scholarly journals Scriptural reasoning: An expression of what it means to be a Faculty of Theology and Religion

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco Beyers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Public University ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Name Change ◽  
University Of Pretoria ◽  
African Context ◽  
Scriptural Reasoning ◽  
The University

During 2017, the year of its centenary celebration, the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria finalised the process to change its name to the Faculty of Theology and Religion. This indicates an inclusivity and accommodative policy for all to study at the faculty. However, what does it mean to become a faculty of theology and religion at a public university in 21st century South Africa? The consequences and implications have not been thought through completely. This article does not pretend to identify all consequences of a name change but wants to contribute to the conversation by suggesting that the concept of scriptural reasoning might be one practice to be implemented as a consequence. Scriptural reasoning at a faculty of Theology and Religion, which is part of a public university in the South African context, attests to the way in which the faculty perceives its own identity. The relation between theology, religion and a public university is discussed, indicating the possibilities of implementing scriptural reasoning.

scholarly journals Mentorship: A process of nurturing others

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maake Masango
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
South African ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Healthy Working ◽  
University Of Pretoria ◽  
The World ◽  
African Context ◽  
The University

This article is dedicated to Prof. Dr Andries van Aarde who has mentored a large number of students during his time as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria. It is written at the time when workers in South Africa are striking. Industrial psychologists are involved in mediation and aim to develop a culture of understanding between workers and management. The article analyses some causes of tension between managers and workers in the South African context and indicates how mentorship may help to foster growth amongst workers and managers. A case study explores the issue of cultural differences which often lead to misunderstandings, especially when managers do not understand the world in which workers live. The aim of the article is to contribute to existing insights that may help to create a healthy working relationship between managers and workers which will benefit both.

scholarly journals Decolonisation and renewed racism: A challenge and opportunity for reconciliation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoffel H. Thesnaar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
African Context ◽  
The University ◽  
Peace And Reconciliation

The university campuses across South Africa have recently been challenged by significantstudent protests concerning issues such as the abolishment of study fees, aspects ofdecolonisation and language policies, to name but a few. This contribution will briefly reflecton these challenges by engaging with the narrative of decolonisation. An area of particularfocus is whether reconciliation is still relevant within the current South African context, giventhe nature of the issues driving the university protests. This contribution will attempt toprovide some recommendation for public theologians to engage with these challenges in aresponsible way in their endeavour to be advocates for sustainable peace and reconciliation.

scholarly journals The Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Christopher Stroud
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
African Context ◽  
A Priority ◽  
The University ◽  
Multiple Languages ◽  
The Way

There is an urgency in theorising howdiversity is negotiated, communicated,and disputed as a matter of everydayordinariness that is compounded by theclear linkages between diversity, transformation,voice, agency, poverty andhealth. The way in which difference iscategorised, semiotised and reconfiguredin multiple languages across quotidianencounters and in public and media forumsis a central dynamic in how povertyand disadvantage are distributed and reproducedacross social and racial categorisations.In the South African context,finding ways of productively harnessingdiversity in the building of a better societymust be a priority.

scholarly journals The Missional congregation in the South African context

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Attie Van Niekerk
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Local Community ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
Local Congregation ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
University Of Pretoria ◽  
African Context ◽  
Global Church ◽  
The University

The term missional has come into use over the last years in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa and the Department of Science of Religion and Missiology of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria. This term refers to the role of the local congregation in the local community or communities and is used with, or in the place of, the term missionary, which traditionally referred to the sending out of a missionary to some or other place. The use of the term missional includes specific views on the goal of mission, what mission is and how it should be done. In this article it is argued that this approach can be seen as a new wave of mission within the South African context, and that it is related to developments in many parts of the global church.

scholarly journals Pro Pent: A project for the study of the Pentateuch in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurie Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
International Study ◽  
Study Group ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
International Study Group ◽  
University Of Pretoria ◽  
African Context ◽  
The University

This article focused on Pro Pent (or the Project for the Study of the Pentateuch) which was established in August 2000 after professor Eckart Otto from the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) of Munich visited the University of Pretoria (UP). Pro Pent is a joint project of UP and the LMU and since 2001 annual seminars drive the initiative. These seminars are held in Pretoria and sometimes in Munich. Pro Pent is now an established international study group on the Pentateuch. In order to understand Pro Pent in the South African context, the article briefly discussed the work of previous South African Pentateuch scholars like John William Colenso, Johannes du Plessis and Ferdinand Deist. Their contributions were firstly assessed before Pro Pent’s contribution to the study of the Pentateuch was discussed and its relevancy for the South African context assessed, and highlight Pro Pent’s intention to be relevant.

‘Limping, Yet Made to Climb a Mountain!’ Re-Reading the Vashti Character in the Hiv And Aids South African Context

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’A Mphahlele)
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
External Factor ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
African Women ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
African Context

The history of the Christian Bible’s reception in South Africa was part of a package that included among others, the importation of European patriarchy, land grabbing and its impoverishment of Africans and challenged masculinities of African men. The preceding factors, together with the history of the marginalization of African women in bible and theology, and how the Bible was and continues to be used in our HIV and AIDS contexts, have only made the proverbial limping animal to climb a mountain. Wa re o e bona a e hlotša, wa e nametša thaba (while limping, you still let it climb a mountain) simply means that a certain situation is being aggravated (by an external factor). In this chapter the preceding Northern Sotho proverb is used as a hermeneutical lens to present an HIV and AIDS gender sensitive re-reading of the Vashti character in the Hebrew Bible within the South African context.

Reimagining Intersectionality and Social Exclusion in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khosi Kubeka ◽  
Sharmla Rama
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Social Division ◽  
Common Reference ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
African Context

Combining the theories of intersectionality and social exclusion holds the potential for structural and nuanced interpretations of the workings of power, taking systemic issues seriously but interpreting them though social relations that appear in local contexts. An intersectional analysis of social exclusion demonstrates to what extent multiple axes of social division—be they race, age, gender, class, disability or citizenship—intersect to result in unequal and disparate experiences for groups of youth spatially located in particular communities and neighborhoods. A common reference point is therefore power and how it manifests at the intersection of the local and global. A South African case study is used to explore the subjective measures and qualitative experiences of intersectionality and social exclusion further. The unique ways that language intersects with space, neighborhood, and race in the South African context, enables opportunities in education and the labor market, with profound implications for forms of social exclusion.

scholarly journals Exploring the factors that influence the career decision of STEM students at a university in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethel Ndidiamaka Abe ◽  
Vitallis Chikoko
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Career Decisions ◽  
Career Decision ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Career Decision Making ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
African Context

Abstract Background Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educators and stakeholders in South Africa are interested in the ways STEM students make their career decisions because of the shortages in these critical skills. Although various factors including family, teachers, peers, and career interest have been reported as determinants of career decision-making, there is a scarcity of studies that have qualitatively explored the levels of influences of any of these factors in the South African context. The main aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence career decision-making among STEM student majors in a South African university. By better understanding students’ viewpoint on these factors, educators and policymakers can assist students in making career decisions that fit their experiences, personality, and expectations. Students in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of study respectively, were invited to respond to a semi-structured questionnaire about the factors that were influential in their decision to pursue a career in STEM. A total of 203 texts (response rate: 63%) were qualitatively analyzed utilising a hermeneutic phenomenology approach to traditional content analysis, whereby themes develop inductively from the data. Results We used a hermeneutic phenomenological method to traditional content analysis to examine the factors influencing participants’ career decision-making. Peer interrogation, modified member verification, compact description, code-recode tactics, and assessment trails were engaged to confirm quality and rigour. Three key results emerged, namely interpersonal, intrapersonal, and career outcomes expectancy. The perceptions of STEM students of their career decision-making in the South African context are more multifaceted than reported previously. The insights could inform policies to counter skills shortages in the STEM area. Conclusions In this exploratory study, we gave attention to describing the various ranges of students’ perceptions and experiences regarding their career decision-making. Several students reported, among other factors, that their families, personality, and expectations played influential roles in their career decision-making. Here, we discuss the meaning of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and outcome expectations with respect to career decision-making from the perspective of STEM students in a South African university.

scholarly journals Allan Boesak, Black Theology and Apartheid: A theological-historical approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Fortein
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
South African ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Black Theology ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
African Context ◽  
American Black

In this article I will give specific attention to the reciprocal relationship between Black Theology and Allan Boesak based on his lived experience of apartheid from a theological-historical perspective. It is my presupposition that Boesak’s experience of apartheid made him prone to the influence of Black Theology and that he in turn adapted American Black Theology so that it could be made applicable to the South African context. Black Theology unlocked an entire new theological paradigm for Boesak which enabled him to speak prophetically to the challenges and injustices that occurred under apartheid in South Africa. Attention will be given to the emergence of Black Theology in South Africa, how Boesak was challenged by it and how Black Theology, through Boesak, impacted the theological landscape.

scholarly journals Differentiated outlook to portray secondary cities in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-477
Author(s):  
Andre DW Brand ◽  
◽  
Johannes E Drewes ◽  
Maléne Campbell ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Regional Networks ◽  
Extended Phase ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Common

<abstract> <p>Cities are playing an increasingly important role in the development and growth of countries. A country's growth and prosperity is largely dependent on the efficient functioning of its cities. The reliance of countries on the ability of their cities to perform crucial central functions, for national growth, continues to rise. South Africa has a long-standing network of cities, towns and localities. These have developed and become hierarchised over the course of history during which population settlements and their distribution have been influenced by colonisation, segregation, industrialisation and globalisation. Since 1911, South Africa has undergone an extended phase of intense urban growth, with areas such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and eThekwini (Durban) agglomerating into dominating economic spaces. There are, however, no universally accepted, distinct criteria that constitute the general characteristics of secondary cities. The common assumption is that secondary cities are those cities that find themselves below the apex of what are considered primary cities. Furthermore, internationally, secondary cities appear to be considered as important catalysts for balanced and dispersed economic growth. In the South African context, the notion of what constitutes secondary cities is to a large extent underdeveloped. The aim of the paper is to appraise interconnected regional networks as a differentiated and novel outlook when determining secondary cities in South Africa. What is evident from the paper is that there are different potential alternatives with which to portray secondary cities.</p> </abstract>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document