Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Igbo (African people) in literature'

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 1993.
Thesis advisor: Dr. Paul Tarasuk; Research supervisor: Dr. Rikke Wassenberg. "...in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Counseling Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-63).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on month day year) Includes bibliographical references.

African American Studies
Ph.D.
This dissertation interrogates Buchi Emecheta's motives in portraying Igbo culture through her novels. It attempts to situate the novels in reference to Igbo culture. It also highlights the ways in which the texts positively or negatively reflect traditional Igbo values. Overall it demonstrates how Emecheta's own psychological manifestations converge with socio-political Nigerian history in the creation of a body of literature that stands as significant in understanding the issues Igbo women face in their daily lives.
Temple University--Theses

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Art and Art History and Dept. of History. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2005.
"A dissertation in art history and history." Advisors: Donald Matthews and Burton Dunbar. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed June 26, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 263-283). Online version of the print edition.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-215)
This thesis examines contemporary migration narratives by four African writers living in the diaspora and writing in English: Leila Aboulela and Jamal Mahjoub from the Sudan, now living in Scotland and Spain respectively and Abdulrazak Gurnah and Moyez G. Vassanji from Tanzania now residing in the UK and Canada. Focusing on how language operates in relation to both culture and identity, this study foregrounds the complexities of migration as cultural translation. Cultural translation is a concept which locates itself in postcolonial literary theory as well as translation studies. The manipulation of English in such a way as to signify translated experience is crucial in this regard. The thesis focuses on a particular angle on cultural translation for each writer under discussion: translation of Islam and the strategic use of nostalgia in Leila Aboulela's texts; translation and the production of scholarly knowledge in Jamal Mahjoub's novels; translation and storytelling in Abdulrazak Gurnah's fiction; and finally translation between the individual and old and new communities in Vassanji's work. The conclusion of the thesis brings all four writer's texts into conversation across these angles. What emerges from this discussion across the chapter boundaries is that cultural translation rests on ongoing complex processes of transformation determined by idiosyncratic factors like individual personality as well as social categories like nationality, race, class and gender. The thesis thus contributes to the understanding of migration as a common condition of the postcolonial world as well as offering a detailed look at particular travellers and their unique journeys.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis examines depictions of disability in selected African films, novels and memoirs. Central to the thesis is the concept of narrative enablement, which is discussed as a property that texts have for enabling the recognition of disability by the reader or viewer. In the thesis, I investigate the ways in which narrative enablement manifests in the texts. The motivation for the study comes from the recognition of several trends in current literary disability studies. Firstly, the study attempts to expand the theoretical base of current literary disability studies, which consists of ideas formed from a narrow epistemic archive. Similarly, the study also recognises that scholarship in the field mostly relies on a limited canon of texts, almost wholly drawn from the Western world. This study therefore allows a glimpse at an under-acknowledged archive of disability representation, which is then used to suggest the possibility of alternative ways of understanding disablement on the African continent and globally. The first chapter is meant as an entry point into some of the complex lives depicted in the thesis. In this chapter, I explore the intersection that the texts draw between disability and masculinity, illustrating the way this intersection evokes questions about how we understand the relationship between the two concepts. In the second chapter, I examine the way socio-political violence on the continent is represented as a cause of both disablement and disenablement. This chapter is an exploration of how disability is enmeshed with other social realities in people’s lives. The term disenablement is employed in order to capture the presentation of disablement amidst various forms of violent oppression. As it is portrayed in the majority of the texts studied in the thesis, disablement is a factor of social attitudes. My third chapter examines how these texts create dis/ability zones, areas where the reader/viewer witnesses the fluidity of socially constructed disablement in particular societies. As it is portrayed in the texts, and discussed in the thesis, this zone is a space where disabled characters encounter the ableist world. It is a space that allows the destabilization of entrenched notions about disability, and consequent recognition of disabled characters. The most explicit manifestation of narrative enablement occurs through creative intervention, which is the focus in the fourth chapter. In this chapter, I examine the role of various forms of creativity as they are enacted by the characters, arguing that they are manifestations of the characters making use of narrative enablement. In the texts, the disabled characters use unique modes of storytelling – not exclusively verbal – to narrate their story, but also to assert their belonging to particular familial, cultural, as well as national worlds.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ondersoek uitbeeldings van gestremdheid in geselekteerde films, romans en memoirs uit Afrika. Die konsep van narratiewe bemagtiging – ‘n konsep wat ondersoek word as ‘n kapasiteit van tekste wat die erkenning van gestremdheid bemoontlik vir die leser of kyker – staan sentraal in hierdie studie. In my tesis ondersoek ek die maniere waarop narratiewe bemagtiging in die tekste manifesteer. Die beweegrede vir hierdie studie kom uit die realisering van verskeie strominge in kontemporêre letterkundige gestremdheidstudies. In die eerste plek onderneem hierdie studie die taak om die teoretiese basis van huidige literêre gestremdheidstudies, wat bestaan uit idees wat op hul beurt uit ‘n enge epistemiese argief gevorm is, uit te brei. Op soortgelyke wyse erken die studie dat akademiese navorsing binne hierdie studieveld meestal berus op ‘n relatief klein kanon van tekste, feitlik geheel-en-al uit die Westerse wêreld. Hierdie studie bied dus ‘n kyk op ‘n onder-erkende argief van gestremdheidsvoorstellings, wat op sy beurt gebruik word om die moontlikheid van alternatiewe maniere waarop gestremdheid binne Afrika asook wêreldwyd begryp kan word, aan te toon. Die doel van die eerste hoofstuk is om ‘n intreepunt te skep waardeur sommige van die komplekse ervaringswêrelde wat in die tesis ondersoek word, betree kan word. In hierdie hoofstuk ondersoek ek die oorvleuelings tussen gestremdheid en manlikheid wat deur die tekste uitgebeeld word, om sodoende aan te toon dat hierdie oorvleueling vrae oproep in verband met hoe ons die verhouding tussen hierdie twee konsepte kan verstaan. In my tweede hoofstuk ondersoek ek die manier waarop sosio-politieke geweld op die kontinent uitgebeeld word as ‘n oorsaak van gestremdheid sowel as van ontmagtiging. Hierdie hoofstuk ondersoek die wyses waarop gestremdheid verwikkeld is met ander sosiale werklikhede in mense se lewens. Die term disenablement [hier: ‘ontmagtiging’] word gebruik om die uitbeelding van gestremdheid midde-in verskillende vorme van gewelddadige onderdrukking vas te vang. Soos uitgebeeld in die meeste van die tekste wat in die studie ondersoek word, is gestremdheid ‘n aspek van sosiale houdinge. My derde hoofstuk ondersoek hoe die gekose tekste areas van be/ontmagtiging skep; gebiede waar die leser/kyker die vloeibaarheid van sosiaal-gekonstrueerde ontmagtiging in spesifieke gemeenskappe waarneem. Soos uitgebeeld in die tekste en soos wat die studie die saak bespreek, is hierdie zone ‘n gebied waarbinne gestremde persone die bemagtigde wêreld ervaar. Dit is ‘n area waarbinne die versteuring van vasgelegde konsepte van gestremdheid, en gevolglike erkenning van gestremde persone, kan plaasvind. Die mees eksplisiete ontplooiïng van narratiewe bemagtiging gebeur deur middel van skeppende intervensies, wat die fokus vorm van my vierde hoofstuk. In hierdie hoostuk ondersoek ek die rol wat gespeel word deur verskillende vorme van kreatiwiteit soos beoefen deur die karakters, in die loop van my argument dat hiedie skeppingsvorme voorbeeelde is van hoe narratiewe bemagtiging plaasvind. In die tekste gebruik die gestremde karakters unieke metodes van vertelling – nie uitsluitlik verbaal nie – om hulle verhale te vertel, maar ook om aan te toon dat en hoe hulle aan partikuliere familiale, kulturele en nasionale wêrelde behoort.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, 2008.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Oct. 6, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-02, Section: A, page: 0649. Advisers: John H. McDowell; Hasan M. El-Shamy.

Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2014
The main aim of this study is to evaluate protest poetry in Mihloti (1981) and Xikolokolo nguvu ya Pitori (1987) by J.M. Magaisa with special references to theme, subject matter and the use of figures of speech.. Chapter 1 indicates the aim of the study, motivation, statement of the problem, research methodology, literature review and the key concepts which are used in this research. Chapter 2 explains the themes of the protest poetry in Magaisa’s poetry. In some explanation of the themes, some of the figures of speech have been used with the aim of making readers to understand his poetry. Chapter 3 indicates the modes of expression in Magaisa’ protest poetry. Some of the figures of speech and difficult terms have been explained in this chapter make people to understand them. Chapter 4 is the general conclusion which indicates the findings of the research and recommendations for further researches.
The University of Limpopo and C.S.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 12, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

This study examines the relationship between composed songs in isiXhosa and the field of oral literature. In traditional Xhosa cultural settings, poetry and music are forms of communal activity enjoyed by that society. Music and poetry perform a special social role in African society in general, providing a critique of socio-economic and political issues. The research analyses the relationship that exists between traditional poetry, izibongo, and composed songs. It demonstrates that in the same way that izibongo can be analysed in order to appreciate the aesthetic value of an oral literary form, the same can be said of composed isiXhosa music. The art of transmitting oral literature is performance. The traditional izibongo are recited before audiences in the same way. Songs (iingoma) stories (amabali) and traditional poetry (izibongo) all comprise oral literature that is transmitted by word of mouth. Opland (1992: 17) says about this type of literature: “Living as it does in the performance is usually appreciated by crowds of people as sounds uttered by the performer who is present before his/her audience.” Opland (ibid 125) again gives an account of who is both reciter of poems and singer of songs. He gives Mthamo’s testimony thus: “He is a singer… with a reputation of being a poet as well.” The musical texts that will be analysed in this thesis will range from those produced as early as 1917, when Benjamin Tyamzashe wrote his first song, Isithandwa sam (My beloved), up to those produced in 1990 when Makhaya Mjana was commissioned by Lovedale on its 150th anniversary to write Qingqa Lovedale (Stand up Lovedale). The song texts total fifty, by twenty-one composers. The texts will be analysed according to different themes, ranging from themes that are metaphoric, themes about events, themes that depict the culture of the amaXhosa, themes with a message of protest, themes demonstrating the relationship between religion and nature, themes that call for unity among the amaXhosa, and themes that depict the personal circumstances of composers and lullabies. The number of texts from each category will vary depending on the composers’ socio-cultural background when they composed the songs. Comparison will be made with some izibongo to show that composers and writers of izibongo are similar artists and, in the words of Mtuze in Izibongo Zomthonyama (1993) “bathwase ngethongo elinye” (They are spiritually gifted in the same way).

Bibliography: pages 259-274.
In this thesis I examine the way in which Xhosa speakers create humour, what forms (e.g. satire, irony, punning, parody) they favour in both oral and textual literature, and the genres in which these forms are delivered and executed. The functions of Xhosa humour, both during and after apartheid, are examined, as is its role in challenging, contesting and reaffirming traditional notions of society and culture. The particular techniques Xhosa comedians and comic writers use in order to elicit humour are explored with specific reference to the way in which the phonological complexity of this language is exploited for humorous effect. Oral literature sources include collections of praise poems, folktales and proverbs, while anecdotal humour is drawn from recent interviews conducted with domestic workers. My analysis of humour in literary texts initially focuses on the classic works of G.B. Sinxo and S.M. Burns-Ncamashe, and then goes on to refer to contemporary works such as those of P.T. Mtuze. The study on the techniques of Xhosa humour uses as its theoretical base Walter Nash's The language of humour (1985), while that on the functions of Xhosa humour owes much to the work of sociologists such as Michael Mulkay and Chris Powell and George E.C. Paton. The study reveals the fact that Xhosa oral humour is personal and playful - at times obscene - but can also be critical. In texts it explores the comedy of characters as well as the irony of socio-political realities. In both oral and textual discourses the phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics of Xhosa are exploited to create a humour which is richly patterned and finely crafted. In South Africa humour often served to liberate people from the oppressive atmosphere of apartheid. At the same time humour has always had a stabilizing role in Xhosa cultural life, providing a means of controlling deviants and misfits.

The figure of Shaka (c. 1780-1828) looms massively in the historical and symbolic landscapes of Southern Africa. He has been unquestioningly credited, in varying degrees, with creating the Zulu nation, murderous bloodlust, and military genius, so launching waves of violence across the subcontinent (the "mfecane"). The empirical evidence for this is slight and controversial. More importantly, however, Shaka has attained a mythical reputation on which not only Zulu self-conceptions, but to a significant degree white settler self-identifications have been built. This study describes as comprehensively as possible the genealogy of white Shakan literature, including eyewitness accounts, histories, fictions and poetry. The study argues that the vast majority of these works are characterised by a high degree of incestuous borrowing from one another, and by processes of mythologising catering primarily to the social-psychological needs of the writers. So coherent is this genealogy that the formation of an idealised notion of settler identity can be discerned, especially through the common use of particular textual "gestures". At the same time, while conforming largely to unquestioning modes of discourse such as popularised history and romance fiction, individual writers have attempted to adjust to socio-political circumstances; this study includes four close studies of individual texts. Such close stylistic attention serves to underline the textually-constructed nature of both the figure of Shaka and the "selves" of the writers. The study makes no attempt to reduce its explorations to a single Grand Unified Explanation, and takes eclectic theoretical positions, but it does seek throughout to explore the social-psychological meanings of textual productions of Shaka - in short, to explore the question, Why have white writers written about Shaka in these particular ways?

The focus of this thesis is on Xhosa oral and written poetry. The discussion in the thesis is based on the information from existing literature, the responses from the questionnaires and the interviews with some Xhosa iimbongi (person who sings praises) who have reflected on their personal experiences. In addition to this, S.E.K. Mqhayi is at the centre of discussion because as a prominent Xhosa imbongi he features in both the oral and the written world.

This thesis entitled “a critical analysis of the portrayal of women in some selected Xhosa dramas”, endeavours to examine the effect of gender inequality. Women who are iv submissive toward some cultural aspects. It endeavours to give a critical analysis of women’s self assertion in some selected Xhosa dramas. According to the findings in this study, in African tradition women like to enforce patriarchy upon younger women. Older women feel that they have the duty of passing on cultural practices from generation to generation. Everything from manner of dress, posture, appropriate seating positions, eating patterns, performance of household chores, sexual expression, and voice tone and infection, self-esteem and self-concept, flows from the gender one is assigned at birth. From birth then, women and men are set on different physically based psychological paths. Of all the obstacles that limit the advancement of women, those touching upon knowledge and values are the most difficult to remove. When a woman lacks the independent capacity to assert her own positive truths and values, she is unable to contribute her insights and experiences to the various fields of human knowledge. When denied opportunities for higher forms of self expression, women may out of frustration attack the modes of understanding upheld by men. In this study theories such as black criticism, psychoanalysis, feminism and African womanism are relevant for discussing the portrayal of women. The descriptive method of research has been applied. Both observation and participation have been used for exposing barriers that block the development of women. This study will enable literature students and researchers to view culture in a broader perspective. It will enable them to consider conventions which determine the way human experience is presented in literature. Chapter one provides literature students and the researchers with a broad overview about how to develop an introductory perspective. Chapter two aims at developing a theoretical framework which serves as the basis of this study. Chapter three examines the effect of gender inequality. It opens an area of extensive examination that differentiates sexual practice from the sexual roles assigned to women and men. Chapter four examines women who are submissive or radical in some cultural aspects. Chapter five discusses women’s self assertion. Chapter six concludes this study.

This thesis is about the self-identity of antebellum New Orleans's free people of color. The emphasis of this work is that French culture, mixed Gallic and African ancestry, and freedom from slavery served as the three keys to the identity of this class of people. Taken together, these three factors separated the free people of color from the other major groups residing in New Orleans - Anglo-Americans, white Creoles and black slaves. The introduction provides an overview of the topic and states the need for this study. Chapter 1 provides a look at New Orleans from the perspective of the free people of color. Chapter 2 investigates the slaveownership of these people. Chapter 3 examines the published literature of the free people of color. The conclusion summarizes the significance found in the preceding three chapters and puts their findings into a broader interpretive framework.

This study will focus on norms and value systems as portrayed by two female Xhosa writers. The aim of this study is to show how normative value systems are represented by two female Xhosa female writers. It also aims to show the effects of these systems on women. The method of research will be based on survey of Xhosa literature focusing on the following two books, Inzol ‘enkundleni, by V. Magadla and UMandisa by V.N.M. Swaartbooi.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Theatre, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], iv, 57 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-57).

Kein anderes Thema hat die nigerianische Literatur so dominiert wie der nigerianische Bürgerkrieg, in dessen Verarbeitung sich verstärkt auch Autorinnen einmischen. Die Dissertation evaluiert 34 Texte von 16 nigerianischen Autorinnen - 12 Romane und 22 Kurzgeschichten - und analysiert sie als Gesamtkorpus, in dem die Texte miteinander und mit der Männerliteratur einen Dialog um den Bürgerkrieg führen. Die Autorinnen wenden bei ihrem "war talk" literarische Strategien wie "re-reading" und "re-writing" an, das Neu-Lesen, Fort- und Umschreiben der Texte und Diskurse des "Zentrums", durch die nicht nur die Blindstellen eines von Männern dominierten literarischen Diskurses sichtbar werden, sondern durch die auch der Prozess des Aushandelns der Geschlechterverhältnisse sowie des Krieges selbst erfolgt, seiner Ursachen, Auslöser und Folgen. Die Autorinnen stellen den Krieg als "sexuelle Unordnung" dar, als Geschlechterkrieg. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass bei der Verortung der Perspektive der Autorinnen neben Geschlecht, ethnischer Zugehörigkeit auch andere Faktoren, wie Alter, Race, Grad der Distanz oder Nähe etc. berücksichtigt werden müssen, um vorschnelle Festschreibungen zu vermeiden. Hierbei spielen die Paratexte eine wichtige Rolle, in denen die Autorinnen sich persönlich zum Krieg äußern. Die Arbeit bewegt sich an den Schnittstellen mehrerer Disziplinen: Literatur, Historiographie und Geschlechterstudien. In der Einleitung werden die theoretischen Prämissen im Kontext von Krieg, Geschlecht und literarischer Repäsentation behandelt. Das 1. Kapitel ist dem historischen Kontext des Bürgerkrieges, einschließlich der Rolle der Frauen darin gewidmet. Im 2. Kapitel geht es um die Darstellung des Krieges, des Selbst- und Feindbildes sowie der Zukunft. Das dritte Kapitel handelt von der Beziehung zwischen Bürger- und Geschlechterkrieg, vermittelt durch das Medium literarischer Text. Die Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse und der Ausblick auf zukünftige Forschung erfolgt im Schlussteil. Der Anhang enthält ein vorläufiges Verzeichnis der gesamten Frauenliteratur über den nigerianischen Bürgerkrieg.
No other topic has dominated the Nigerian literature as much as the Nigerian Civil War and female authors increasingly interfere in its literary representation. The thesis evaluates 34 literary texts by 16 female Nigerian authors - 12 novels and 22 short stories - and analyses them as distinctive corpus whose individual texts are in a state of dialogue both with each other and with texts from male authors. The female authors use, in their "war talk", literary strategies like "re-reading" and "re-writing" of texts from the "Centre". On the one hand, these strategies enable them to make the blind spots of a male dominated literary discourse apparent/visible on the other hand, they facilitate the negotiation of gender relations and of the war itself, its causes, trigger points and consequences. The female authors represent war as "sexual disorder", as gender war. The study shows that in order to be able to locate an author''s perspective (and to avoid rash conclusions) it is essential to consider the different factors determining it - besides ethnicity and gender, also age, race, the grade of emotional involvement or distance etc. It is in this regard, where the paratexts play an important part, as in these authors express their personal views and comments on the war. The thesis is located at the interfaces of several disciplines: literary, historical and gender studies. The introduction deals with the theoretical backgrounds in the context of war, literary representation and gender. The first chapter is dedicated to the historical context of the Nigerian Civil War including the role of women. The second chapter looks at the paratexts, different representations of the war''s causes, the self-image, the enemy''s image and the future. The third chapter finally deals with the question how the relationship between Civil War and gender war is negotiated/conveyed through the medium of the literary texts. In the conclusion the results are summarized and prospects for future research are discussed. The appendix contains a preliminary bibliography of all literary texts on the Nigerian Civil War written by female authors.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in
Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-156). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1240699121&SrchMode=1&sid=10&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1195662857&clientId=5220

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Translation.
Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-165). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11817

This thesis is divided into two main parts. Part one is the presentation of the ethnomusicological research study on Abigbo choral dance music, and indigenous music type found in the Mbaise area of Ibgo land in Nigeria. This part is made up of three chapters. Chapter one present the research out line for this work, which contains the Background of the study, personal motivation for the study, need for the study, methodology and value of the study. Chapter two presents a study of Abigbo music and the musicians. In this chapter, the researcher discussed the socio-cultural and creative milieu of Abigbo musicians, the creative performance process, the theoretical content of Abigbo music, and the artistic criticism as well as social aesthetics normative in Abigbo music appreciation. Chapter three of the work discussed transcription and analyses of traditional Ibgo music. Some problems of transcription and analyses in Ibgo music are argued from the perspectives of other writers and the researcher’s experience. The transcription and analysis techniques are then applied to selection Abigbo music repertory. This part of the thesis is, therefore, an Ethnomusicological study of Abigbo music and musicians in which identifiable musical elements, compositional principles and the stylistic forte of Abigbo choral-dance music are discussed. The research-study enables the researcher to identify seminal compositional materials for the modern symphony orchestra composition deriving from the creative principles of Abigbo music. Part two of this work is, essentially, an original creative work for the modern symphony orchestra applying the musical elements, compositional principles and style of Abigbo choral-dance music. This part is in three chapters: four, five and six. Chapter four is the composition of “Abigbo for Modern Symphony Orchestra”. It is a three movement orchestral work in contrasting tempi, in which the second movement introduces a male chorus with the orchestra. Chapter five is a detailed analysis of the work and its compositional procedure. Chapter six presents the conclusions and projections emanating from the study. Part II then presents a perspective in the creative continuum of African music informed by Abigbo choral-dance music. It is a study of Abigbo choral-dance music of the Mbaise people in Igbo land of Nigeria and the application of its elements, compositional principles and style in the composition of modern art music for a modern symphony orchestra.
Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2006.
Music
DMus
unrestricted

This project examines the presence of African-derived spiritual ideals within the black literary tradition as a means of highlighting the fundamental influence of spirituality on communities of the modern black diaspora. I begin the discussion with an examination of traditional African spirituality, focusing on Nigerian author Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958). This discussion identifies four core principles of traditional African spirituality that resonate most thoroughly in diasporan communities: the interconnection of sacred and secular spheres, the concept of cyclical rather than linear time, the emphasis on a communal ethos, and the necessity for balance and reconciliation. I then examine the development of what I define as "Black Diasporan Spirituality," considering how these principles, resonating to varying degrees, constitute the basis for a philosophical system defining the universe and the place and role of mankind within it, as understood by African-descended peoples throughout the diaspora. Subsequently, I discuss the ways in which core elements of black spirituality at once inform and are represented in literature produced in Africa and the diaspora. Beginning with an analysis of James Weldon Johnson's God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1927) and Zora Neale Hurston's Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934), I examine "Black Diasporan Spirituality" as a defining influence on the black oral tradition, centering my discussion on the cultural articulation of the African American song sermon. Using James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) and The Amen Corner (1954), I then examine the consequences of religious practice in the absence of black spiritual ideals. Focusing on the presence of spirituality in spaces which are not formally designated as religious, I then consider Gloria Naylor's Mama Day (1988) as a narrative that positions "Black Diasporan Spirituality" as vital to the healing processes of black communities, addressing both the trauma and the reconciliation inherent in the construction of diaspora. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that a clear understanding of the nature and character of black spirituality is essential to understanding not only the literature, but also the many circumstances—historical, social and cultural—of the communities out of which each text emerges.

Text in English with abstracts in English, Afrikaans and isiZulu
This six-chapter study is a qualitative research work conducted within the Afrocentricity framework covering the application and testing of three newly found Afrocentric theories in African literature with special emphasis on isiZulu texts. The aim of this study is to test the application of Afrikan Humanism, Intsomi dream theory, and Africentricity theory. These theories were developed as a result of the debate between Eurocentric and Afrocentric scholars in literature and literary criticism. In this study the research comprised of examination of existing literature on literary criticism with particular focus on Afrocentricity perspectives on the literary criticism debate. The researcher employed the purposive sample on the theories as well as on the 5 short stories, and 2 novels on which Afrikana Humanisim, Intsomi dream theory, and Africentricity theory were applied. Amongst the findings, it is evident that South African scholars are still yearning to contribute on the debate and this has led to modifications of theories and development of new ones such as the Afrikan Humanism, Intsomi dream theory, Africentricity theory, African materialist aesthetics, multi-approach reading, systems, inter-cultural. Future research includes continued studies in decoloniality of African literature, orality research and empirical data should be generated to expand the field of African literary criticism with fresh approaches being tested and applied. New theories, literary frameworks need to be further investigated with a view of entrenching the application of Afrocentricity whilst decolonizing literature in Africa. , Materialist, Aesthetics, Literature, Orality, Orature, Decolonisation, Feminism, Theory, isiZulu, culture, tradition.
Feministiese geleerdes voer al geruime tyd 'n warm debat oor die kwessie of die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie vroue positief beïnvloed, vroue bemagtig deurdat dit volmag en keuse vir hulle in die hand werk (Gimlin 2002; Kuczynski 2006), of vroue onderdruk deurdat dit patriargale ideologieë voorstaan wat die vroueliggaam inperk en gevolglik die vrou inhibeer om haar stem te laat hoor (Blood 2005; Blum 2005; Clarke en Griffin 2007; Heinricy 2006; Tait 2007). In plaas daarvan om by hierdie debat betrokke te raak, gaan ek van die veronderstelling uit dat die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie 'n vorm van implisiete en eksklusiewe geweld is. Aan die hand van post-strukturalistiese, feministiese en psigoanalitiese teorieë ontleed ek die manier waarop hierdie vorm van geweld vroue se liggaam onderwerp en hul psige vorm. Ek dekonstrueer die vorming van die genormaliseerde self, die bewussyn en die daad van belydenis, soos dit in die konteks oorgebring word, aan die hand van Jacques Lacan, Judith Butler en Michel Foucault se beskouings van herderlike oftewel pastorale mag. Hierbenewens onderstreep ek die rol wat liberale feminisme in hierdie vorm van onderwerping speel. Sodoende demonstreer ek teoreties hoe die voortdurende en effektiewe funksionering van pastorale mag in die konteks van ’n individualiseringstegniek vroue in die tweede dekade van die een-en-twintigste eeu onderdruk. Ek maak die aanname dat die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie daartoe bydra dat vroue die swye opgelê word, die individu se psige uitgebuit en onderdruk word en die lewende liggaam ontkragtig word deur middel van ’n inkerkering wat minder sigbaar en minder eksplisiet is en agter ’n estetiese en morele sluier verdoesel word. In hierdie konteks bied ek ’n teendiskoers aan vir die onderwerping wat onderliggend is aan die normaliseringsdiskoerse wat die kosmetiesechirurgiebedryf ondersteun, en ek bepleit dat die patriargale norme wat in diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie vassit, gedestabiliseer word. Ek demonstreer verder ’n teoretiese rekonstruksie wat ’n inskripsie insluit van wat ek ’n geloofwaardige feministiese stem in die eietydse verbruikerskultuur noem – ’n modus van intieme, onbewuste opstandigheid. Ek bepleit 'n terugkeer na Julia Kristeva se teorie en die intieme oproer wat deur haar etiese benadering voorgestaan word. Afgesien hiervan stel ek ’n stem voor wat ’n intieme opstand demonstreer – ’n stem wat patriargale norme uitdaag en nie uitsluitlik onderdruk word deur die normaliseringsmeganismes wat vorm gee aan die vrou van die een-entwintigste eeu nie, waar die klem op die kosmetiesechirurgiebedryf en die boliggende diskoerse daarvan val – Antjie Krog, Suid-Afrikaanse digter. Dit is juis Krog se kunstig gestruktureerde digterlike tekste wat my teoretiese rekonstruksie fasiliteer. Aan die hand van Kristeva se teorie oor semanalise toon ek teoreties dat Krog se werk ’n ruimte daarstel wat "uitstyg" bo die grense wat die wet van die Vader en die normaliseringsmeganismes stel. Hierbenewens stel ek ’n "originêre gehegtheid" as aanpassing van Kristeva se beskouing van die chora voor, en my voorstel van ’n "originêre ideaal" daag Kristeva se opvating oor paragramme uit in die konteks van dit wat ten grondslag lê aan die gebied van die paternalistiese metafoor. Op grond van Louise Viljoen se ontleding van Krog se werk en Bridget Garnham se navorsing oor opkomende diskoerse oor ontwerpers- kosmetiese chirurgie bied ek Krog se digterlike tekste aan as ’n teendiskoers vir die "morele" diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie wat die verouderende individu in die tweede dekade van die een-en-twintigste eeu uitbuit. Daarby, deur Kristeva se teorie oor paragramme op Krog se digterlike teks(te) toe te pas, demonstreer ek 'n destabilisering van die patriargale norme wat implisiet in diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie teenwoordig is. Hierbenewens brei ek Kristeva se teorie oor die negatiwiteitsbeginsel uit deur middel van ’n heroorsetting van die belydenisdaad in Krog se digwerk(e), ’n uitbreiding van Foucault se pastorale mag en Butler se opvatting oor die eksklusiwiteit van normalisering, en ’n opeising van Krog se verouderende liggaam in Verweerskrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006).
Sekubekhona izingxoxo-mpikiswano eziningi kwizifundiswa zama-feminist ukuthi ngabe ukwenza isurgery yohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka ngokwemvelo (cosmetic plastic surgery) kunomphumela omuhle yini kwabesimame, ngabe kuhlinzeka ngamandla kwabesimame ngokuphakamisela phezulu ukuthi umuntu azenzele akufunayo kanye nokuzikhethela (Grimlin 2002, Kuczynski 2006) noma kuyinto ecindezela abesimame ngokuqhubela phambili indlela nama-idiyoloji abekwa ngabesilisa ukuthi imizimba yabesimame kumele ibukeke kanjani, kanti lokhu kucindezela izwi labesimame (Blum 2003, Blood 2005, Heinricy 2006, Clarke and Griffin 2007, Tait, 2007). Kunokuthi iphuzu nami ngingenele kule ngxoxo-mpikiswano, elami iphuzu lona liqhubeka ukusukela kwisimo sokuthi ukwamukela uhlujzo olungajulile lokuzitshintsha ukubukeka kwabesimame (cosmetic surgery) kuyindlela yodlame olungaqondile ngqo kanye nolukhipha inyumbazane abesimame. Ngokusebenzisa amathiyori epost-structuralist, awe-feminist kanye nawepsychoanalytical, ngihlaziya indlela le nhlobo yalolu dlame ecindezela ngayo imizimba yabesimame kanye nokuhlela indlela okumele bacabange nokuzibona ngayo. Ngokusebenzisa iphuzu likaJacques Lacan, Judith Buttle kanye noMichel Foucault lamandla okukhokhela ngokomoya, ngiqhaqha indlela okubumbeka ngayo isithombe sokuzibona, unembeza kanye nomoya wokuhlambulula ngokuzidalula (confession) lapho kubhekwa izinto ngaphansi kwesimo somzimba wokuhlinzwa okungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka ngokwakho. Nangaphezu kwalokho, ngigqamisa indima ye-liberal feminism ngokwayo kule nhlobo yencindezelo. Ngokwenza lokho, ngikhombisa ngokwethiyori ukuqhubeka nokusebenza kwamandla esikhokhelo ngokomoya ngaphansi kwethekniki yokuzazi komuntu eyedwa okucindezela abesimame kwiminyaka elishumi yesibili, yesenshuri yamashumi amabili nanye . Ngiqhubela phambili iphuzu lokuthi ukwenziwa kohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka kuqala umoya wokucindezela izwi labesimame, ukuxhashazwa kwabo, kanye nendlela umuntu azibona ngayo ngokwengqondo, kanye nokucindezela umzimba ophilayo ngezindlela ezingazibonakalisi obala, ezifihlekile, indlela yokubopha efihlwa yindlela yokubukeka kanye nokwembozwa umoya. Kungaphansi kwalesi simo lapho ngethula khona i-discourse yencindezelo eyenza ukuthi imboni yohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka kwabesimame kube yinto ephakanyiswayo nokubonwa iyinhle, ukuphazamiseka kwama-norm endlela yengcindezi yabesilisa, ngaphansi kwama-discourse okuhlinzwa okungajulile ukushintsha ukubukeka, kanye nokwakha ithiyori ebandakanya ukubona izinto ngendlela ethize, engikuchaza njengezwi okuyilo elifanele le-feminism, kwisimo sosiko esiphila ngaphansi kwaso samanje - okuyindlela abantu abazibuka ngayo ezingqondweni ngendlela engekho obala. Ngigcizelela ukubuyela kwithiyori kaKristeva, kanye nokuthi abantu babhoke indlobana ngezindlela eziphansi, okuyinto ayiphakamisayo yenkambiso yokwazi okulungile nokungalunganga (ethical approach). Naphezu kwalokho, ngiveza izwi elibonisa ukubhoka indlobana kwabesimame ngendlela engekho sobala - izwi elifaka inselele kuma-norm okubhozomelwa ngumqondo wokulawula kwabesilisa, kanti futhi leli zwi aligcinanga nje kuphela umumo wabesimame ngendlela ejwayelekile njengowesimame wesenshuri yamashumi amabili-nanye ngokugcizelela kwimboni yohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka, kanye nendlela lokhu okuyisihibe ngayo – ngokusho kukasonkondlo waseNingizimu Afrika, u-Antjie Krog. Imibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog ezinobungcweti yiyo eyenze ukwakha kwami kabusha ithiyori. Ngokusebenzisa ithiyori kaKristeva ye-semanalysis, ngibonisa ngokwethiyori ukuthi umsebenzi kaKrog uqambe okweqele ngaleya kwizihibe zomthetho kubaba kanye nezindlela zokwenza izinto zibukeke ngendlela evamile noma zingavamile. Nangaphezu kwalokho, ngifakela i-"originary attachment" njengokwenza ukuthi kube kwesinye isimo, iphuzu likaKristeva ku-chora kanti isiphakamiso sami se-"originary ideal" sifaka inselele kusigcizelelo sikaKristeva ngamagremu efonethiki ngaphansi kwesimo esigcizelela umfanekiso ngasohlangothini lobaba. Ngokusebenzisa ukuhlaziya kukaLouise Viljoen kumsebenzi kaKrog kanye nocwaningo lukaBridget Garnham ngokuvela kwama-discourse ohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka njengesisekelo, ngase ngethula imibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog njenge-discourse yokuphikisa ama-discourse e-"moral" yama-discourse ohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka, elixhaphaza abantu abagugayo ngeminyaka eyishumi yesibili kwisenshuri yamashumi amabili-nanye. Naphezu kwalokho, ngisebenzise ithiyori kaKristeva kumapharagramu kwimibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog, ngaphazamisa imibono yokuphatha kwabesilisa equkethwe kuma-discourse ohlinzo ulungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka. Ukuqhubekela phambili, nginwebe ithiyori kaKristeva ngesimiso se-negativity ukwethula ukuhumusha kabusha umoya wokuzihlambulula ngokuzidalula otholakala kwizinkondlo zikaKrog, ukuwukunweba amandla umbono kaFaucault wamandla okuthi abantu bazibone ngenye indlela kanye nephuzu likaButler wlkuthi into engavamile engaphandle ibonwe njengento efanele, kanye nokwamukela umzimba ogugayo kwinkondlo ye- Verweerskrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006).
African Languages
D. Litt. et Phil.(African Languages)

This dissertation explores execution literature, a genre of literature popular in the Northeastern American colonies and successor states. The texts I explore are written between 1693 and 1817 and feature people of African descent. There are three types of texts that make up execution literature; execution sermons, written and delivered by pastors written especially for the condemned immediately before his or her execution, last words, autobiographical texts taken from the prisoner's own mouth immediately before death, and dying verse, rhyming poetry written on occasion of the execution of the criminal. Although execution literature can provide a wealth of information, it has tended to be excluded from consideration as a means of discovering more about the experiences of people of African descent by the popularity of Slave Narratives. Whereas enslaved men and women including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Mary Prince and William and Ellen Craft are well known and their lives well represented in secondary literature, Joseph Hanno, Mark, Phillis, John Joyce and Peter Matthias among others are noticeably absent from the scholarship. Additionally, I argue that Puritans and their descendants were, as Robin Blackburn puts it, “ethno-religious exclusivists.” To refer to Puritans as racists is historically inaccurate. Biological racism as an ideology was invented later, with the advent of the institution of chattel slavery. Puritans and their descendants held a different worldview, reflected in execution literature. They believed themselves to be the direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews of the Bible. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was New Israel, and here they attempted to align their lives as closely with Biblical precedent as possible. The Bible, especially the New Testament, emphasized that people ought to be less concerned with their earthly condition than with their eternal destination. One never knew when he or she would die; therefore it was of the utmost importance to spend one's life preparing for judgment. The significance of execution literature is not in its relationship to other genres of literature written by and about people of African descent. Instead, the literature itself provides a wealth of information that has not been explored to the full.

CPE is Western in origin, it can be transplanted and adapted to the Igbo soil and be fedb with the local nutrients. In the view of the researcher, this can bring about a new CPE model which is called the "Family/Community-Based CPE Model." The above mentioned model puts the family and community at the center of the CPE program. The CPE center will be located in a community-based setting that will enable the CPE students to visit different families and experience community life and to learn how the people respond to different events in their lives. The students can also visit ceremonies that give meaning to the people's lives such as marriage, naming, funerals and other events through which the people express their communal life. Inter-professional collaboration can take place between the CPE center and different professionals, as well as the local practitioners. All these experiences will form part of the verbatim reports and reflections during the program. The already existing actionreflection- action model of CPE will be remodeled to be theory-observation-action-reflection. It is this CPE model that the researcher proposes for the Igbo society.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The pillars on which this study is based (stands) could be compared with the observations of Ejiofor (1981: 4), who says the modern-and-African political models have not been sufficiently discovered, developed, and operated in African states. One thinks that the social and political behaviour of African people are in conflict with the present day political structures and institutions. Political and economic actors fail to harness the knowledge, attitudes, and responses with the indigenous values. Own to these reasons the present political dispensations in Africa are misconceived and ill-adapted to their reality. Hence, the call for detailed study of home-grown African values as a means to redress these imbalances has become inevitable. This study is based on Igbo cultural solidarity as a means to address and achieve rural development in Africa. Meanwhile, this study attempts to re-ignite and re-echo ‘people-based’ and understood ‘home-based’ models of achieving rural development as focused on Okigwe-Owerri-Orlu political divisions among the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)

The pillars on which this study is based (stands) could be compared with the observations of Ejiofor (1981: 4), who says the modern-and-African political models have not been sufficiently discovered, developed, and operated in African states. One thinks that the social and political behaviour of African people are in conflict with the present day political structures and institutions. Political and economic actors fail to harness the knowledge, attitudes, and responses with the indigenous values. Own to these reasons the present political dispensations in Africa are misconceived and ill-adapted to their reality. Hence, the call for detailed study of home-grown African values as a means to redress these imbalances has become inevitable. This study is based on Igbo cultural solidarity as a means to address and achieve rural development in Africa. Meanwhile, this study attempts to re-ignite and re-echo ‘people-based’ and understood ‘home-based’ models of achieving rural development as focused on Okigwe-Owerri-Orlu political divisions among the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)

This study is a reading of khuswala kumuse (funeral oratory) among the Bukusu from the perspective of contemporary theories of masculinity and gender relations. Funeral oratory performance is an age-old practice performed on the third day after burial (lufu), of honoured males from clans that enjoy respect from other clans because of their leadership qualities. The thesis is about the performances of John Wanyonyi Manguliechi. Focusing on his unique personality and creative oral skills as a performer, the thesis seeks to demonstrate Manguliechi’s artistic contribution to a venerated tradition. This study benefits from ethnography and fieldwork as methods of literary research in order to interrogate concerns of gender, power discourses and performance in a traditional oral text. The study focuses on pre-recorded texts of Manguliechi and critically analyzes them through the prism of masculinity, gender and power discourse. Specifically, our analysis employs masculinity and gender relations theories to study circumcision, ethnicity and elements of power discourses in Manguliechi’s funeral oratories. The notion of ‘textualizing masculinity’ in this study refers to the various ways of being a man as highlighted by Manguliechi in his recitals. The study examines the funeral oratory as a cultural discourse shaped by masculine nuances and an oral literary genre laden with multiple images of power discourses and gender relations. In the Bukusu parlance, ‘khuswala kumuse’ connotes rhetorical excellence, and the genre represents the most elaborate and creative verbal expression. Thus, persuasive public speech is a much-vaunted art form in the community and any man whose oratory skills demonstrate good rhetoric and eloquence is held in the utmost esteem. In this study we argue that although Manguliechi’s performances are essentially funeral rituals, his recitals are rare examples of rhetorical genius with highly expressive and idiomatic creativity that can be subjected to literary analysis. The study interrogates the interfaces between the textual and thematic concerns of Manguliechi’s kumuse renditions on the one hand and the masculine gender constructions and power imaginations within the same texts.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Arts, 2016
This study focuses on the aesthetics and ethics of translating African literature, using a case of two of D.O. Fagunwa’s Yoruba novels, namely; Igbo Olodumare (1949) translated by Wole Soyinka as In the Forest of Olodumare (2010) and Adiitu Olodumare (1961) translated by Olu Obafemi as The Mysteries of God (2012). More specifically, the overall aim of this study is to determine the positions of these target texts on the domestication and foreignization continuum. The study of these texts is carried out using a descriptive and systemic theoretical framework, based on Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), Polysystem theory and the notion of norms of translational behaviour. The descriptive approach is extended by drawing on ideological and ethical approaches to translating postcolonial and marginalized literature. Lambert and Van Gorp’s model for the description of translation products is used in exploring the position of Fagunwa’s translated novels in the target literary system. A close comparative analysis of a number of extracts from the two target texts and their corresponding source texts is conducted in order to determine the approaches taken by both translators in their translation of the distinctive stylistic features of Fagunwa’s prose. Building on the work of Christopher Fotheringham (2015) in the field of stylistic analysis of translated African prose, this study describes and analyses the occurrence of shifts of formal literary features between these target texts and their corresponding source texts. This is done by employing Antoine Berman’s scheme of deforming tendencies and Anton Popovič’s scheme of stylistic shifts as the basis for the translational shift analysis.
GR2017

This study deals with the relationship between culture and national development in Angola. It is self-evident that folktales are integral to the cultural heritage of any people, and the Lunda-Cokwe of Angola are no exception. Folktales pass on their knowledge and general cultural heritage to new generation. However, they are rarely regarded as a useful component on development process of a country. In general the development is largely measured in statistics reflecting material wealth. It maintains that, in order to bring about sustainable development and national unity, a holistic approach to personality building as well as nation building is required. The argumentation will not only take into account economic capital generated through national resources, such as diamonds from the Lunda provinces, but also requires other forms of capital, including social and cultural capital as articulated in Bourdieu’s theory of capital.
African languages
M.A. (African languages)