"Why Persephone?" investigating the unique position of Persephone as a dying god(dess) offering hope for the afterlife
- Authors: Goodwin, Grant
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Mythology, Greek , Gods, Greek , Future life , Greece -- Religious life and customs , Persephone -- (Greek deity)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017896
- Description: Persephone’s myth is unique, as it was the central narrative of one of the most prominent ancient mystery religions, and remains one of the few (certainly the most prominent) ancient Greek myths to focus on the relationship of a mother and her daughter. This unique focus must have offered her worshippers something important that they perhaps could not find elsewhere, especially as a complex and elaborate cult grew around it, transforming the divine allegory of the changing seasons or the storage of the grain beneath the earth, into a narrative offering hope for a better place in the afterlife. To understand the appeal of this myth, two aspects of her worship and mythic significance require study: the expectations of her worshippers for their own lives, to which the goddess may have been seen as a forerunner; and the mythic frameworks operating which would characterise the goddess for her worshippers. The myth, as described in The Hymn to Demeter, is initially interpreted for its literary meaning, and then set within its cultural milieu to uncover what meaning it may have had for Persephone’s worshippers, particularly in terms of marriage and death, which form the initial motivating action of the myth. From this socio-anthropological study we turn to the mythic patterns and motifs the story offers, particularly the figure of the goddess of the Underworld (primarily in the influential Mesopotamian literature), and the Dying-Rising God figure (similarly derived from the Near East). These figures, when compared to the Greek goddess, may both reveal her unique appeal, and highlight the common attractions that lie in the figures generally. By this two-part investigation, on the particular culture’s expectations and the general mythic framework she exists in, Persephone’s meaning in her native land may be uncovered and understood.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Goodwin, Grant
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Mythology, Greek , Gods, Greek , Future life , Greece -- Religious life and customs , Persephone -- (Greek deity)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017896
- Description: Persephone’s myth is unique, as it was the central narrative of one of the most prominent ancient mystery religions, and remains one of the few (certainly the most prominent) ancient Greek myths to focus on the relationship of a mother and her daughter. This unique focus must have offered her worshippers something important that they perhaps could not find elsewhere, especially as a complex and elaborate cult grew around it, transforming the divine allegory of the changing seasons or the storage of the grain beneath the earth, into a narrative offering hope for a better place in the afterlife. To understand the appeal of this myth, two aspects of her worship and mythic significance require study: the expectations of her worshippers for their own lives, to which the goddess may have been seen as a forerunner; and the mythic frameworks operating which would characterise the goddess for her worshippers. The myth, as described in The Hymn to Demeter, is initially interpreted for its literary meaning, and then set within its cultural milieu to uncover what meaning it may have had for Persephone’s worshippers, particularly in terms of marriage and death, which form the initial motivating action of the myth. From this socio-anthropological study we turn to the mythic patterns and motifs the story offers, particularly the figure of the goddess of the Underworld (primarily in the influential Mesopotamian literature), and the Dying-Rising God figure (similarly derived from the Near East). These figures, when compared to the Greek goddess, may both reveal her unique appeal, and highlight the common attractions that lie in the figures generally. By this two-part investigation, on the particular culture’s expectations and the general mythic framework she exists in, Persephone’s meaning in her native land may be uncovered and understood.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A century of IsiXhosa written poetry and the ideological contest in South Africa
- Authors: Mona, Godfrey Vulindlela
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Xhosa poetry -- History and criticism , Protest poetry, Xhosa , Ideology and literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3651 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017892
- Description: The central argument of this inter-disciplinary study is that IsiXhosa written poetry of 1912 – 2012 is a terrain of the struggle between the contending dominant ideologies of Segregation, Apartheid and Charterism (post-Apartheid); and the subordinate/ subaltern ideologies of Africanism, Charterism (pre-democracy), Pan- Africanism, Black Consciousness Movement and other post Apartheid ideologies. The study highlights the mutual relationship between the text and the context by focussing on the ideological contest which manifests itself in both form and structure (i.e. aesthetic ideology) and the content (i.e. authorial ideology) of the poetry of different epochs between 1912 and 2012. The study is located within the framework of Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural construction. Gramsci postulates that ideology and culture play a significant role in the process of asserting hegemony. Important concepts that constitute Gramsci’s theory of praxis are: ideology, culture, hegemony, organic intellectuals and both ideological and repressive state apparatuses. The first chapter presents the problem, the objectives, the methodology, and the scope of the study. The second chapter presents Gramsci’s theory of cultural construction and the work of scholars who developed his theory further. The tool that is employed for analysis and interpretation of textual significations of IsiXhosa written poetry is the revolutionary aesthetics, which is proposed by Udenta. The third chapter analyses and interprets literature of the epoch of 1912-1934 and exposes the contest between Segregation and Africanism ideologies. The fourth chapter contextualises and analyses the literature of 1934 – 1948, the second phase of contestation between Segregation and Africanism. The fifth chapter deals with literature of the first and second halves of the Apartheid epoch (1948 - 1973). The Apartheid ideology contested with the Africanist ideology which transformed into the Charterism ideology in 1955. In 1960 Pan-Africanism ideology and in 1969 Black Consciousness Movement ideologies entered the contest. The sixth chapter examines literature of the period 1973 – 1994 which is the second phase of the Apartheid epoch that ends with the “glasnost” period of 1990 - 1994. The seventh chapter studies literature of the democracy period of 1994 – 2012. The eighth chapter is the summary and general conclusion. The illumination of the nexus between culture and ideology during the past century (1912 - 2012) will provide insights that will assist us in addressing the challenges we face during the democracy period, and in the development on Arts and Culture in general, and literature in particular
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mona, Godfrey Vulindlela
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Xhosa poetry -- History and criticism , Protest poetry, Xhosa , Ideology and literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3651 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017892
- Description: The central argument of this inter-disciplinary study is that IsiXhosa written poetry of 1912 – 2012 is a terrain of the struggle between the contending dominant ideologies of Segregation, Apartheid and Charterism (post-Apartheid); and the subordinate/ subaltern ideologies of Africanism, Charterism (pre-democracy), Pan- Africanism, Black Consciousness Movement and other post Apartheid ideologies. The study highlights the mutual relationship between the text and the context by focussing on the ideological contest which manifests itself in both form and structure (i.e. aesthetic ideology) and the content (i.e. authorial ideology) of the poetry of different epochs between 1912 and 2012. The study is located within the framework of Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural construction. Gramsci postulates that ideology and culture play a significant role in the process of asserting hegemony. Important concepts that constitute Gramsci’s theory of praxis are: ideology, culture, hegemony, organic intellectuals and both ideological and repressive state apparatuses. The first chapter presents the problem, the objectives, the methodology, and the scope of the study. The second chapter presents Gramsci’s theory of cultural construction and the work of scholars who developed his theory further. The tool that is employed for analysis and interpretation of textual significations of IsiXhosa written poetry is the revolutionary aesthetics, which is proposed by Udenta. The third chapter analyses and interprets literature of the epoch of 1912-1934 and exposes the contest between Segregation and Africanism ideologies. The fourth chapter contextualises and analyses the literature of 1934 – 1948, the second phase of contestation between Segregation and Africanism. The fifth chapter deals with literature of the first and second halves of the Apartheid epoch (1948 - 1973). The Apartheid ideology contested with the Africanist ideology which transformed into the Charterism ideology in 1955. In 1960 Pan-Africanism ideology and in 1969 Black Consciousness Movement ideologies entered the contest. The sixth chapter examines literature of the period 1973 – 1994 which is the second phase of the Apartheid epoch that ends with the “glasnost” period of 1990 - 1994. The seventh chapter studies literature of the democracy period of 1994 – 2012. The eighth chapter is the summary and general conclusion. The illumination of the nexus between culture and ideology during the past century (1912 - 2012) will provide insights that will assist us in addressing the challenges we face during the democracy period, and in the development on Arts and Culture in general, and literature in particular
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Bilingual teaching practices in South African higher education : making a case for terminology planning
- Authors: Mawonga, Sisonke
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- South Africa , Native language and education , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3653 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017894
- Description: When the apartheid government was in power universities in South Africa were segregated according to a race and language. After apartheid, the democratic government came into power and its vision was abolition of segregation. There was also equal and equity of access to public institutions which were set aside for certain people to have access to. Access to universities was equalized and students with different racial, social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds were allowed access to universities which they used not to have access to before. The students‟ access to all universities led to diversity within these institutions. Even though this was the case, there were no changes in the system prevalent during apartheid. English, for example, continued to be the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) while the numbers of students who speak languages other than English (LOTE) as home languages was also increasing. The Constitution of South Africa (Section 6, Act 108 of 1996) acknowledges the previous marginalization of indigenous languages in the country and encourages the development and use of these languages as official languages. The right of access to educational institutions, and accessing education in one‟s language, if that language is one of the official languages, is also encouraged by the Constitution. There are other supporting legislative documents such as the Languages Bill (2011), the Higher Education Act (1997) and the national Language Policy for Higher Education (LPHE) (2002) that support multilingualism, the equal promotion of the official languages as well as use of multiple languages in higher education institutions (HEIs) to support learning. The above mentioned policies and legislations may exist to ensure equality and equity, and even though HEIs have become heterogonous, that does not guarantee that the students enrolled in these institutions have equal access to knowledge offered by the HEIs in SA. This research uses the theories of languages and conceptualization; language and learning as well as language planning to show that the students‟ first languages in learning can assist to facilitate cognition. Terminology development, as part of corpus planning which is the body of language planning is introduced in this study in the form of bilingual glossaries as an intervention especially for students‟ whose mother tongue is not English as language used for learning at university for different disciplines tend to be abstract. The data for this research was collected from the 2014 first year students registered in the Extended Studies Unit (ESU) in the Humanities Faculty at Rhodes University. Research methods such as questionnaires, participant observations, interviews as well as content analysis were used to collect the data. These methods were used to look at the students‟ use and perceptions of bilingual glossaries as additional resource materials which can assist them in learning. A Political Philosophy I module offered by the Political Science department was used for this research. This thesis presents a model which can be used for the development of bilingual glossaries in order to facilitate learning. The thesis recommends the use of corpus extraction tools such as WordSmith Tools (WST) that can be used to generate and extract terms and illustrates the use of this tool by extracting terms from an English Political Philosophy textbook. These terms are defined and these are then translated into isiXhosa to provide a sample of the bilingual glossary. This glossary has been designed to illustrate how the bi/multilingual glossaries with terms and definitions can be developed in order for use by students to facilitate learning them. The study also presents a terminology list which consists of Political Philosophy terms that have been generated during the corpus extraction process. It is recommended that further research looks into the development of bi/multilingual glossaries using the suggested model so that the students who are speakers of LOTE can also be able to understand abstract terms which are used at university
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mawonga, Sisonke
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- South Africa , Native language and education , Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3653 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017894
- Description: When the apartheid government was in power universities in South Africa were segregated according to a race and language. After apartheid, the democratic government came into power and its vision was abolition of segregation. There was also equal and equity of access to public institutions which were set aside for certain people to have access to. Access to universities was equalized and students with different racial, social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds were allowed access to universities which they used not to have access to before. The students‟ access to all universities led to diversity within these institutions. Even though this was the case, there were no changes in the system prevalent during apartheid. English, for example, continued to be the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) while the numbers of students who speak languages other than English (LOTE) as home languages was also increasing. The Constitution of South Africa (Section 6, Act 108 of 1996) acknowledges the previous marginalization of indigenous languages in the country and encourages the development and use of these languages as official languages. The right of access to educational institutions, and accessing education in one‟s language, if that language is one of the official languages, is also encouraged by the Constitution. There are other supporting legislative documents such as the Languages Bill (2011), the Higher Education Act (1997) and the national Language Policy for Higher Education (LPHE) (2002) that support multilingualism, the equal promotion of the official languages as well as use of multiple languages in higher education institutions (HEIs) to support learning. The above mentioned policies and legislations may exist to ensure equality and equity, and even though HEIs have become heterogonous, that does not guarantee that the students enrolled in these institutions have equal access to knowledge offered by the HEIs in SA. This research uses the theories of languages and conceptualization; language and learning as well as language planning to show that the students‟ first languages in learning can assist to facilitate cognition. Terminology development, as part of corpus planning which is the body of language planning is introduced in this study in the form of bilingual glossaries as an intervention especially for students‟ whose mother tongue is not English as language used for learning at university for different disciplines tend to be abstract. The data for this research was collected from the 2014 first year students registered in the Extended Studies Unit (ESU) in the Humanities Faculty at Rhodes University. Research methods such as questionnaires, participant observations, interviews as well as content analysis were used to collect the data. These methods were used to look at the students‟ use and perceptions of bilingual glossaries as additional resource materials which can assist them in learning. A Political Philosophy I module offered by the Political Science department was used for this research. This thesis presents a model which can be used for the development of bilingual glossaries in order to facilitate learning. The thesis recommends the use of corpus extraction tools such as WordSmith Tools (WST) that can be used to generate and extract terms and illustrates the use of this tool by extracting terms from an English Political Philosophy textbook. These terms are defined and these are then translated into isiXhosa to provide a sample of the bilingual glossary. This glossary has been designed to illustrate how the bi/multilingual glossaries with terms and definitions can be developed in order for use by students to facilitate learning them. The study also presents a terminology list which consists of Political Philosophy terms that have been generated during the corpus extraction process. It is recommended that further research looks into the development of bi/multilingual glossaries using the suggested model so that the students who are speakers of LOTE can also be able to understand abstract terms which are used at university
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Britain after the Romans : an interdisciplinary approach to the possibilities of an Adventus Saxonum
- Lloyd-Jones, Glyn Francis Michael
- Authors: Lloyd-Jones, Glyn Francis Michael
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Great Britain -- History -- Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066 , Civilization, Anglo-Saxon , English philology -- Old English, ca. 450-1100 , English literature -- Old English, ca. 450-1100 , Anglo-Saxon race , Genetic genealogy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3657 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019806
- Description: In the fifth century, after the departure of the Romans, according to tradition, which is based on the ancient written sources, Britain was invaded by the Angles and Saxons. This view has been questioned in the last century. The size of the ‘invasion’, and indeed its very existence, have come into doubt. However, this doubting school of thought does not seem to take into account all of the evidence. An interdisciplinary, nuanced approach has been taken in this thesis. Firstly, the question of Germanic raiding has been examined, with reference to the Saxon Shore defences. It is argued that these defences, in their geographical context, point to the likelihood of raiding. Then the written sources have been re-examined, as well as physical artefacts. In addition to geography, literature and archaeology (the disciplines which are most commonly used when the coming of the Angles and Saxons is investigated), linguistic and genetic data have been examined. The fields of linguistics and genetics, which have not often both been taken into consideration with previous approaches, add a number of valuable insights. This nuanced approach yields a picture of events that rules out the ‘traditional view’ in some ways, such as the idea that the Saxons exterminated the Britons altogether, but corroborates it in other ways. There was an invasion of a kind (of Angles – not Saxons), who came in comparatively small numbers, but found in Britain a society already mixed and comprising Celtic and Germanic-speaking peoples: a society implied by Caesar and Tacitus and corroborated by linguistic and genetic data.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Britain after the Romans : an interdisciplinary approach to the possibilities of an Adventus Saxonum
- Authors: Lloyd-Jones, Glyn Francis Michael
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Great Britain -- History -- Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066 , Civilization, Anglo-Saxon , English philology -- Old English, ca. 450-1100 , English literature -- Old English, ca. 450-1100 , Anglo-Saxon race , Genetic genealogy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3657 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019806
- Description: In the fifth century, after the departure of the Romans, according to tradition, which is based on the ancient written sources, Britain was invaded by the Angles and Saxons. This view has been questioned in the last century. The size of the ‘invasion’, and indeed its very existence, have come into doubt. However, this doubting school of thought does not seem to take into account all of the evidence. An interdisciplinary, nuanced approach has been taken in this thesis. Firstly, the question of Germanic raiding has been examined, with reference to the Saxon Shore defences. It is argued that these defences, in their geographical context, point to the likelihood of raiding. Then the written sources have been re-examined, as well as physical artefacts. In addition to geography, literature and archaeology (the disciplines which are most commonly used when the coming of the Angles and Saxons is investigated), linguistic and genetic data have been examined. The fields of linguistics and genetics, which have not often both been taken into consideration with previous approaches, add a number of valuable insights. This nuanced approach yields a picture of events that rules out the ‘traditional view’ in some ways, such as the idea that the Saxons exterminated the Britons altogether, but corroborates it in other ways. There was an invasion of a kind (of Angles – not Saxons), who came in comparatively small numbers, but found in Britain a society already mixed and comprising Celtic and Germanic-speaking peoples: a society implied by Caesar and Tacitus and corroborated by linguistic and genetic data.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Exploring the relationship between an "English-only" language-in-education policy and bilingual practices in secondary schools in Zanzibar
- Authors: Maalim, Haroun Ayoub
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- Zanzibar , Native language and education -- Zanzibar , Code switching (Linguistics) -- Zanzibar , Language policy -- Zanzibar
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3650 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017891
- Description: This thesis reports on the relationship between an English-only language-ineducation policy and bilingual practices in secondary schools in Zanzibar. The focus is on language use in the classroom against the backdrop of a top-down and English-only language-in-education policy. The main purpose has been to gain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the stipulations of the policy which was imposed from above and the judicious bilingual practices which are a commonly accepted as the norm in secondary schools in Zanzibar. The study employed a mixed method approach (QUAL+quant) and embraced elements of ethnography. The data for this study was gathered from two secondary schools which were purposively selected on the basis of parameters that were set in this study. Among other things, these include the secondary schools which have both ‘Ordinary level’ and ‘Advance level’, and the schools which teach the same subject using Kiswahili as the language of learning and teaching at one level, and English as the language of learning and teaching at another level. Data were obtained from multiple sources. On the one hand, through ethnography, classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with teachers and students, and interviews with key actors were conducted. On the other hand, students’ test scripts, and students’ test and examination results (scores) were analysed. Both purposive and random sampling were used to get the participants. Drawing from Ruiz’s (1984) seminal tripartite orientations of language planning (language as right, language as problem, and language as resource) thematic analysis, content analysis, and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to analyse data. The findings reveal that the use of bilingual (English and Kiswahili) in English medium subjects is a resource rather than a deficit since an overwhelming majority of students and some teachers cannot function positively in the topdown English-only language-in-education policy. Most significantly, teachers use Kiswahili in English medium subjects as a strategy for teaching terminologies, abstract concepts, and unfamiliar topics, as well as for clarification of ideas and for comprehension check. The study further indicates that the examinations and tests of English medium subjects do not assess what is exactly intended to be assessed (subject matter), but instead they assess English language. In addition, empirical evidence shows that language is a factor for students’ achievements in that students performed considerably better when the subjects were assessed in Kiswahili compared to the same subjects assessed in English. The findings further reveal that Kiswahili is suitable to be used as a sole language of learning and teaching in secondary schools of Zanzibar. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the use of Kiswahili in English medium subjects should be officially recognised and students should be given options of the language of assessment as an urgent step. Furthermore, given the urgency of the need for improving students’ performance, it is now high time to introduce Kiswahili medium of instruction secondary schools in Zanzibar which should co-exist with English medium of instruction secondary schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Maalim, Haroun Ayoub
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- Zanzibar , Native language and education -- Zanzibar , Code switching (Linguistics) -- Zanzibar , Language policy -- Zanzibar
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3650 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017891
- Description: This thesis reports on the relationship between an English-only language-ineducation policy and bilingual practices in secondary schools in Zanzibar. The focus is on language use in the classroom against the backdrop of a top-down and English-only language-in-education policy. The main purpose has been to gain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the stipulations of the policy which was imposed from above and the judicious bilingual practices which are a commonly accepted as the norm in secondary schools in Zanzibar. The study employed a mixed method approach (QUAL+quant) and embraced elements of ethnography. The data for this study was gathered from two secondary schools which were purposively selected on the basis of parameters that were set in this study. Among other things, these include the secondary schools which have both ‘Ordinary level’ and ‘Advance level’, and the schools which teach the same subject using Kiswahili as the language of learning and teaching at one level, and English as the language of learning and teaching at another level. Data were obtained from multiple sources. On the one hand, through ethnography, classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with teachers and students, and interviews with key actors were conducted. On the other hand, students’ test scripts, and students’ test and examination results (scores) were analysed. Both purposive and random sampling were used to get the participants. Drawing from Ruiz’s (1984) seminal tripartite orientations of language planning (language as right, language as problem, and language as resource) thematic analysis, content analysis, and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to analyse data. The findings reveal that the use of bilingual (English and Kiswahili) in English medium subjects is a resource rather than a deficit since an overwhelming majority of students and some teachers cannot function positively in the topdown English-only language-in-education policy. Most significantly, teachers use Kiswahili in English medium subjects as a strategy for teaching terminologies, abstract concepts, and unfamiliar topics, as well as for clarification of ideas and for comprehension check. The study further indicates that the examinations and tests of English medium subjects do not assess what is exactly intended to be assessed (subject matter), but instead they assess English language. In addition, empirical evidence shows that language is a factor for students’ achievements in that students performed considerably better when the subjects were assessed in Kiswahili compared to the same subjects assessed in English. The findings further reveal that Kiswahili is suitable to be used as a sole language of learning and teaching in secondary schools of Zanzibar. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the use of Kiswahili in English medium subjects should be officially recognised and students should be given options of the language of assessment as an urgent step. Furthermore, given the urgency of the need for improving students’ performance, it is now high time to introduce Kiswahili medium of instruction secondary schools in Zanzibar which should co-exist with English medium of instruction secondary schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Implementation of multilingualism in South African higher education : exploring the use of isiXhosa in teaching and learning at Rhodes University
- Authors: Gambushe, Wanga
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Native language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa , Cytology -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Xhosa (African people) -- Education (Higher)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3649 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017890
- Description: This study explores the implementation of multilingualism at Rhodes University (RU), by examining the teaching and learning practices of lecturers, demonstrators and students within the Cell Biology module, offered by the Biological Sciences and Botany departments at RU. This examination is in line with RU’s Language Policy (2005/2014), which recognises multilingualism and the development of isiXhosa as an academic/scientific language. The study and the choice for the location of the study within RU was motivated by what seemed to be a pattern of under achievement of LOTE speaking students studying Cell Biology. This pattern necessitated a further inquiry into the language aspect of the teaching and learning of Cell Biology. The goals of this research were to investigate spaces where LOTE students use their home languages and the motivations behind their usage of those languages. Due to the varying proficiencies of LOTE students in their mother tongue, this study sought to investigate the language capabilities of LOTE students in their home languages. The perceptions of the main role players in the Cell Biology module were sought, in order to get an idea of what students, lecturers and demonstrators thought about multilingualism in teaching and learning practices in the Cell Biology module. This study has discovered that there is a disparity in achievement between LOTE and English speaking students, with English students outperforming LOTE students consistently in the period investigated. On the language capabilities of LOTE students in their mother tongue, it was discovered that they have enough linguistic capital for a mother tongue intervention to succeed. There were mixed views about the use of LOTE in HE, but students were mostly in favour of the use of LOTE. A number of recommendations are made as to how multilingualism can be implemented in Cell Biology. In this study I argue that there is a need to use the mother tongue of LOTE students in order to support learning, the mother tongue intervention is supported by scholars such as Paxton (2007, 2009; Madiba 2011, 2012, 2014). The use of the mother tongue to support learning should be a short-term measure while the process of the development of African languages is underway, because languages develop as they are used, and form follows function (Madiba 2008). Ultimately, African languages should be developed and use as academic languages in HE not only in order to fulfil the legislative imperatives such as the Constitution and the Language Policy Higher Education but also to increase access and success among LOTE students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Gambushe, Wanga
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and education -- South Africa , Multilingual education -- South Africa , Native language and education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa , Cytology -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Xhosa (African people) -- Education (Higher)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3649 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017890
- Description: This study explores the implementation of multilingualism at Rhodes University (RU), by examining the teaching and learning practices of lecturers, demonstrators and students within the Cell Biology module, offered by the Biological Sciences and Botany departments at RU. This examination is in line with RU’s Language Policy (2005/2014), which recognises multilingualism and the development of isiXhosa as an academic/scientific language. The study and the choice for the location of the study within RU was motivated by what seemed to be a pattern of under achievement of LOTE speaking students studying Cell Biology. This pattern necessitated a further inquiry into the language aspect of the teaching and learning of Cell Biology. The goals of this research were to investigate spaces where LOTE students use their home languages and the motivations behind their usage of those languages. Due to the varying proficiencies of LOTE students in their mother tongue, this study sought to investigate the language capabilities of LOTE students in their home languages. The perceptions of the main role players in the Cell Biology module were sought, in order to get an idea of what students, lecturers and demonstrators thought about multilingualism in teaching and learning practices in the Cell Biology module. This study has discovered that there is a disparity in achievement between LOTE and English speaking students, with English students outperforming LOTE students consistently in the period investigated. On the language capabilities of LOTE students in their mother tongue, it was discovered that they have enough linguistic capital for a mother tongue intervention to succeed. There were mixed views about the use of LOTE in HE, but students were mostly in favour of the use of LOTE. A number of recommendations are made as to how multilingualism can be implemented in Cell Biology. In this study I argue that there is a need to use the mother tongue of LOTE students in order to support learning, the mother tongue intervention is supported by scholars such as Paxton (2007, 2009; Madiba 2011, 2012, 2014). The use of the mother tongue to support learning should be a short-term measure while the process of the development of African languages is underway, because languages develop as they are used, and form follows function (Madiba 2008). Ultimately, African languages should be developed and use as academic languages in HE not only in order to fulfil the legislative imperatives such as the Constitution and the Language Policy Higher Education but also to increase access and success among LOTE students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
IsiXhosa storytelling (iintsomi) as an alternative medium for maternal health education in primary healthcare in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Zakaza, Nompucuko
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Communication in community health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in reproductive health -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Storytelling in education , Applied folklore
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3648 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017188
- Description: The aim of this study is to explore the introduction of IsiXhosa (iintsomi) as an alternative method in the maternal health education in rural Primary Health Care in the Eastern Cape. An informal preliminary observation of a maternal health lesson by the researcher indicated a further need for maternal health educators to introduce storytelling into the health content themes. To re-inforce the maternal health educator lesson on the causes of teenage pregnancy, lifestyles for pregnant women, causes of miscarriage and termination of pregnancy, the Community Health Workers can undoubtedly use isiXhosa iintsomi in selected clinics and maternal waiting homes. As a readily available resource that cuts across all literacy barriers, iintsomi (isiXhosa) fosters a cross-cultural consultation which enables the healthcare worker to convey messages that make sense to the rural women. While the conventional methods of teaching have a tendency to create tension and lack of participation, use of folktale (iintsomi) have huge potential to bring lesson enjoyment; a meaningful interaction and story sharing by the maternal health educator, the pregnant women and greater community; access to important health messages; and strengthened utilisation of Primary Health Care. The study therefore suggests that there is a place for isiXhosa iintsomi: From the Fireplace into the Workplace.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Zakaza, Nompucuko
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Communication in community health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in reproductive health -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Storytelling in education , Applied folklore
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3648 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017188
- Description: The aim of this study is to explore the introduction of IsiXhosa (iintsomi) as an alternative method in the maternal health education in rural Primary Health Care in the Eastern Cape. An informal preliminary observation of a maternal health lesson by the researcher indicated a further need for maternal health educators to introduce storytelling into the health content themes. To re-inforce the maternal health educator lesson on the causes of teenage pregnancy, lifestyles for pregnant women, causes of miscarriage and termination of pregnancy, the Community Health Workers can undoubtedly use isiXhosa iintsomi in selected clinics and maternal waiting homes. As a readily available resource that cuts across all literacy barriers, iintsomi (isiXhosa) fosters a cross-cultural consultation which enables the healthcare worker to convey messages that make sense to the rural women. While the conventional methods of teaching have a tendency to create tension and lack of participation, use of folktale (iintsomi) have huge potential to bring lesson enjoyment; a meaningful interaction and story sharing by the maternal health educator, the pregnant women and greater community; access to important health messages; and strengthened utilisation of Primary Health Care. The study therefore suggests that there is a place for isiXhosa iintsomi: From the Fireplace into the Workplace.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Language policy and practice in Eastern Cape courtrooms with reference to interpretation in selected cases
- Authors: Mpahlwa, Matthew Xola
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Translating and interpreting , Translating and interpreting -- Errors , Court interpreting and translating -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Translators -- Training of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3656 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018658
- Description: This study seeks to find what problems and process of interpreting are experienced by professional interpreters in the criminal justice system in South Africa. This study commences with an outlook of the origins and development of types of interpretation and then proceeds with critical review of scholarly literature dealing with interpretation in multilingual courtroom. This study explores the flawed language policy and its impracticality for the Eastern Cape courtrooms. This study undertakes a critical analysis of the current legislation (Bills & Acts).This study explores the extent to which the court automatic review proceedings act as a gatekeeper in ensuring against prejudice that can result in the non-use and use of indigenous languages in the trial courtroom within the Eastern Cape jurisdiction. Furthermore this study focuses on cases taken for review based on mis-understanding, mis-communication and wrongful interpretation that result in irregularities that appear on court records. This study also investigates the primary barriers for the use of African languages as languages of record in the courtroom. An eclectic sociolinguistic approach which encompasses the ethnography of speaking, and discourse analysis (observation in the courtroom) is used as a methodology in this study. Furthermore, the analysis of case-law forms part of the methodology alongside court observation.This study saw court actors from different spheres of the legal profession give their personal views and encounters with regards the art and the state of court interpreting in the province of the Eastern Cape.This state of affairs may have disastrous and far-reaching effects in that incorrect and/or imperfect translation may relate to the very facts that are crucial for the determination of the case. At the end recommendations are given on how to remedy the current state of affairs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mpahlwa, Matthew Xola
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Translating and interpreting , Translating and interpreting -- Errors , Court interpreting and translating -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Translators -- Training of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3656 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018658
- Description: This study seeks to find what problems and process of interpreting are experienced by professional interpreters in the criminal justice system in South Africa. This study commences with an outlook of the origins and development of types of interpretation and then proceeds with critical review of scholarly literature dealing with interpretation in multilingual courtroom. This study explores the flawed language policy and its impracticality for the Eastern Cape courtrooms. This study undertakes a critical analysis of the current legislation (Bills & Acts).This study explores the extent to which the court automatic review proceedings act as a gatekeeper in ensuring against prejudice that can result in the non-use and use of indigenous languages in the trial courtroom within the Eastern Cape jurisdiction. Furthermore this study focuses on cases taken for review based on mis-understanding, mis-communication and wrongful interpretation that result in irregularities that appear on court records. This study also investigates the primary barriers for the use of African languages as languages of record in the courtroom. An eclectic sociolinguistic approach which encompasses the ethnography of speaking, and discourse analysis (observation in the courtroom) is used as a methodology in this study. Furthermore, the analysis of case-law forms part of the methodology alongside court observation.This study saw court actors from different spheres of the legal profession give their personal views and encounters with regards the art and the state of court interpreting in the province of the Eastern Cape.This state of affairs may have disastrous and far-reaching effects in that incorrect and/or imperfect translation may relate to the very facts that are crucial for the determination of the case. At the end recommendations are given on how to remedy the current state of affairs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Nudus amor formam non amat artificem : representations of gender in elegiac discourse
- Authors: Evans, Philippa A
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Elegiac poetry , Gender identity in literature , Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Butler, Judith, 1956- , Benjamin, Jessica , Mulvey, Laura , Tibullus , Propertius, Sextus , Sulpicia, active 1st century B.C. , Ovid, 43 B.C. - 17 or 18 A.D. Metamorphoses. Liber 10
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3654 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017895
- Description: This thesis explores the representation of gender, desire, and identity in elegiac discourse. It does so through the lens of post‐structural and psychoanalytic theory, referring to the works of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Jessica Benjamin, and Laura Mulvey in their analyses of power, gender performativity, and subjectivity. Within this thesis, these concepts are applied primarily to the works of Tibullus, Propertius, and Sulpicia, ultimately demonstrating that the three love elegists seek, in their poetry, to construct subversive discourses which destabilise the categories by which gender and identity were determined in Augustan Rome. This discussion is supplemented by the investigation of Ovid’s use of elegiac discourse in Book 10 of his Metamorphoses, and the way in which it both comments upon Augustan love elegy and demonstrates a number of parallels with its thematic content. This thesis focuses especially on the representation of power relations within elegiac discourse, the various levels on which such relations operate and, finally, the possibilities for the contestation of and resistance to power, in addition to the motivations that might lie behind the poet‐lover’s frequent attraction and submission to it.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Evans, Philippa A
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Elegiac poetry , Gender identity in literature , Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Butler, Judith, 1956- , Benjamin, Jessica , Mulvey, Laura , Tibullus , Propertius, Sextus , Sulpicia, active 1st century B.C. , Ovid, 43 B.C. - 17 or 18 A.D. Metamorphoses. Liber 10
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3654 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017895
- Description: This thesis explores the representation of gender, desire, and identity in elegiac discourse. It does so through the lens of post‐structural and psychoanalytic theory, referring to the works of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Jessica Benjamin, and Laura Mulvey in their analyses of power, gender performativity, and subjectivity. Within this thesis, these concepts are applied primarily to the works of Tibullus, Propertius, and Sulpicia, ultimately demonstrating that the three love elegists seek, in their poetry, to construct subversive discourses which destabilise the categories by which gender and identity were determined in Augustan Rome. This discussion is supplemented by the investigation of Ovid’s use of elegiac discourse in Book 10 of his Metamorphoses, and the way in which it both comments upon Augustan love elegy and demonstrates a number of parallels with its thematic content. This thesis focuses especially on the representation of power relations within elegiac discourse, the various levels on which such relations operate and, finally, the possibilities for the contestation of and resistance to power, in addition to the motivations that might lie behind the poet‐lover’s frequent attraction and submission to it.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The experiences of isiMpondo speakers in learning standard isiXhosa through the formal education system : an exploratory study at a school in the Bizana district of the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Maqam, Eslinah Zodwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Bizana , Native language and education , Language policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Bizana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3652 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017893
- Description: This study investigates the experiences of isiMpondo speakers in learning standard language through the formal education system. The sociolinguistic factors such as attitudes, language policies and language use in multilingual societies are taken into considerations. The children of non-standard language speakers such as those who speak dialects like isiMpondo have to use another language in their early years in the school system. It is articulated that the isiMpondo that the child brings to the school from the environment is not accommodated simply because it is a non-standard language; whereas the language that is used in the classroom situation is the isiXhosa variety which is a standard one. The research findings show that isiMpondo impacts on learner’s education directly because they lose marks during the course of the year and during examination times if they use it. The study concludes with a recommendation that educators should honour the seven roles of educators by appropriate norms and standards. Some approaches to teaching have been suggested to be used by teachers with regard to inclusivity, as it recognises diversity, and values the following: the uniqueness of the individuals, the experiences, abilities, cultural and language backgrounds of each individual. All in all it seeks to meet the needs of the individual learner by creating a non-discriminatory teaching and learning environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Maqam, Eslinah Zodwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Language and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Bizana , Native language and education , Language policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Bizana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3652 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017893
- Description: This study investigates the experiences of isiMpondo speakers in learning standard language through the formal education system. The sociolinguistic factors such as attitudes, language policies and language use in multilingual societies are taken into considerations. The children of non-standard language speakers such as those who speak dialects like isiMpondo have to use another language in their early years in the school system. It is articulated that the isiMpondo that the child brings to the school from the environment is not accommodated simply because it is a non-standard language; whereas the language that is used in the classroom situation is the isiXhosa variety which is a standard one. The research findings show that isiMpondo impacts on learner’s education directly because they lose marks during the course of the year and during examination times if they use it. The study concludes with a recommendation that educators should honour the seven roles of educators by appropriate norms and standards. Some approaches to teaching have been suggested to be used by teachers with regard to inclusivity, as it recognises diversity, and values the following: the uniqueness of the individuals, the experiences, abilities, cultural and language backgrounds of each individual. All in all it seeks to meet the needs of the individual learner by creating a non-discriminatory teaching and learning environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Wolfgang Koeppens auseinandersetzung mit der tradition: aspekte der intertextualität in der so genannten nachkriegs‐trilogie
- Authors: Weber, Undine S
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Criticism and interpretation , Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Works -- 1986 , German fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: German
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3658 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020833
- Description: Wolfgang Koeppen’s three post‐war novels have often been called a trilogy, purely based on their publication in rapid succession in the early 1950s. This study establishes a connection between the works by looking at their roots in Irish, Anglo‐American, French and German modernism, and shows up links between Wolfgang Koeppen, James Joyce, E.E. Cummings, Charles Baudelaire and Thomas Mann. This comparative analysis concludes, by integrating socio‐political factors of life in West Germany after World War II, that Koeppen transcends the modernist tradition – the fact that modernism has become tradition, i.e. it has become “classic”, in contradiction to being “modern”. Koeppen’s texts do not only allude to and build on classic texts and refer to stylistic and narrative modernist elements such as stream‐of‐consciousness and sketching a fragmented society in turmoil; the very act of recurring to myths and texts of the Western canon in order to depict the disaffected individual is an almost post‐modern one.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Weber, Undine S
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Criticism and interpretation , Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Works -- 1986 , German fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: German
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3658 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020833
- Description: Wolfgang Koeppen’s three post‐war novels have often been called a trilogy, purely based on their publication in rapid succession in the early 1950s. This study establishes a connection between the works by looking at their roots in Irish, Anglo‐American, French and German modernism, and shows up links between Wolfgang Koeppen, James Joyce, E.E. Cummings, Charles Baudelaire and Thomas Mann. This comparative analysis concludes, by integrating socio‐political factors of life in West Germany after World War II, that Koeppen transcends the modernist tradition – the fact that modernism has become tradition, i.e. it has become “classic”, in contradiction to being “modern”. Koeppen’s texts do not only allude to and build on classic texts and refer to stylistic and narrative modernist elements such as stream‐of‐consciousness and sketching a fragmented society in turmoil; the very act of recurring to myths and texts of the Western canon in order to depict the disaffected individual is an almost post‐modern one.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
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