Rhodes University: Hosted Journals
Not a member yet
1486 research outputs found
Sort by
The War of The Axe, the Seventh Frontier War
Get PDFThis article recounts the 1846 conflict that began in Fort Beaufort and became known as the War of the Axe—the seventh of nine Cape Frontier Wars. The immediate cause was the attempted theft of an axe by a man named Kleintjie, whose violent rescue by Xhosa warriors during his transfer to Grahamstown sparked widespread hostilities. The incident inflamed tensions between colonial authorities and Xhosa chiefs, particularly Sandile, leading to renewed warfare on the eastern frontier. Although marked by small-scale skirmishes rather than major battles, the war reflected deep-rooted conflicts over land, power, and colonial expansion between settlers and African inhabitants. Drawing on historical accounts, the article situates the War of the Axe within the broader struggle for control of the fertile lands between the Fish and Keiskamma Rivers and the continuing contest between dispossession and resistance in the Eastern Cape
Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora
No full textReview of "Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora. Kay Kaufman Shelemay, 2022. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 57 b/w illustrations, bibliography, index, 432 pages.
Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra: Five Musical Years in Ghana
No full textReview of: Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra: Five Musical Years in Ghana. Stephen Feld, 2012. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. 78 b/w illustrations, bibliography, index, 311 pages
Thomas Baines (1820-1875): Artist, traveller, explorer, journalist, cartographer
Get PDFA summary of the following presentation was delivered by Dave Hawkins to an audience of LAHS members at the AGM in October 2021.
[From the introduction] \u27Life of o Traveller\u27 was the title of an 1873 presentation made by Baines to the Grey Institute in Port Elizabeth. Ever a modest man, he did not describe himself as an explorer, nor even as an artist. He stated he was \u27driven by the adventure of Travel.\u27 It is true that he never led an expedition, never made any major discovery, never thought of himself as a great artist - rather, his goal was to represent in words and images what he had seen and experienced. And he did it so, so well. It is through him that we can visualise what it was like during the 1840s to 1870s - in Southern and Central Africa, as well as in Tropical Northern Australia
Into the thick of it
Get PDFSerena Gess’s “Into the Thick of It” vividly reconstructs the experiences of the 1820 British Settlers as they encountered the dense Albany thicket on South Africa’s eastern frontier. Through historical sources, settler journals, and ecological observation, the article traces how expectations of an idyllic “parkland” quickly gave way to the harsh realities of survival in a spiny, semi-arid landscape. It examines settler adaptation—agricultural struggles, resource use, and cultural encounters with the Xhosa and environment—and reflects on how the natural resilience of the thicket mirrored the endurance required of those who stayed. The work combines environmental history with social narrative to reveal how landscape and identity are intertwined in the making of the frontier
University engagement as local economic development: Estimating the economic impact of a South African university using a Keynesian multiplier approach
Get PDFUniversities engage with their communities through a plethora of approaches. One largely neglected form of engagement is the contribution of the university to local economic development. Empirical studies on the economic impact of universities in Africa have been significantly lower compared to the global North. However, this is not because universities in Africa are not contributing to the economic development of their immediate and extended regions. This paper aims to contribute to closing that gap through an empirical study of a newly established South African university within a secondary city characterized by high unemployment, a declining economic sector, but with a growing staff and student body and high university expenditures. The analysis uses a Keynesian-type multiplier impact model, to demonstrate that the university contributes a minimum of R2 billion to the local municipality, which translates to about 19% of the district GDP. This contribution is made through a combination of direct and indirect activities of the university and its constituencies – staff, students, visitors, and local businesses. The paper concludes that intentional engagement policies and practices from the universities coupled with active commitments from local or provincial government and other external stakeholders could ensure the university serves a stronger anchoring and developmental role within the city and region
Examining the success of Malian music as world music
Get PDFMalian music is ubiquitous in world music. Indeed, Malian artists consistently appear more often and rank higher in world music record charts than artists of any other nationality. While the concept and industry of world music and the histories and workings of Malian music have been examined at length in the past, scholarship on the intersection of the two has been sparse. This article investigates how various marketing techniques and narrative tropes have been used to secure Mali’s on-going presence within world music. Tuareg essouf band Tinariwen is introduced as a specific case study to allow exploration into themes of audience familiarity and unfamiliarity; the use of wider narratives to promote music; and the role of cultural brokers in this process. Malian music can be considered ideal for the world music markets, with musical, narrative and political forces aligning in an optimal manner to facilitate the most effective strategies of marketing towards world music audiences. By studying the dominance of Malian music in world music, we can examine more clearly the mechanics of the industry, but also the attitudes and behaviours of the world music audience and the artistic, industrial and even institutional practices and processes that define world music as a whole
Investigating gender stereotypes and musicality in Esan, Edo State, Nigeria
Get PDFThis article examines the Ijieleghe and Igbabonelimin acrobatic dances for female and male ensembles. The data was obtained through ethnographic research techniques which include research in the library, interviews, focus group discussions, the use of interlocutors and participant observation. We found that both genres stem from the same source and are similar in dance patterns, repertory and musical instruments. While Ijieleghe performers wear light costumes, those of Igbabonelimin are heavy and sometimes accompanied by male and female masquerades. In Igbabonelimin, however, women are not admitted into any of its departments; while in Ijieleghe, male participants are confined to drumming and singing. Only the female participants perform the dance. This paper asks: Why is it that women cannot be admitted into the membership of the sonic space of men in the Igbabonelimin? What will happen if these ensembles admit members of the opposite sexes into gender restricted areas? These questions are what this paper intends to answer. However, while we are aware that there are gender-based restrictions that are not conducive to integration in this day and age, it is our view that in the light of present-day realities in Nigeria, gender restrictions should be challenged to lengthen and enhance the longevity of these ensembles