Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo and Songs of Protest in Colonial and Post-Independence Zimbabwe

This bibliography covers scholarship on selected protest songs of the musician Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo (b. 1945) that were written in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe. In keeping with the Marxist cultural theoretical orientation that is evident in research on this subject, the organization of these entries traces the sociopolitical engagement of Mapfumo’s songs that reflect praise and dissent during the Second and Third Chimurenga wars of political liberation, respectively. Discourse on Zimbabwe’s economic challenges has positive and negative interpretations. Mamdani 2005 and Bond and Manyanya 2002 (both cited under General Overview) state that the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) inherited an economy that had already suffered due to pre-independence policies. Dossa 2007 (under General Overview) argues that development is meant to perpetuate Western dominance. Manjengwa 2007 (under General Overview) blames the ruling party’s top-down approach in implementing development programs. The first section of the bibliography analyzes the songs “Pfumvu paruzevha,” “Kuyaura,” “Chiruzevha chapera,” and “Tumira vana kuhondo,” which Mukanya composed to express the experiences of Zimbabweans during colonialism. Zimbabweans’ way of life was disrupted and Mukanya mirrored this cultural upset through protest songs. The songs resonated well with the ideology of the ZANU-PF. Soon after independence, Mapfumo sang celebration songs (“Zimbabwe” and “Rakarira jongwe”). The second section examines protest songs penned after independence (“Varombo kuvarombo,” “Ndiani waparadza musha,” “Musatambe nenyika,” “Disaster,” “Corruption,” “Mamvemve,” “Maiti kurima hamubvire,” “Chauya chauya,” and “Ndangariro”). The scenario deteriorated due to alleged misgovernance by the ruling ZANU-PF elite, a situation that attracted Mukanya’s criticism. The bibliography traces how the transition of ZANU-PF from heroes to villains is portrayed through Mukanya’s music. During the armed struggle, Mapfumo sided with the liberation war movement. This changed after independence, and Mapfumo allegorically poses questions pointing at the empty promises ZANU-PF leaders made to uplift Zimbabweans’ standard of living. Mukanya sang about the contested land redistribution in Zimbabwe. Consequently, Mapfumo was stalked by state repressive agents until he fled to live in exile in the United States in 2000. He yearned for Ubuntu philosophy, nationalism, and unity. People may differ ideologically, but they ought to accept one another as a nation. This fosters positive peace, which Zimbabweans have yearned for over four decades. Mapfumo wants people to be economically empowered. He has been incarcerated before and he is fearless. Chimurenga music is a voice for the downtrodden masses. Mukanya’s songs that have explicit political messages were banned from airplay by the government. Mapfumo has remained united with the people he is fighting for despite living in exile. Mapfumo uses music to complain about the people’s suffering. He bears memories about Zimbabwe that remain engrained in Chimurenga music in the backdrop of ZANU-PF hegemony. He has called for free and fair elections because Zimbabweans have a right to choose leaders, but election results have been contested since 2000.

Victor Reva creative activity in the context of the development of the musical culture of South-Eastern Ukraine of the end of the XX – the beginning of the XXI centuries

The purpose of the article is to analyze the creative activity of a member of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine, choral conductor, teacher Viktor Yakovlevich Reva. The methodology consists of the application of genre-style, structural-semantic, analytical and biographical methods for the analysis of the artist’s creative activity. Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian art history, the compositional, scientific-pedagogical, and performing acts of V. Reva in the context of the development of musical culture of South-Eastern Ukraine of the end of the XX - the beginning of the XXI century is analyzed. Conclusions. At the turn of the XX - XXI centuries. V. Reva’s creative activity enriched the musical culture of South-Eastern Ukraine. The composer’s works are included in the repertoire of creative groups and performers from Kyiv, Odessa, Mykolayiv, Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions, they are used not only as a concert, but also as educational material. The influence of both classical musical heritage and modern stylistic trends can be traced in V. Reva’s compositional work. The artist’s compositional work is genre-diverse, but the spread of his work and enrichment of knowledge about it is mainly due to the appeal to choral and vocal genres, which are a priority. Keywords: Victor Reva, composer, creative activity, musical culture of South-Eastern Ukraine

“George Orwell Invented Journalism Studies”

To inaugurate our series of conversations with scholars in journalism studies with a view to securing some useful insights into the history and practice of journalism education, Prof. Richard Lance Keeble appeared an obvious choice. Now an Honorary Professor at Liverpool Hope University, Prof. Keeble was first director of the International Journalism MA, then director of the Journalism and Social Science BA, at City University, London (1984-2003). He was then appointed Professor of Journalism (2003-present) at Lincoln University where he also became acting head of the Lincoln School of Journalism (2010-2013) and later a Visiting Professor at Liverpool Hope University (2015-2019). Prof. Keeble has been the recipient of prestigious and distinguished prizes, namely the National Teaching Fellowship Award (2011) and the Lifetime Achievement Award for services to journalism education (2014), the latter bestowed by the Association for Journalism Education in the UK. Parallel to his academic career, Prof. Keeble has always been a practising journalist. On completion of his studies in Modern History at Keble College, Oxford University (1967-70), he started a career in journalism, first as sub editor at the Nottingham Guardian Journal/Evening Post (1970-73) and then at the Cambridge Evening News (1973-77). He was deputy editor, then editor, of The Teacher, the weekly newspaper of the National Union of Teachers (1977-84). His dual pedigree in journalism, as a practitioner and a professor, led him to take on many editorial responsibilities. He is emeritus editor of Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication and Ethics and joint editor of George Orwell Studies and is also on the board of an impressive number of journals, among which are Journalism Studies, Digital Journalism, Journalism Education, International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, Media Ethics, Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, to name just a few. Prof. Keeble was also Chair of the Orwell Society1 (2013-2020) and has authored or edited no less than 44 books. They include Ethics for Journalists and The Newspapers Handbook,2 respectively on their second and fifth editions, as well as several volumes on George Orwell, investigative journalism, and the British media. It was an honour and privilege to talk to Prof. Keeble in a phone interview on March 25, 2021. The conversation was transcribed while some passages were edited for clarity. I hereby express my immense gratitude for his time, generosity, expertise, and humour. It is such a thrill to start our series of interviews in a way that only makes us want more such conversations.

Historia e historias en la novela Inés y la alegría. Episodios de una guerra interminable, por Almudena Grandes

History and Stories in the Novel Inés y la alegría. Episodios de una guerra interminable by Almudena Grande. In the past decades, a certain careless neglect seems to have gradually blurred twentieth-century historical events that are still relevant because they have not been completely clarified; they particularly concern dramatic nation-wide events which some of the long-lived Spaniards witnessed. The phenomenon is natural in a society that is advancing by huge strides towards the future, just as it is natural to have people who want to keep alive the memory of those men and women who, during the Civil War and then during the Franco dictatorship, endured the impact of such terrible convulsions. Literature, despite its availability for invention and its inherent subjectivity, is a wonderful way to save this fading image of the past. My paper aims to study the recovery work done by Almudena Grandes, who in her novel Inés or the Joy. Episodes of an Interminable War, presents an episode known as the invasion of the Aran Valley, when 4,000 guerrillas organized by the Spanish Communist Party (P.C.E.) and the Spanish National Union (U.N.E.), crossed the Pyrenees Mountains from France in October 1944. Here, the writer brings to life an abundant documentary material drawn out from archives, libraries and oral testimonies, and manages to enrich History - with capital 'H' - with small personal histories, some invented, others true; historic reality intertwines with the sinuous threads created by her fantasy in order to weave a very agitated and vivid canvas in vibrant colors. Keywords: Spanish novel, Almudena Grandes, the invasion of the Aran Valley, twentieth-century history

Politicising ‘Covid-19’: An analysis of selected ZANU-PF officials’ 2020-2021 media statements on the pandemic in Zimbabwe

This paper examines the politicisation of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe through discourse analysis of selected media statements released by Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) officials on the Covid-19 pandemic between March 2020 and February 2021. Theoretically, the paper employs Foucault’s theory of biopower to interpret the state-citizen power relations that surfaced in the Zimbabwean government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It argues that the ZANU-PF-led government used Covid-19 as an excuse to pursue its political interests. This is politics that protected ZANU-PF’s social, political and economic interests by using Covid-19 as an excuse to pulverise various forms of opposition. The argument advanced herein is that while the implementation of the lockdown in Zimbabwe was necessary to save lives, one of its consequences was the protection of self-interests through selective application of lockdown regulations and the passing of laws to silence critics. This resulted in the prohibition of political gatherings, arbitrary arrests, labelling and name-calling of the opposition and the West by ZANU-PF officials who were safeguarding their party’s waning support resulting from their mismanagement of the pandemic.

Octobrists and nationalists in the III and IV State Duma

The State Duma of the third and fourth convocations were represented by a wide range of factions, among which were intermediate groups, namely nationalists and Octobrists, conservative-liberal and liberal-conservative, respectively. In historical science, it is generally accepted that the only allies of the Octobrists (in the full sense of the word) were the All-Russian National Union. The purpose of the article is to determine the specifics of the relationship between Octobrists and nationalists in the III State Duma and in the Duma of the fourth convocation. The study is based on an array of sources on the work of both state dooms, as well as on articles and monographs on this issue. Based on the analysis of these sources and special literature, the main areas of activity of the two factions, the places of their rapprochement, the reasons for the separation of nationalists from the right-wing forces were identified. The work of the III State Duma is connected with the fact that not a liberal majority was formed, but the right, but at the heart of it was not the extreme right, but the October-nationalist bloc, but its stability was very controversial. The novelty of the study is a systematic and multilateral study of all the specifics of relations between the Union of October 17 and the All-Russian National Union, which may call into question the full solidarity of these factions on all issues from the III State Duma to 1917.

Return of the Prodigal Son? Transformations in Zimbabwe’s Relations with China Since 1963

The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) introduced Zimbabwe into the realm of China during the liberation struggle as it sourced military support. In line with the Chinese dominance in ZANU, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) guerrilla warfare followed the Maoist doctrine. However, at independence, Zimbabwe joined the British Commonwealth and became a part of the western orbit. Although the country continued to have some form of political and economic linkages with China, the relations were cosmetic. It was at the fall of the cordial relations with the West at the end of the 1990s that Zimbabwe refocused on China. Zimbabwe hinged its survival on Chinese support as it turned full circle to the East. This paper analyses the long historical relations between Zimbabwe and China. It argues that political transformations returned back Zimbabwe to China’s hegemony. The paper is based on qualitative research methods and information was gathered primarily through the use of archival data.

Determining the True Reason for an Alleged Section 187(1)(c) Dismissal: A Discussion of National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa v Aveng Trident Steel (a Division of Aveng Africa (Pty) Ltd) (2021) 42 ILJ 67 (CC)

On 27 October 2020, the Constitutional Court handed down judgment in National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa v Aveng Trident Steel (A Division of Aveng Africa (Pty) Ltd) 2021 42 ILJ 67 (CC). Following the judgment, it is now commonplace that the amendment to section 187(1)(c) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 does not preclude an employer from dismissing employees for a permissible reason, such as its operational requirements, should they refuse to accept a demand. The court confirmed that in cases such as this where they are faced with two opposing reasons for the dismissal, an impermissible reason on the one hand and a permissible reason on the other, an enquiry must be conducted into what the true reason for the dismissal is. However, the approach to be followed in conducting this enquiry caused dissent. Half of the judges were of the view that the correct approach is to follow the causation test set out in SA Chemical Workers Union v Afrox Ltd 1999 20 ILJ 1718 (LAC), while the other half disavowed reliance on the causation test. Instead, they opted to support the enquiry conducted in Chemical Workers Industrial Union v Algorax (Pty) Ltd 2003 24 ILJ 1917 (LAC). This case note seeks to establish which approach should be followed in determining the true reason for an alleged section 187(1)(c) automatically unfair dismissal.

‘I am not particularly despondent yet’: The Political Tone of Jill Craigie's Equal Pay Film To Be a Woman

To Be a Woman is a short campaigning film made in 1950–1 by documentary film-maker Jill Craigie. This article offers an account of the film which aims to recover the affective life of both the film text and the archival correspondence between Craigie and the General Secretary of the National Union of Women Teachers, which refers to its production history. The article analyses the ‘feeling tones’ of the letters that describe both Craigie's attempts to get the film made and her difficulties in distributing it. It is argued that paying attention to these affective aspects of the archive and the film together enables a recalibration of (in a variant of Raymond Williams's formulation) the structure of feminist feeling in both the film and, to an extent, the wider public realm in the immediate post-war period. Paying attention to the film's affective dynamics in this way is also revealing, it is suggested, of its class and race positionality, enabling a more nuanced critical account of its politics.

Nationalism and Politics in Zimbabwe

This chapter focuses on nationalism in past and present Zimbabwean politics. It first traces the history and nature of anti-colonial nationalism in Zimbabwe, after which it sets out continuities and discontinuities of anti-colonial nationalism in independent Zimbabwe. The chapter is principally interested in the post-2000 years, which witnessed the rise of a particular and influential authoritarian nationalism and its temporary decline in the period November 2017 to August 2018. The chapter maintains that after 2000, the governing Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) party propagated an exceedingly parochial and divisive authoritarian nationalism, predicated on loyalty to the ruling party. This authoritarian nationalism was prompted by the entrance of a credible opposition challenger to ZANU–PF in elections and was undergirded by a discriminatory rendition of Zimbabwe’s independence struggle history. ZANU–PF’s authoritarian nationalism was hardly brand new, since it had long roots in Zimbabwe’s anti-colonial nationalism, but its vigour and methodical promulgation by ZANU–PF constituted substantial discrepancies with past variations. Finally, the chapter argues that the removal of long-time ZANU–PF leader Robert Mugabe in a military coup in 2017 resulted in only a brief hiatus in ZANU–PF’s authoritarian nationalism, underscoring the deeply embedded nature of the ruling party’s authoritarian nationalist politics.