates the structure of Margaret Harding. In Margaret Harding Gibbon's criticism of racist society shows a maturity in which the uncertain identifications of Vrouw Grobelaar and Souls in Bondage have been resolved. The richer, more poetic depth of his writing style may also be attributable to a collaboration with Joseph Conrad. Gibbon's work deserves more than a marginal place in South African literature. His Vrouw Grobelaar short stories and his novels offer a unique insight into society at the turn of the century, and reflect the author's own experience of shedding the Social Darwinist ideology of race: from 'savage' to 'artist'.
Nathaniel Nakasa, the journalist as autobiographer : a crisis of identity.
(1990) Singh, Habimun Bharath.
Nathaniel Ndazana Nakasa [1937 - 1965] was a South African journalist who reported for llanga Lase [Natal] in 1956 and 1957, for Drum magazine from 1958 to 1964 and wrote a column for the Saturday edition of the Rand Daily Mail in I9B4. He also founded the literary journal The Classic in 1963. This essay is the first extended treatment of Nakasa's writing, and views his journalism as part of his own 'autobiography1. As such, his writing reflects his crisis of identity, which resulted from his endeavour to sustain his vision of a broad South African humanism in the face of the apartheid policies of the Government in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Nakasa's death by suicide in New York in 1965 signalled the tragic end of his search for equality and justice. Nakasa had been labelled 'the black face behind the white mask' and is criticised, particularly by adherents of Black Consciousness, for his evident faith in the tenets of liberalism. This essay attempts to locate Nakasa in the context of opposition by those of humanist inclinations to apartheid in the fifties and sixties and to view sympathetically his commitment to justice and compassion : values which remain relevant and valid in our search for a better society in South Africa. The investigation proceeds by an analysis of his journalism as both the record of the times and, more subjectively, the projection and expression of his own crisis-ridden personality. An introduction is followed by two sections on his writing, the first dealing with his articles on Drum, the second with his sketches on the Rand Daily Mail. A brief conclusion argues for the continuing interest of Nakasa's writing.
Mary Benson : the problem of defining the "self".
(1991) Stewart, Dianne Lynn.; Chapman, Michael James Faulds.
This study investigates the problem of defining Mary Benson as a person and a writer. Her writing spans a range of generic classifications - biography, history, plays, a novel and an autobiography. Yet, all are centred on her preoccupation with the struggle for freedom in South Africa. All reveal, moreover, a great deal about Benson's own values and commitment, prompting us to question the validity, in her case, of such strict generic categories as useful defining properties in her literary career. Starting with her most recent publication, the autobiography A Far Cry. I shall look at the way she presents herself in a traditionally introspective genre. It soon becomes apparent that Benson views herself within a perspective of South African social reality, and that her sense of self is inextricably linked to her political involvement. Her personal needs and desires, to a large extent, remain unobtrusive as she foregrounds her public interactions and her concern with humanitarian and racial issues. A study of Benson, therefore, needs to address a selection of her work in an attempt to fully appreciate her sense of her own identity. In consequence, I go on to discuss her biography Nelson Mandela and her novel At the Still Point. .Both works confirm the portrait in A Far Cry of Benson as a responsible South African who has selflessly and consistently devoted herself to her role as a witness of racial oppression in South Africa. In her biography, Nelson Mandela, for example, the ANC leader emerges as an exemplary figure in the public world while his values and ideals are allowed to parallel Benson's own 'autobiographical' ideals. In At the Still Point, Anne Dawson, Benson's fictional protagonist, I shall argue, gives her author the opportunity to express her own feelings about private life in relation to sociopolitical action. These 'personal ' feelings seem to be avoided in the more direct opportunities of the autobiographical form. In exploring Benson's sense of self, therefore, this study suggests that for Benson 'commitment' overrides her sense of herself as a literary figure, and that this has consequences for the weight we give to content and form in the reading of her work. My conclusion is that we are looking not so much at the challenges of genre as at a large autobiographical project, in which the 'self is defined substantially in its meetings with other people in political circumstances
Crossing borders : a critical study of Michael Dingake's My fight against apartheid (1987) and Helao Shityuwete's Never follow the wolf : the autobiography of a Namibian freedom fighter (1990)
(1993) Makhathini, Bheka A.; Jacobs, Johan Uys.
No abstract available.
The role of "film study" within the English syllabus in White English medium secondary schools in the Transvaal : 1977-1990.
(1993) Ballot, Jane Jennifer.
Prior to 1986, there was no media studies of any type prescribed at secondary schools in the Transvaal. However, individual teachers and schools have recognised the need for children to receive instruction in the media. This saw the introduction of varying forms of informal media studies into the classroom.
Culture and consciousness of physically disabled persons : the need for drama within the special school curriculum.
(1994) Moodley, Sumboornam.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.
This dissertation investigates how disability has been defined, and focuses on the shift in the conception of disability as an individual and medical problem to disabi1ity as a form of social oppression. Starting from an historical perspective the position of disabled persons in society is traced. The advance of disabled persons, from a condition of enforced social invisibility, to one in which they make themselves seen and heard through social movements fighting for their rights, is outlined as an introduction to a record of practical engagement through pedagogy in a concrete South African context. . After examining the way myths and stereotypes continue to perpetuate discriminatory practices against disabled persons, attention is drawn to the representation of disability through negative and positive images reflected in media as discourse. Thereafter, the material conditions that help, construct the confined, isolated position of disabled persons within society are considered. Attention is drawn to the theoretical positions of Foucault, Fanon and Bulhan to understand how disabled persons have been excluded and/ or exclude themselves from active participation in society. In the light of the foregoing, the dissertation argues for the position of drama as a means of developing a positive self-concept and a positive self-image within disabled persons. The utility of drama in fulfilling this need is demonstrated by way of a qualitative analysis of the experience of drama teaching over a period of several years. The use of drama within special education is urged as a learning medium, with drama as performance and drama as a means of consciousness-raising to advocate for the acceptance and recognition of disabled persons within society. In conclusion, the placement, value and organisation of drama within the Special School Curriculum is considered. The dissertation emphasizes the value of drama as part of culture in which children develop, understand and reflect on their social values, and concentrates on their part in the dialectics of change.
Portrayal of Indian culture in the electronic media : a case study of Impressions.
(1994) Gokool, Saijal
The idea the South African Indian community as a homogenous has derived from the apartheid ideology of separate development. From the time of their arrival in 1980, indentured labourer has endured a series of processes that have shaped the deve1opment of this ethnic minority. With the determination to belong and endure at any cost, the South A frican Indian celebrated 134 years in South Africa on the 16th of November 1994. In 1987, the introduction of a two-hour ethnic broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, to cater for the Indian community in South Africa seen as a means to 'satisfy a need' of the community. As a member of the Indian community and having some knowledge of the complexities of Indian culture, curiosity was awakened to the fact that can a programme of two-hours in duration accommodate not only the complex nature of Indian culture, but how is such a broadcast constructed to cope with the diversities that exist within the community? This study will examine the way in which Indian culture is imaged in the electronic media. It will proceed with the assumption that no matter what the material or technological, position of ethnic minorities, or where they are geographically located, or what historical time they live in, their objectives and actions derive from a specific cultural reference that is different to other ethnic minorities.
Re-inventing Zuluness : from ethnic separatism to democratic multiculturalism.
(1994) Mathieson, Susan Clare.; Attwell, David.
Abstract available in PDF.
The treatment of violence on the South African Broadcasting Corporation's television news : a comparative analysis between TV1 and CCV News from 14 March to 26 April 1994.
(1994) Aphane, Andrew Mampuru.; Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth Elizabeth.
This study was designed to investigate the portrayal of violence on SABC Television News programmes, these being CCV News, presented at 19h.00 and TVI News at 20h.00. The literature reviewed reveals that Television News is an ideological construct that differs from one media organization to the other. This study focuses on the theories of media organizations which inform ideas about how Television News is produced. It is believed that to understand why Television News is presented the way it is, depends on ideologies applicable in the media organizations. It became difficult to write about violence without broadly looking at its producers. Data was obtained by comparative analysis between the SABC News broadcasts, CCV News and TV1 News, recorded at the Centre for Cultural and Media Studies at the University of Natal in Durban. The comparative analysis also included a reception study of the viewers from four areas. Two urban and three semi-urban areas were chosen as research sites using questionnaires, and interviews were conducted at Temba location which is a semi-urban area. The major findings of the study were that in its News broadcasts, the SABC appears strongly to favour certain parties, notably the African National Congress. There were few reports of ANC's involvement in the shooting of people. There was also a lack of consistency in the reporting of violent incidents. This is indicated by much reliance on the security forces and the police as News sources and the use of maps and graphics instead of showing video material of the actual incidents. The attitudes expressed by the respondents to the questionnaires reflected a dissatisfaction with the status quo and indicated that perhaps the SABC faced a mammoth task in covering both the election campaigns and violence. Some respondents suggested that the SABC could have extended its News programmes' duration to accommodate more crucial items.
South African writers in exile: a search for identity and common threads in their writing.
(1995) Levin, Nonceba.; Gardner, Colin Oxenham.
Abstract available in PDF.
Orality, textuality and history : issues in South African oral poetry and performance.
(1995) Brown, Duncan John Bruce.
A vigorous oral tradition has existed throughout South African history, and in many ways represents our truly original contribution to world literature. Despite this, oral literature is largely absent from accounts of literary history in this country. While the particular oppressions of South African political life have contributed to the exclusion of oral forms, the suppression of the oral in favour of the printed text is a feature of literary studies worldwide, and appears to be related to the critical practices that have been dominant in universities and schools for most of this century. In this study I consider ways of recovering oral forms for literary debate, and offer what I consider to be more appropriate strategies of 'reading'. My aim is to re-establish a line of continuity in South African poetry and performance from the songs and stories of the Bushmen, through the praise poems of the African chiefdoms, to the development of Christianised oral forms, the adaptation of the oral tradition in 'Soweto' poetry of the 1970s, and the performance of poems on political platforms in the 1980s. Recovering oral poetry and performance genres for literary debate requires the development of an appropriate critical methodology. Through a consideration of advances in the study of orality, I aim to suggest ways of reading which grant credence to the specific strategies and performative energies of oral texts while locating the texts in the spaces and constrictions of their societies. A great many oral texts from the past survive only in printed, translated forms, however, and a key aspect of such a critical project is how - while acknowledging the particular difficulties involved - one 'uses' highly mediated and artificially stabilised print versions to suggest something of the dynamic nature of oral performance in South African historical and social life. This thesis also considers how texts address us across historical distances. I argue for maintaining a dialectic between the 'past significance' and 'present meaning' of the poems, songs and stories: for allowing the past to shape our reading while we remain aware that our recuperation of history is inevitably directed by present needs and ideologies. These ideas are explored through five chapters which consider, respectively, the songs and stories of the nineteenth-century /Xam Bushmen, the izibongo of Shaka, the hymns of the Messianic Zulu evangelist Isaiah Shembe, Ingoapele Madingoane's epic 'Soweto' poem "black trial", and the performance poetry of Mzwakhe Mbuli and Alfred Qabula in the 1980s.
Inherent ecology : an examination of sculpture by Walter Oltmann, Andries Botha and Paul Edmunds.
(1995) Edmunds, Paul Jonathan.; Davies, Henry.; Leeb-du Toit, Juliette Cecile.
I begin by describing Western culture in the way proposed by Fritjof Capra whose ideas remain seminal to my argument throughout this examination. I argue that Western value systems are in the midst of a major transformation, exhibiting an increasing Ecological awareness. I define Ecology as an all-encompassing phenomenon which includes the biological definition of the term as well as the practice of environmental, peace and feminist groups and movements. As such it is seen as a philosophy or approach to experiencing the world which has much in common with many spiritual traditions, contentions and intuitions. I concentrate especially on Buddhism and Taoism insofar as they articulate seminal aspects of Ecology. Situating this notion of cultural transformation and Ecology into a South African context, I interpret Waiter Oltmann's sculptures in relation to this, inherently and consciously embracing Ecological concepts and ideas and redressing cultural imbalances with his images and techniques. Andries Botha's work is likewise seen to question cultural imbalances and to pose questions about new and dynamic relationships within society and culture. His work is seen to relate very closely to Capra's ideas. Finally I discuss my own sculptures, noting how they relate to Botha's and Oltmann's works and how I consciously set out to address and articulate ideas pertaining to Ecology and my experience of the world in these terms. I discuss the origins of my images, techniques and materials and the construction of my works, describing how these relate intentionally and intuitively to the ideas which inform my work. My discussion of art making in terms of Ecology intends as much to offer a new interpretation of this art making as it does to illuminate and illustrate aspects of Ecology. In conclusion I situate this argument in the South African context, discussing how my discourse can be seen to enrich and compliment a particularly South African interpretation of these artists' works which could draw on traditional South African or Christian cultures and traditions.
"High talk: a discussion of W B Yeats' aesthetic stance as focused in his New Poems and Last Poems.
(1996) Morrissey, Norman Alan.; Gardner, Colin Oxenham.
Abstract available in PDF.
Transvaluative analysis of Zulu terms that relate to women : a case study of a TV drama series, Kwakhalanyonini, with reference to gender stereotypes.
(1996) Msibi, Bongumusa Collen.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.
The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between media, language and gender stereotypes. It assumes that language usage in mass media creates and reproduces gender inequalities. Its main objectives are firstly, to randomly select terms for Zulu women from the chosen TV case study, Kwakhalanyonini. Secondly, selected terms will be analyzed, using the 'transvaluative analysis technique', in order to explain their meaning and hierarchy. This having been done, an attempt will be made to show how the usage of these terms reflect gender stereotypes, by locating women into subordinate positions. A question may well be asked; why Zulu language? I am a native Zulu speaker, with Zulu speaking parents.
The familial reconfiguration of the subject of cultural discourse in Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous conditions.
(1996) Masemola, Kgomotso.; Arnott, Jill Margaret.
Abstract available in PDF.
The artist as a visionary : a consideration of Jackson Pollock, Joseph Beuys and Jackson Hlungwani as visionary artists.
(1996) Coetzee, Michelle.; Liebenberg-Barkhuizen, Estelle Juliana.
This study is a consideration of the notion of the artist as a visionary. This perception of the artist is explored in relation to the work and ideas of three twentieth century artists; the American painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1952), the German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1983) and the South African artist Jackson Hlungwani (1918 -). The work and ideas of these artists is discussed primarily in terms of the similarities and differences between their art and ideas and those encountered in traditional shamanism and the visionary aspects of Romantic and Gothic art and culture as represented by the work and ideas of eighteenth century English poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827). Each of the twentieth century artists who are considered represents a different strain of the idea of the artist as a visionary. Pollock is discussed in terms of his implicit identification with the artist-shaman. This identification is revealed by the influence Jung's writings and Native American (Indian) art and culture had on his work. Beuys is considered in relation to his explicit adoption of a shaman-like persona. Hlungwani is a practising healer in a traditional community whose art explores an apocalyptic vision of redemption. The comparisons between the artists under investigation and the visionary aspects of traditional shamanism and Gothic and Romantic culture entail an analysis of pictorial elements, subject matter and content in the work of these artists. The intention was to explore those properties in the work and ideas of these artists which correspond to the notion of the artist as a visionary.
South African history painting : reinterpretation by women artists.
(1996) Rycroft, Vanessa.; Liebenberg-Barkhuizen, Estelle Juliana.; King, Terence Howard.
The title of this thesis 'South African History Painting : Reinterpretation By Women Artists' indicated that the focus was to be on South African history painting. As the research progressed, however, it became apparent that the initial title did not encompass a broad enough spectrum. Therefore a more suitable title for this dissertation is 'A Visual Reinterpretation Of Aspects Of South African History By Women Artists: Penelope Siopis and Philippa Skotnes'. It is the intention of this dissertation to examine the way in which two contemporary South African women artists namely, Penelope Siopis (1953-) and Philippa Skotnes (1957) visually challenge in their paintings and prints respectively the conventional depictions of recorded South African history. Poststructuralism, deconstruction, new historicism and Postmodernism are among the theoretical currents upon which this research is based. It is from a Postmodern standpoint that selected works by Siopis and Skotnes will be analysed. The intention of this analysis is to examine their attempts to access the Postcolonial condition in South Africa through their visual presentations. The work of Siopis and Skotnes reflectects an interest in Postcoloniality. Furthernore, their visual imagery addresses questions of culture and power in South African visual representation. Works such as those created by Siopis and Skotnes can be seen as uncovering some of the contradictions within the process of decolonization. Nederveen, Pieterse and Parekh (1995 ) describe decolonization in the following way: 'Decolonization is a process of emancipation through mirroring, a mix of defiance and mimesis. Like colonialism itself, it is deeply preoccupied with boundaries - boundaries of territory and identity, borders of nation and state. (Nederveen, Pieterse and Parekh 1995: 11)' The focus in this dissertation is on the works of Siopis and Skotnes and their use of specific deconstructive methods to undermine prejudicial historical imagery and question established perceptions within South African history. In other words, the visual presentation of these two artists explores the boundaries or margins of established history. Both Siopis and Skotnes confront in visual terms the prejudicial representations of women and/or ethnic groups who have been subjugated by what they perceive as white, middle class, patriarchal history. The primary concern of the research is the visual imagery produced by these two artists and the effect of deconstruction on their respective art works. In the first chapter selected works from Siopis's 'History Painting' (1980s) series are to be analysed. In the second chapter the focus is on Skotnes's etchings in 'Sound From The Thinking Strings' (1993) exhibition. The investigation then moves to a project entitled 'Miscast' (1996). Skotnes was the curator of the 'Miscast' exhibition. It does not contain original art works by Skotnes. It is however an extension of the ideas which her prints embody and is therefore relevant to this dissertation.
An investigation into the use of terms aithiops and aithiopia in Greek literature from Homer to Lycophron.
(1997) Ryan, Adrian John.; Mackay, E. Anne.
The Greeks and Romans were acquainted with dark skinned people from Africa from an early stage. It has been generally accepted that such people were referred to as aithiopias; by the Greeks, and modem commentators have accepted the term to be a synonym of the English term 'Negro' . Such an assumption ignores the wide variety of connotations associated with the terms aithiops and aithiopia. Furthermore, the trend in scholarship in the field of race relations in antiquity has been to study the interaction between Greeks and foreigners based on implicit, and often invalid, theory. The aim of this study is to examine the uses of the terms aithiops and aithiopia in the context of Greek ideology. Previous studies in the field have employed naive semiological approaches to the issue of racism in Greece and Rome, whereby references to Negroes have simply been weighed up in order to determine the extent of negative attitude toward Negroes in antiquity. In this regard, the following study departs radically from the approaches of its predecessors in that, although it is not intended as a narrow linguistic study of the terms aithiops and aithiopia, the focus of the examination concerns the semantics of these terms and the connotations thereof. Through an analysis of these terms in their ideological context, not only do we gain an insight into the processes which underlie Greek perceptions of group boundaries, but we may gain a deeper understanding of our own perceptions of race and racism. The study is confined to pre-Hellenistic literature (although later works are often used to illuminate Classical and Archaic passages) since it was the perceptions of the authors from this period which shaped the ideas of subsequent authors. In addition, during the Hellenistic period, the focus of Greek literary activity shifted from Athens to Alexandria, allowing Hellenistic authors far more contact with Negroes than was enjoyed by their predecessors. For the purpose of this study, Lycophron's Alexandria has been assumed to be the last pre-Hellenistic work, although this point may be debatable.

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