Great Trek and Long Walk: Readings of a Biblical Symbol

1999 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-300
Author(s):  
Barbara Green
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Desmond Tutu ◽  
Fresh Insight ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractDiverse South African readings of "the exodus" offer convenient access to the complex processes of "meaning-making" which are currently under scrutiny in many disciplines. This essay investigates several diverse appropriations of the biblical text in order to read the classic journey story-particularly the moment of encountering the Canaanites-and to sort some of the methodological issues. First, a pair of opposite versions: white South African (Boer) and black South African (represented by Archbishop Desmond Tutu); second, a triad of critical approaches, but with different emphases (historical-critical, text-centered, reader-focused); and third, my own construal of Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, as yet another appropriation of liberation texts. In each case, the valuable questions to ask are how the interpreter has proceded and what has been the result, both for the understanding of texts and for the methodological discussion. The allegorical approach (Boer and Tutu) seems totally inadequate. The scholarly critical readings, with their behind-, within-, and before-the-text emphases are illuminating. But Mandela's construal, or at least my version of it, offers additional and fresh insight into the dynamics of liberation.

An Observational Study of 5-year-old South African Children in the Year Before School

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Liddell ◽  
Jane Kvalsvig ◽  
Nina Strydom ◽  
Pumla Qotyana ◽  
Agnes Shabalala
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Black South African ◽  
African Children ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
American Children ◽  
Before School ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
South African Children

This paper presents data from an observational investigation of 80 African children growing up at home in the year before school. Data cover aspects of social interaction, language use, activity patterns, and object utilisation. Gender differences are examined, and results are compared with those from observational studies of Euro-American children of similar age. These data provide baseline data on black South African children, about whom relatively little has been published, and offers insight into the everyday lives of preschool-aged children from the developing world.

Turning to Narrative

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Schiff
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Psychological Problems ◽  
The Self ◽  
Narrative Psychology ◽  
Narrative Perspective ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Insight Into

Chapter 3 of A New Narrative for Psychology introduces a theoretical framework for a narrative perspective that inspires creative approaches to studying psychological problems. It begins with a history of the “narrative turn” in psychology and outlines the current divisions. Since the 1980s, psychological research calling itself “narrative” has blossomed. However, at the moment, narrative psychology is fragmented, with no clear definition of what narrative is or does. This chapter addresses the definitional problems posed by the current use of the narrative concept in psychology, arguing that narrative psychology is not just a theory or a method but, rather, must encompass both. It reorients narrative psychology to meaning making, the study of how and why persons enact aspects of their lives in time and space. Narrative offers researchers insight into the fundamental psychological problems of how persons interpret the self and experience.

When the Landscape of the Face is Hidden from Us

2017 ◽  
pp. 68-71
Author(s):  
Paula Horta
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Affective Quality ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Ethical Response ◽  
Desmond Tutu

How do we respond to the vulnerability of the Other when we do not see his face? How do photographer and viewers position themselves ethically in relation to the (hi)story of suffering they are called to witness? These are the questions that steer my reflection about Jillian Edelstein’s unpublished photograph of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Taken shortly after the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) completed its work, the photograph evokes the moment during the TRC hearings when the Archbishop, Chairman of the commission, laid down his head and wept. Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas’s conceptualization of “the face”; I discuss how affect is produced within and through Edelstein’s photograph, and specifically how the affective quality of the photograph both contributes to an understanding of the experience of suffering within the context of the TRC and summons an ethical response from the viewer. Keywords: Desmund Tutu, Emmanuel Levinas, gesture and photography, Jillian Edelstein, photography portrait

scholarly journals Key identifiers and spelling conventions in MXit-lingo as found in conversations with Dr Math

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Butgereit ◽  
Reinhardt A Botha ◽  
Michelle Van den Heever
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Tutoring System ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
Math Tutoring ◽  
Word Frequencies ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Primary And Secondary School

Different human languages look different from other human languages. To use a term from the computer industry, each human language has its own “look and feel”. European English speakers can easily recognise a phrase such as “Comment allez-vous?” as being written in French while the phrase “¿Habla usted español?” is written in Spanish. Each language has its own letter frequencies, word frequencies and other identifiers. This paper describes key identifiers in MXit lingo as found in Dr Math conversations. MXit is a mobile instant messaging system which originated in South Africa and is expanding to other countries. Dr Math is a mobile tutoring system which uses MXit as a communication protocol. Primary and secondary school pupils can receive help with the mathematics homework using the Dr Math tutoring system. The pupils use MXit on their cell phones and the tutors use traditional Internet workstations. After exploring how MXit lingo is written, this paper will briefly explore why MXit lingo is written the way it is. By identifying and describing the orthographic conventions visible in the spelling of MXit lingo, although with some theoretical support, insight into the purposeful and functional nature of written, mobile communication will be revealed. In highlighting spelling that is influenced by Black South African English, an attempt will be made to contribute to the empirical development of a field of study that explores the construction of words used in South African mobile communication.Keywords: MXit, Math, letters, writing, orthographyDisciplines: Linguistics, mathematics, information technology

The Final ‘Thank You’

Derrida Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Grant Farred
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Other ◽  
World Cup ◽  
The Core ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Black President ◽  
The Moment

‘The Final “Thank You”’ uses the work of Jacques Derrida and Friedrich Nietzsche to think the occasion of the 1995 rugby World Cup, hosted by the newly democratic South Africa. This paper deploys Nietzsche's Zarathustra to critique how a figure such as Nelson Mandela is understood as a ‘Superman’ or an ‘Overhuman’ in the moment of political transition. The philosophical focus of the paper, however, turns on the ‘thank yous’ exchanged by the white South African rugby captain, François Pienaar, and the black president at the event of the Springbok victory. It is the value, and the proximity and negation, of the ‘thank yous’ – the relation of one to the other – that constitutes the core of the article. 1

The Socio-Economic Challenges of South African Indigenous Musicians: A Case Study of Venda-Based Vho-Ntshengedzeni Mamphodo

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N G Mugovhani ◽  
Lebogang Lance Nawa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Arts Management ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Indigenous Music ◽  
Entire Country

This article discusses and raises awareness about the socio-economic plight of indigenous musicians in South Africa. Through a qualitative case study of the Venda musician, Vho-Talelani Andries Ntshengedzeni Mamphodo, dubbed the “Father of mbila music,” the article highlights the fact that the welfare of Black South African artists, particularly indigenous musicians in South Africa, is generally a precarious affair. Their popularity, at the height of their careers, sometimes masks shocking details of exploitation, neglect, and the poverty they are subjected to, which are exposed only after they have died. Empirical data identifies this as a symptom of, among other things, cultural policy and arts management deficiencies in the promotion of indigenous music. The article aims to find ways to redress this unfortunate situation, which is partially a product of general apathy and scant regard that these artists have perennially been subjected to, even by their own governments, as well as some members of their societies. All these factors mentioned are compounded by ignorance on the part of South African artists. Part of the objective of this study was to establish whether the exposition of the Vhavenda musicians is a typical example of all Black South African indigenous musicians and, if this is the case, whether the suggested ways to redress this unfortunate situation could contribute to or play a role in alleviating the plight of such artists in the entire country.

Disclosing Child Sexual Abuse during Forensic Assessments of the Black South African Child

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jabulani Makhubele ◽  
Selelo Frank Rapholo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
South African ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
African Child ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Forensic Assessments ◽  
South African Child ◽  
Forensic Interviewers

Child sexual abuse is a social and health issue that affects citizens across the globe. It has a number of physical, psychological and emotional consequences. Children are reluctant to talk about their involvement in sexual abuse owing to various reasons. Therefore, forensic interviewers need to understand the process of disclosure when conducting forensic assessments. They also need to be watchful of various dynamics that are likely to have an impact on the disclosure rate. The aim of this study was to describe the dynamics during forensic assessments in the context of the black South African child when disclosing child sexual abuse. A descriptive design using stratified random, purposive and convenient sampling techniques to select the participants was employed, resulting in 14 participants (13 were females and only one was male). The data were collected by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews and were thematically analysed using the Nvivo program. The findings reveal that personal characteristics of the child and the interviewer, their communication abilities, blind assessments and informed allegation interviews have an impact on forensic assessments of black South African children. It is concluded that the dynamics of disclosing child sexual abuse during forensic assessments in terms of the variables of the study are not unique, except in terms of sociocultural value systems, beliefs and customs. As a result, it is recommended that the forensic interviewers come to the developmental level of the child, speak his/her language or use translators for him/her to understand, and to follow blind assessments interviews as opposed to informed allegation interviews. However, informed allegations interviews are recommended when assessing very young children.

Monkey on My Back. An Autoethnographic Narrative of a Therapeutic Experience

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Wiesner
Keyword(s):  
Personal Experience ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
The Self ◽  
Symbolic Language ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Therapeutic Experience ◽  
Postmodern Philosophy ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Global Uncertainty

With a conscious attempt to contribute to contemporary discussions in mad/trans/queer/monster studies, the monograph approaches complex postmodern theories and contextualizes them from an autoethnographic methodological perspective. As the self-explanatory subtitle reads, the book introduces several topics as revelatory fields for the author’s self-exploration at the moment of an intense epistemological and ontological crisis. Reflexively written, it does not solely focus on a personal experience, as it also aims at bridging the gap between the individual and the collective in times of global uncertainty. There are no solid outcomes defined; nevertheless, the narrative points to a certain—more fluid—way out. Through introducing alternative ways of hermeneutics and meaning-making, the book offers a synthesis of postmodern philosophy and therapy, evolutionary astrology as a symbolic language, embodied inquiry, and Buddhist thought that together represent a critical attempt to challenge the pathologizing discursive practices of modern disciplines during the neoliberal capitalist era.

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