This article concerns ZAPP (the South African Poetry Project), which is a community of poets, sch... more This article concerns ZAPP (the South African Poetry Project), which is a community of poets, scholars (including the authors), teachers and students, established in 2013 to promote, in educational systems, the work of contemporary South African poets. For the past three years (2017–2019), we have attempted through outreach and research to contribute to decolonising South African education by paying attention to indigenous poetic traditions and practices. Our research has focused on content, pedagogy and institutional practice. The article outlines and attempts to assess three interrelated components of ZAPP’s research into the decolonisation of poetry and education: our research into the transformation of teaching and learning in EFAL (English First Additional Language) poetry classrooms, our ongoing research into what constitutes indigenous South African poetry today, and our research into institutional practices concerning the production and dissemination of knowledge about poetr...
Feminism is a word, a discourse and a political position that is frequently met with suspicion in... more Feminism is a word, a discourse and a political position that is frequently met with suspicion in African circles. There are various reasons for this distrust. Some (often those in disciplines that have proactively embraced decoloniality) hold that feminism is a western colonizing construct, which has been imposed on the country by imperialists. This response implicitly or explicitly accuses feminism of complicity with a colonizing agenda that desires the subordination of African epistemologies. Others equate a feminist political position with an uncritical anger and aggression towards men. They argue that, far from being antagonistic towards men, women need to make alliances with men in order to craft an inclusive and sustainable future for the African continent. In the light of these discursive and political contestations, this article argues that centring African feminisms is an important decolonial move. It brings to light the dangers of a universalizing view of African feminism...
This themed issue of Education as Change responds to the "decolonial turn" in academic and public... more This themed issue of Education as Change responds to the "decolonial turn" in academic and public discourse. The #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall student protests at South African universities in 2015 and onwards gave public manifestation to the growing dissatisfaction with colonial models of knowledge and knowledge production. In the wake of these protests, many education activists and scholars have joined the drive to move away from such models. Nevertheless, scholarship on practical implementation of decolonisation within teaching and learning at schools and universities remains limited and requires further investigation.
Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics
Water is polyvalent and multifaceted, playing numerous roles in the Earth's biosphere, in social ... more Water is polyvalent and multifaceted, playing numerous roles in the Earth's biosphere, in social existence and in human culture. Carbon-based life on Earth is dependent on the simple compound of oxygen and hydrogen that dissolves nutrients, so that they can pass from the environment into the organism, and removes waste products. Water is similarly necessary for social and economic development: most cities are built near large freshwater sources, which supply the population's needs for sanitation, drinking and cooking, and offer convenient transport routes. Water holds gendered implications for human socioeconomic existence and for symbolic communication. Water is associated with household and family socioeconomic security. Across cultures, women bear most of the responsibility to provide water for families to drink, eat and use for cleaning. This is due to women's socially assigned nurturing roles and stereotypes that relegate household labour to 'women's work'. Water also holds metaphysical associations with the spiritual and the sacred. Many rivers are venerated as life-giving and life-saving deities and as the source of life. In view of its myriad resonances, Wendy Jepson et al. (2017: 14) comment that 'By reconceptualizing water as a relationship, we are better able to incorporate the interconnectedness of water rights and water responsibilities as core to water security'. Jepson et al. provide an apt focus for my article, which analyses the representation of water in poetry by South African women. I explore poetry from Wilma Stockenström's The Wisdom of Water, as well as from Koleka Putuma's celebrated Collective Amnesia, Gabeba Baderoon's The History of Intimacy, Joan Metelerkamp's Making Way (2020) and audiovisual poetry such as Toni Stuart's 'Krotoa Eva speaks: a cape jazz poem in three movements' 1 (2018) and Allison Claire Hoskins' 'We are Coming for Everything' (2018). Many South African women poets, whose gender is associated with water in myth, symbolism and popular media, write about water. This is not to suggest that male poets cannot or do not write about water: to take only one example, Pieter Odendaal's 2018 collection of poetry, asof geen berge ooit hier gewoon het nie ('as though no 1 I am following the poet's capitalisation here.
We write with heavy hearts to celebrate and commemorate the life of our long-term colleague, Kare... more We write with heavy hearts to celebrate and commemorate the life of our long-term colleague, Karen Scherzinger, who passed away at her home from a brain tumour on 26 May 2019 at the age of 57 after a long and courageous battle and two operations. Karen is survived by her husband, Rainer Scherzinger, and three children, Rowan, Cait and Callum.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2021
This article provides a textual analysis of The Sentients of Orion, a space-opera series by Austr... more This article provides a textual analysis of The Sentients of Orion, a space-opera series by Australian feminist SF author Marianne de Pierres, with a view to investigating the series's depiction of aliens as a reflection of contemporary views of human gender. This highlights the question of whether aliens are still used to reflect on the state of human gender roles now that society is moving past the simple black and white of the male/female binary. We undertake a qualitative exploration of selected aliens through the theoretical lenses of Judith Butler's theory of gender as performative and queer theory. By drawing on these interpretive paradigms, we suggest that de Pierres's aliens both register and reflect a significant broadening of the gender spectrum.
Ursula K Le Guin's writing, in poetry, fiction and expository prose, displays a carefully nua... more Ursula K Le Guin's writing, in poetry, fiction and expository prose, displays a carefully nuanced response to space and place. In many of her narratives, the protagonist journeys to a distant realm and then returns home via a complicated route, thus following a conventional quest structure. The theme of home - the place where one is welcome and at ease - is recomplicated, I suggest, in her later writings. In Always coming home, the "home" posited by the title is located, not in any definable place or time, but within a holistic appreciation for the interconnection of natural phenomena. In her later works, Blue moon over Thurman Street and Out here: poems and images from Steens Mountain Country, Le Guin and her collaborator, photographer Roger Dorband, take the interrogation of "home" still further until the volumes become intensive investigations of mutability and duration as well as familiarity and dislocation. Through Le Guin's characteristic propensity...
The Old English epic poem, Beowulf, establishes the heroic status of its protagonist through the ... more The Old English epic poem, Beowulf, establishes the heroic status of its protagonist through the traditional method of vanquishing enemies. As the culminating feat of his career, the hero, Beowulf, ageing King of the Geats, tackles a dragon who has found the treasure of a ...
... implemented" (1994:29). In the Unisa document, Understanding SAQ... more ... implemented" (1994:29). In the Unisa document, Understanding SAQA: a glossary of terms and guidelines for discussion (Jordaan & Kilfoil 1998) Jordaan is optimistic in the face of educational transformation in South Africa. He perceives ...
Page 1. 1 Taking the distance out of distance education: a revaluation of Honours in Gender Studi... more Page 1. 1 Taking the distance out of distance education: a revaluation of Honours in Gender Studies at Unisa Prof. Deirdre C. Byrne Department of English Studies Unisa (012) 4296356 Prof. Deirdre C. Byrne, Department of English Studies, Unisa [email protected] Page 2. ...
I must also acknowledge the contribution made by Nicolette Geyer and Merisa Robbertze, who were i... more I must also acknowledge the contribution made by Nicolette Geyer and Merisa Robbertze, who were invaluable allies during the proofreading process. My thanks go to Nicolette, for her meticulous attention to detail in helping me to prepare and polish this work, and to Merisa for her encouragement and support throughout 2012. Lastly, I would also like to express my love and gratitude to friends, work colleagues and family for their constant support and contribution to this work. I would specifically like to thank my father, Noel Potter, who instilled a love of literature in me from a very early age; and my mother, Elizabeth Mary Anne Potter (nee Channing) for her undying love and support, and for gifting me with the opportunity to fulfil my promise to her. This work is dedicated to my beloved Ouma and Oupa. ♥
After the pilot study I realised that I would need to have a flexible approach and be prepared to... more After the pilot study I realised that I would need to have a flexible approach and be prepared to adapt my plans to situations in the centres that could change from one moment to the next. It became apparent that I would not be able to conduct a traditional ethnography such as Emond (2000), to become orientated with residential care centres, so I decided to implement a focused ethnography approach.
In this article, I explore Ursula K. Le Guin's representation of dragons in her later Earthse... more In this article, I explore Ursula K. Le Guin's representation of dragons in her later Earthsea fiction: Tehanu (1991), The other wind (2001b) and Tales from Earthsea (2001a). I argue that Le Guin engages transformatively with traditional depictions of dragons by linking them to women. While this is in keeping with earlier perspectives on dragons, in Le Guin's fiction the association becomes a source of power, rather than (a la Julia Kristeva 1982) abjection of the women whose lives are linked to dragon nature. All the same, the author does not sentimentalise either dragons or women, but uses transgressive porousness between them as signs in order to refigure both. The dragon, in Le Guin's writing, finds and reclaims hybridity and monstrosity rather than transcending them.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the greatest social issues affecting South Africa, and univ... more Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the greatest social issues affecting South Africa, and universities are no exception. This article reports preliminary results of a pilot study conducted at the University of South Africa (Unisa). The study aimed to ascertain perceptions of GBV among university staff. A range of frequency-seeking questions aimed at exploring awareness, experiences, and reflections about solutions to GBV were posed to selected staff members by means of an online survey. The results of the survey are presented here in graphic form and subjected to descriptive analysis, which is compared with existing literature on the topic. The key findings in this pilot study concern the perceptions of GBV among university staff, their awareness of the types of GBV and its prevalence, and the participants' feelings about safety regarding GBV and commitment to participate in possible solutions. We conclude that we cannot expect trends reported in literature to be replicated in any research study.
The practice of virginity testing in southern Africa has caused a conflict between advocates of c... more The practice of virginity testing in southern Africa has caused a conflict between advocates of culture and proponents of universal human rights. Recently, the 'virginity bursaries' , also known as the 'maiden bursaries' , caused an outcry from proponents of universal human rights, who declared the criterion (virginity testing) used for bursaries unlawful, discriminatory and unconstitutional. On the other side of the debate, cultural relativists defended the virginity bursaries by outlining moral and pedagogical justifications for virginity testing. The arguments by both sides highlight that it is not easy to resolve the discursive and ideological questions around virginity testing. As a result, drawing from Pierre Bourdieu's theory of contested fields and 'habitus' , the aim of this philosophical article is to explore the discourses that surround virginity testing-the cornerstone of the virginity bursaries-as a means of illustrating the conflicting positions within gender studies about traditional/cultural practices. Our aim is neither to provide an empirical account of the experience of virginity testing, nor to resolve the debate, but to explore some of the possible approaches to virginity testing and the major philosophical conflicts between human rights and traditionalist approaches.
This article concerns ZAPP (the South African Poetry Project), which is a community of poets, sch... more This article concerns ZAPP (the South African Poetry Project), which is a community of poets, scholars (including the authors), teachers and students, established in 2013 to promote, in educational systems, the work of contemporary South African poets. For the past three years (2017–2019), we have attempted through outreach and research to contribute to decolonising South African education by paying attention to indigenous poetic traditions and practices. Our research has focused on content, pedagogy and institutional practice. The article outlines and attempts to assess three interrelated components of ZAPP’s research into the decolonisation of poetry and education: our research into the transformation of teaching and learning in EFAL (English First Additional Language) poetry classrooms, our ongoing research into what constitutes indigenous South African poetry today, and our research into institutional practices concerning the production and dissemination of knowledge about poetr...
Feminism is a word, a discourse and a political position that is frequently met with suspicion in... more Feminism is a word, a discourse and a political position that is frequently met with suspicion in African circles. There are various reasons for this distrust. Some (often those in disciplines that have proactively embraced decoloniality) hold that feminism is a western colonizing construct, which has been imposed on the country by imperialists. This response implicitly or explicitly accuses feminism of complicity with a colonizing agenda that desires the subordination of African epistemologies. Others equate a feminist political position with an uncritical anger and aggression towards men. They argue that, far from being antagonistic towards men, women need to make alliances with men in order to craft an inclusive and sustainable future for the African continent. In the light of these discursive and political contestations, this article argues that centring African feminisms is an important decolonial move. It brings to light the dangers of a universalizing view of African feminism...
This themed issue of Education as Change responds to the "decolonial turn" in academic and public... more This themed issue of Education as Change responds to the "decolonial turn" in academic and public discourse. The #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall student protests at South African universities in 2015 and onwards gave public manifestation to the growing dissatisfaction with colonial models of knowledge and knowledge production. In the wake of these protests, many education activists and scholars have joined the drive to move away from such models. Nevertheless, scholarship on practical implementation of decolonisation within teaching and learning at schools and universities remains limited and requires further investigation.
Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics
Water is polyvalent and multifaceted, playing numerous roles in the Earth's biosphere, in social ... more Water is polyvalent and multifaceted, playing numerous roles in the Earth's biosphere, in social existence and in human culture. Carbon-based life on Earth is dependent on the simple compound of oxygen and hydrogen that dissolves nutrients, so that they can pass from the environment into the organism, and removes waste products. Water is similarly necessary for social and economic development: most cities are built near large freshwater sources, which supply the population's needs for sanitation, drinking and cooking, and offer convenient transport routes. Water holds gendered implications for human socioeconomic existence and for symbolic communication. Water is associated with household and family socioeconomic security. Across cultures, women bear most of the responsibility to provide water for families to drink, eat and use for cleaning. This is due to women's socially assigned nurturing roles and stereotypes that relegate household labour to 'women's work'. Water also holds metaphysical associations with the spiritual and the sacred. Many rivers are venerated as life-giving and life-saving deities and as the source of life. In view of its myriad resonances, Wendy Jepson et al. (2017: 14) comment that 'By reconceptualizing water as a relationship, we are better able to incorporate the interconnectedness of water rights and water responsibilities as core to water security'. Jepson et al. provide an apt focus for my article, which analyses the representation of water in poetry by South African women. I explore poetry from Wilma Stockenström's The Wisdom of Water, as well as from Koleka Putuma's celebrated Collective Amnesia, Gabeba Baderoon's The History of Intimacy, Joan Metelerkamp's Making Way (2020) and audiovisual poetry such as Toni Stuart's 'Krotoa Eva speaks: a cape jazz poem in three movements' 1 (2018) and Allison Claire Hoskins' 'We are Coming for Everything' (2018). Many South African women poets, whose gender is associated with water in myth, symbolism and popular media, write about water. This is not to suggest that male poets cannot or do not write about water: to take only one example, Pieter Odendaal's 2018 collection of poetry, asof geen berge ooit hier gewoon het nie ('as though no 1 I am following the poet's capitalisation here.
We write with heavy hearts to celebrate and commemorate the life of our long-term colleague, Kare... more We write with heavy hearts to celebrate and commemorate the life of our long-term colleague, Karen Scherzinger, who passed away at her home from a brain tumour on 26 May 2019 at the age of 57 after a long and courageous battle and two operations. Karen is survived by her husband, Rainer Scherzinger, and three children, Rowan, Cait and Callum.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2021
This article provides a textual analysis of The Sentients of Orion, a space-opera series by Austr... more This article provides a textual analysis of The Sentients of Orion, a space-opera series by Australian feminist SF author Marianne de Pierres, with a view to investigating the series's depiction of aliens as a reflection of contemporary views of human gender. This highlights the question of whether aliens are still used to reflect on the state of human gender roles now that society is moving past the simple black and white of the male/female binary. We undertake a qualitative exploration of selected aliens through the theoretical lenses of Judith Butler's theory of gender as performative and queer theory. By drawing on these interpretive paradigms, we suggest that de Pierres's aliens both register and reflect a significant broadening of the gender spectrum.
Ursula K Le Guin's writing, in poetry, fiction and expository prose, displays a carefully nua... more Ursula K Le Guin's writing, in poetry, fiction and expository prose, displays a carefully nuanced response to space and place. In many of her narratives, the protagonist journeys to a distant realm and then returns home via a complicated route, thus following a conventional quest structure. The theme of home - the place where one is welcome and at ease - is recomplicated, I suggest, in her later writings. In Always coming home, the "home" posited by the title is located, not in any definable place or time, but within a holistic appreciation for the interconnection of natural phenomena. In her later works, Blue moon over Thurman Street and Out here: poems and images from Steens Mountain Country, Le Guin and her collaborator, photographer Roger Dorband, take the interrogation of "home" still further until the volumes become intensive investigations of mutability and duration as well as familiarity and dislocation. Through Le Guin's characteristic propensity...
The Old English epic poem, Beowulf, establishes the heroic status of its protagonist through the ... more The Old English epic poem, Beowulf, establishes the heroic status of its protagonist through the traditional method of vanquishing enemies. As the culminating feat of his career, the hero, Beowulf, ageing King of the Geats, tackles a dragon who has found the treasure of a ...
... implemented" (1994:29). In the Unisa document, Understanding SAQ... more ... implemented" (1994:29). In the Unisa document, Understanding SAQA: a glossary of terms and guidelines for discussion (Jordaan & Kilfoil 1998) Jordaan is optimistic in the face of educational transformation in South Africa. He perceives ...
Page 1. 1 Taking the distance out of distance education: a revaluation of Honours in Gender Studi... more Page 1. 1 Taking the distance out of distance education: a revaluation of Honours in Gender Studies at Unisa Prof. Deirdre C. Byrne Department of English Studies Unisa (012) 4296356 Prof. Deirdre C. Byrne, Department of English Studies, Unisa [email protected] Page 2. ...
I must also acknowledge the contribution made by Nicolette Geyer and Merisa Robbertze, who were i... more I must also acknowledge the contribution made by Nicolette Geyer and Merisa Robbertze, who were invaluable allies during the proofreading process. My thanks go to Nicolette, for her meticulous attention to detail in helping me to prepare and polish this work, and to Merisa for her encouragement and support throughout 2012. Lastly, I would also like to express my love and gratitude to friends, work colleagues and family for their constant support and contribution to this work. I would specifically like to thank my father, Noel Potter, who instilled a love of literature in me from a very early age; and my mother, Elizabeth Mary Anne Potter (nee Channing) for her undying love and support, and for gifting me with the opportunity to fulfil my promise to her. This work is dedicated to my beloved Ouma and Oupa. ♥
After the pilot study I realised that I would need to have a flexible approach and be prepared to... more After the pilot study I realised that I would need to have a flexible approach and be prepared to adapt my plans to situations in the centres that could change from one moment to the next. It became apparent that I would not be able to conduct a traditional ethnography such as Emond (2000), to become orientated with residential care centres, so I decided to implement a focused ethnography approach.
In this article, I explore Ursula K. Le Guin's representation of dragons in her later Earthse... more In this article, I explore Ursula K. Le Guin's representation of dragons in her later Earthsea fiction: Tehanu (1991), The other wind (2001b) and Tales from Earthsea (2001a). I argue that Le Guin engages transformatively with traditional depictions of dragons by linking them to women. While this is in keeping with earlier perspectives on dragons, in Le Guin's fiction the association becomes a source of power, rather than (a la Julia Kristeva 1982) abjection of the women whose lives are linked to dragon nature. All the same, the author does not sentimentalise either dragons or women, but uses transgressive porousness between them as signs in order to refigure both. The dragon, in Le Guin's writing, finds and reclaims hybridity and monstrosity rather than transcending them.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the greatest social issues affecting South Africa, and univ... more Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the greatest social issues affecting South Africa, and universities are no exception. This article reports preliminary results of a pilot study conducted at the University of South Africa (Unisa). The study aimed to ascertain perceptions of GBV among university staff. A range of frequency-seeking questions aimed at exploring awareness, experiences, and reflections about solutions to GBV were posed to selected staff members by means of an online survey. The results of the survey are presented here in graphic form and subjected to descriptive analysis, which is compared with existing literature on the topic. The key findings in this pilot study concern the perceptions of GBV among university staff, their awareness of the types of GBV and its prevalence, and the participants' feelings about safety regarding GBV and commitment to participate in possible solutions. We conclude that we cannot expect trends reported in literature to be replicated in any research study.
The practice of virginity testing in southern Africa has caused a conflict between advocates of c... more The practice of virginity testing in southern Africa has caused a conflict between advocates of culture and proponents of universal human rights. Recently, the 'virginity bursaries' , also known as the 'maiden bursaries' , caused an outcry from proponents of universal human rights, who declared the criterion (virginity testing) used for bursaries unlawful, discriminatory and unconstitutional. On the other side of the debate, cultural relativists defended the virginity bursaries by outlining moral and pedagogical justifications for virginity testing. The arguments by both sides highlight that it is not easy to resolve the discursive and ideological questions around virginity testing. As a result, drawing from Pierre Bourdieu's theory of contested fields and 'habitus' , the aim of this philosophical article is to explore the discourses that surround virginity testing-the cornerstone of the virginity bursaries-as a means of illustrating the conflicting positions within gender studies about traditional/cultural practices. Our aim is neither to provide an empirical account of the experience of virginity testing, nor to resolve the debate, but to explore some of the possible approaches to virginity testing and the major philosophical conflicts between human rights and traditionalist approaches.
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