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Mother Earth
Get PDFThe residents of Bloom-Ville Town called it “Gaia’s Garden”, though no one in the town had any recollection of who Gaia was. The garden was located right behind the white picket fence, in the middle of town, fenced with the rusted gate made of something that looked like it might have been perfect steel and diamonds a very long time ago. The fence somehow seemed godly, as if it depicted something that was ancient in origin. The blush roses and the white tulips were always in bloom, scattered across the waterlogged soil. They were always perfect; no season could touch them. They stretched across the veranda, giving life to what could be dead. The flowers were beautiful, perfect – but something about them seemed ancient. Strange. Asleep. Yet awake – alive. Ready, waiting
Ashes of the Olive Tree
Get PDFWhere once the olive branches swayed,In winds of peace and song,Now echoes of the past have frayed,In a land where rights go wrong..
Exploring ukuthunywa as African Methodology: Decolonial research and ethical considerations
Get PDFWestern scholars have long viewed themselves as the sole custodians of African experiences, ideals, history, culture, and knowledge. The #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall protests in 2015 and 2016 brought the issue of decolonising knowledge systems to the forefront, encouraging decolonial discourse more suited to the African context. Today, there is a rise in African intellectuals, practices, and solutions, especially in academia, but not much is being done to reimagine and decolonise methodology. This article theorises on African methodologies, which are often overlooked in decolonial discourse. Despite increasing awareness of African indigenous knowledge to address social challenges, these solutions are often accompanied by Western epistemological pedagogies. Ukuthunywa, an important method of passing down useful skills that one still finds in African households today, is theorised in this article. This term loosely translates to ‘being sent to run errands’. The inspiration for this theorising came from a PhD ethnographic study on African healers called Mountain Doctors
The Hermeneutics of Love in Mizrahi Diaspora
Get PDFThis paper investigates the discursive shifts necessary to establishing an anti-Zionist Jewish diaspora formed in part by Mizrahi reality. Using what Chela Sandoval calls the “praxis stage of the hermeneutics of love,” I consider what formal tasks Jewish communities are responsible for in a decolonizing Palestine. This work entails the contextualization of race within Israel’s formation of Jewish identity and the ongoing metabolization of Arabness to do so. Ultimately, I pose an advanced question for diaspora studies: How can a nation-state be rejected and subsequently disbanded without its most subjugated populations increasingly harmed in the “liberatory” process
Vol.8 No.1 (2025): WritingThreeSixty: Africa in Perspective: Contemporary Issues in Arts and Humanities
No full textDownload the full issue here
“An Endless Cycle of Worry and Hardship”: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Food Security of Somali Migrants and Refugees in Nairobi, Kenya
Get PDFCOVID-19 has produced unprecedented effects on the global economy and society by exposing multiple weaknesses and faultiness. The pandemic has disrupted global and local agricultural production processes and food supply chains with negative consequences for food security. Containment measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, including strict restrictions on the movement of people, goods, and services have affected urban food systems adversely in multiple ways. Urban migrants and refugees in many parts of the Global South have been disproportionately hit by these measures, increasing the precarity of their living conditions and exacerbating the food insecurity of the migrants’ households. Based on the results of a household survey and in-depth interviews with Somali migrants in Nairobi, Kenya in August 2022, this study documents the pandemic-related experience of these migrants in food access and consumption and assesses the overall impacts of COVID-19 on their food security. This study seeks to contribute to the emerging body of case study evidence that assesses the food security outcomes of the pandemic in vulnerable populations
How can we hold the powerful to account in Africa when the ruling party acts with impunity and disregards the will of the voters? Living Rights Festival
No full textMany countries call themselves democracies simply because they hold regular elections. At a panel discussion in October2024 as part of IFAA’s Living Rights Festival, participants were reminded that elections are a necessary but not sufficient requirement for democracy. A key question that surfaced in the debate, titled “Holding the Powerful to Account in Africa,” was what actions could promote accountability in a so-called “democracy” in which the ruling party is able to act with impunity and disregard the will of the voters
Towards a critical and active citizenship in architectural education
Get PDFThis paper examines how architectural technology education can actively promote social justice, critical engagement, and ethical practice beyond the discipline\u27s technical focus. Situated within South Africa\u27s socio-political-spatial context and the enduring legacies of colonialism and apartheid, it focuses on an Architectural Technology Extended Curriculum Programme at a University of Technology, using posthuman and decolonial frameworks from the author’s PhD research. The paper further advances socially just architectural pedagogies by integrating Professor Elmarie Costandius’ concepts of critical and active citizenship, emphasising the role of education in fostering engaged, socially aware practitioners. Through processual learning, event-based pedagogies, and walking excursions, the programme deepens students\u27 understanding of Cape Town’s urban layout and histories of spatial injustice. These methods aim to enhance students’ critical thinking, encouraging them to become socially responsive practitioners who challenge spatial inequalities and advocate for inclusive design