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Choreographic Cartographies with-in Learning: Towards response-ability in Higher Education Pedagogy
Get PDFIn this article, I seek to engage the liberatory impetus of critical pedagogies through an attentiveness to body-space-time so as to enrich the former with the notion of response-ability. Several learning activities are engaged within the context of a foundation year classroom of an Art School, to open up conceptions of the experiential nature of learning events and the ethico-onto-epistemological questions that emerge when foregrounding response-ability as a condition for learning-becoming. I have particular interest in notions of subjectivity, agency and affect, questioning how a new materialist reading of these concepts might serve to challenge representationalist conceptions of higher learning. I commence with a proposition: engage learning as an experience — through the processual potentialities of its in-act and prompt myself by drawing attention to the performativity of body-space-time cartographies and choreographies
Theology and Women’s Agency in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana
Get PDFIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a growing problem in sub-Saharan Africa that limits women’s agency. Various studies have found that cultural norms and religion sustain women’s experiences of IPV, inspiring various theories among feminist scholars and within religion on women’s agency. This study determines whether and how theology contributes to the agency of IPV survivors. I draw upon constructivist grounded theory to inductively analyze the stories of thirteen abused Christian women in a mainline church in southern Ghana. My findings indicate that multiple systems, including informal social support networks, constrain survivors while simultaneously serving as conditions for their personal faith and individually constructed theologies. Indeed, these serve as catalysts to their self-enactments and emerging agency. These findings provide nuance to existing (and contested) conceptions of agency
Technical frames used for the online reporting of lesbian killings in South Africa
No full textSouth Africa remains one of the most dangerous places for women – lesbians in particular – to live freely and safely, where a culture of patriarchy and a lack of socio-economic opportunity are ubiquitous throughout its communities. While the Internet has given journalists a wider platform to provide insights about issues plaguing lesbians, there is very little information regarding the elements used in these online reports. This is not only due to the lack of language required to contextualise lesbian issues, but also persistent institutional and societal homophobia. This article describes the technical frames used in the online news reporting of four case studies of ‘queercide’. Using a thematic coding sheet, data was collected from 70 online articles purposively selected based on a priori population characteristics. The study found technical elements, such as the length of online reports, credible sources used, and ‘code-driven’ and ‘user-driven’ elements identified in the coded online articles. The conclusion uncovers some clear trends enabling the construction of a Venn-type diagram, which presents insights into how the murder of lesbians (referred to as a sub-section of ‘queercide’ in the article) is being reported by online news media compared to contemporary theoretical discussions on how these cases should be reported on. This article situates queercide within a conceptual framework for future studies, while the findings demonstrate how online articles on the killing of lesbians lack self regulatory and sharing features that would improve their legitimacy in the minds of their readers
The conundrum of motherhood: house helps and the mediated motherhood discourses in Kenya
Get PDFThe globalised media tend to influence the content of local and regional media. This study sought to find the nature of mediated mothering discourse in Kenya and the extent to which it promoted the hegemony of intense mothering discourse; vis-a-vis indigenous mothering discourses such as co-mothering found among the collectivistic cultures of sub-Saharan Africa. Most workingclass mothers employ caregivers – house helps to mind their children. A total of 71 stories from 2009 to 2022 related to mothering were collected from two leading newspapers in Kenya – Daily Nation and The Standard – which feature lifestyle issues. These stories were analysed using inductive coding and constant comparison to identify categories. Findings show that most of the discourses were the extent to which mothers were allowed to pursue personal ambitions in relation to the needs of their children (have-it-all), the level of delegation of core mother duties to the house helps, and the quality of caregiving that was associated with good mothers. There was no consensus on the level of delegation permitted as both extremes were highly criticised. Mothers were not yet ready to co-mother with the house helps – showing the hegemony of mediated intense mothering discourse.
Adapted Irrigation Pump Load in Solar PV and Wind Energy Systems through Stepped Variable Frequency Drives
Get PDFWind and solar photovoltaic (solar-PV) power are highly variable and intermittent as exhibited by corresponding generation profiles. When this power is utilized directly for water pumping, the availability and reliability of water automatically follow the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) characteristics. On the other hand, Deferrable Irrigation Load (DIL), follows a specific irrigation water need profile. The DIL profile is determined by crop cycles and corresponding water needs. It is also affected by aspects of weather mainly precipitation, temperature, and wind. In this research, discrete switches and Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) are applied as a combined solution. Combined discrete and continuous switching through VFDs is applied to separately adapt pump load to DIL and RES profiles. Discrete switches are applied to engage the exact number of pumps required to match an expected irrigation load. A VFD is further used to ensure continuous matching of irrigation pump load to the anticipated DIL curve, through adjustment of pump speed points. Finally, the system is repeated to adapt the pump power to the RES curve. The adapting technique was implemented to improve elasticity, hence the efficiency of the system. The results showed that the adapted system to the DIL curve was 94.7% compared with a discrete-only system (91.4%). This represented a slight improvement of 3.3%. The results demonstrated the smoother operation of the pump system and increased energy utilization efficiency. A further improvement on the control strategy for VFD coupled with the re-design of irrigation pipe networks was required to improve efficiency beyond 94.7%
A bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains from Van Zyl’s farm, Clarens, Free State, South Africa
Get PDFIn 1933, several skeletons were recovered from Van Zyl’s farm near Clarens in the Free State Province of South Africa. Apart from the general location from which these remains were recovered, very little was known about these individuals’ temporal and cultural contexts. This study aimed to analyse and describe these skeletons and any possible associated historical and archaeological records to reconstruct aspects of their archaeological context and lifestyle. Most of the remains were commingled, and from these, a minimum number of individuals (MNI) of 11 was established. There was one complete and intact individual, which raised the sample size to 12 individuals. The assemblage comprised three juveniles (<5 years) and nine adults (between the ages of 20 and 45, and 50+ years), of which six were estimated to be males and three females. The complete individual, an older adult male, was radiocarbon dated to 844±35 BP (Ua-61831). Several individuals had osteoarthritis and signs of non-specific and dental disease. One of the younger adult female individuals had culturally modified upper central incisors. Stable δ13C and δ15N values indicated a predominantly C4 terrestrial plant-based diet, with little reliance on animal-derived protein. The only complete male individual was of interest due to his unique biological characteristics, being very tall and morphologically robust and clearly not of Khoe-San ancestry. The date obtained for the complete individual is unusual as it is generally thought that Bantu-speaking farmers only reached the interior Drakensberg and Maluti regions much later
The remediation of Kruger Cave: A Later Stone Age and living heritage site in the western Magaliesberg
Get PDFWe report on a programme of work to remediate Kruger Cave, a Later Stone Age painted rock shelter in the western Magaliesberg, South Africa. Kruger Cave, originally excavated in the 1980s and never backfilled or stabilised, has deteriorated through forty years of erosional and quotidian processes that have significantly reduced the extent of the archaeological deposit. The cave is currently occupied by a lay Christian pastor whose activities at the site place the remaining archaeological deposit at further risk. Remedial work was undertaken on what remains of the archaeology-bearing sediment. We also present the preliminary analysis from two small-scale excavations that aimed to document the site’s stratigraphy. We explore the ambivalence of Kruger Cave’s living heritage status within the context of current heritage management practices and discuss how our remedial work is designed to be responsive and respectful to both the archaeological and living heritage priorities
Woodstock Rocks: From Acheulean to Iron Age in the Waterberg, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThe cliff terrace site, Woodstock Rocks, was exploited occasionally by hominins from the Earlier Stone Age to the Iron Age. A small excavation uncovered an Acheulean quartzite workshop with many flakes, but lacking large cutting tools and without organic preservation. Below the workshop site, a ferricrete river terrace cements Acheulean lithics that include large cutting tools, giant flakes and heavy-duty scrapers. A palaeomagnetic study reveals reversed polarity, implying that the ferricrete formation likely took place during the Matuyama Chron and that the lithic assemblage is older than 780 000 years. The cliff face was painted expansively, but both the Bushman and Iron Age farmer art is faded. There are some rare images including a wild dog, a bird and a possible genet. The southern edge of the cliff terrace has Middle and Later Stone Age lithics on the surface and talus slope, as well as grindstones, and ceramics that include Bambata sherds from six vessels. The proximity to the Mokolo River and sources of rocks for knapping, as well as smooth rock walls for painting ensured repeated Woodstock Rocks visits (not necessarily occupation) for generations of Homo sapiens visitors, as well as earlier hominins
No Linear Path to Liberation: A Comment on the Political Biography of H. Selby Msimang
Get PDFIn May 2019, South Africa held the sixth general elections for national and provincial government since the dawn of democracy in 1994. Following a trend that began in 2004, electoral support for the rulingAfrican National Congress (ANC) declined and for the first time fell under the 60% mark. Lying behind the decline in its electoral fortunes were myriad factors including general public perception that associated ANC rule with corruption and incompetence in governance. The results also demonstrated that the political sheen that it (the ANC) had acquired for the role it played in the struggle for democracy and liberation in South Africa had started to wear off. With that, the political narrative that the ANC had propagated so effectively, which characterised South African politics, especially in the black camp, as having been divided between heroes who fought the good fight and villains who collaborated with the oppressive apartheid system was also being contested.
“Women, Gender, and Financial Inclusion”
Get PDFMuch of the institutions that form part of governing structures in African countries reflect gendered perspectives of notions such as freedom and development, thus resulting in a skewed perspective on the development of a country. African women often play second fiddle in matters such as redress, redistribution, and financial inclusion. There is a need to ask why and how this can be remedied through policy transformation and implementation