1,720,962 research outputs found
History, migration and identity in contemporary Zimbabwean biography as reflected in Peter Orner and Annie Holmes’ (2010) Hope Deferred: Narratives of Zimbabwean Lives
No full textThis article endeavours to establish the relationship between history, migration and identity in contemporary Zimbabwean biography as reflected in Peter Orner and Annie Holmes’ Hope Deferred: Narratives of Zimbabwean Lives. History is conceptualised as a heterogeneous discourse constitutive of conflictual and competing personal and public histories that contest for hegemony in defining individual and national identities. Through the power of narration, the various characters explored do not just engage in storytelling but are (un) consciously reworking their life trajectories and deliberately redefining and reconstructing their identities, especially their political identities. This reconfiguration is attributed to the political landscape
of Zimbabwe that has largely been shaped by Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front’s political leadership and ideological hegemony since 1980. However, this dominance is being challenged and undermined by the personal histories of individuals who engage in (forced) migration and thus are able to author and construct counter/alternative narratives and identities
“Ngozi†(avenging spirit), zimbabwean transnational migration, and restorative justice in Brian Chikwava’s Harare North (2009)
No full textThis article explores the nexus between the Zimbabwean Shona concept of “ngozi†(avenging spirit), Zimbabwean transnational migration, and restorative justice in Brian Chikwava’s Harare North. In Shona cosmology, once “ngozi†is committed, it has to be recompensed in order for restorative justice to occur between individuals, families, and the community in general. However, failure to appease “ngozi†results in inexplicable misfortunes such as sicknesses or eventual death or deaths of the person or persons who would have committed the “ngozi.†Thus, engaging in transnational migration as a way of escaping “ngozi†is futile as the only solution to “ngozi†is to recompense the victim and his or her family and ensure that restorative justice takes place between individuals, families, and society in general
Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, migration and identity in Lawrence Hoba’s The Trek and other stories
No full textZimbabwe’s land reform programme in 2000 has generated a lot of local, regional and global attention complemented by a surge of historical and sociological analysis of the land question in Zimbabwean society. In addition to this coverage and analysis, the land reform programme also polarised people within and outside the country with some viewing it as a revolutionary and progressive move in the decolonisation of the country. Others, conversely, object to this narrative and project it as the suicidal actions of a government disrespectful of property rights and desperate to cling onto power. This perspective perceives the programme as inherently chaotic and a key moment in what has come to be known as the Zimbabwean crisis which imploded post 2000. However, what is often occluded in these studies is the fact that central to the land reform programme is migration and the attendant identity (re)formation. These are the issues underscored in my examination of Lawrence Hoba’s The Trek and Other Stories
Supra-masculinities and supra-femininities in Solomon Mutsvairo's Chaminuka: prophet of Zimbabwe (1983) and Yvonne Vera's Nehanda (1993)
No full textThis essay is a contribution towards gaining conceptual clarity with regard to the task of understanding masculinities and femininities, especially in the Zimbabwean Shona context. Our argument is that masculinities and femininities in Zimbabwean Shona society have what we term in this essay a ‘supra’ dimension that is spiritual, and it is this supra dimension that we submit has not been given attention in critical discourses on masculinities and femininities, especially as exemplified by the concept of hegemonic masculinity. Contrary to the generalised conceptualisation of the human being as the centre of the universe and the source of knowledge, which is implied in most western social and cultural theories, Mutsvairo (1983) and Vera (1993), as this paper sets out to demonstrate, present us with an alternative view of the human being, which is in harmony with the Zimbabwean Shona cosmology. The Shona world view does not perceive the human being as the centre of the universe. The paper, therefore challenges this understanding and submits that spirituality as attested by Mutsvairo and Vera is a very important constituent of masculinities and
femininities
Zimbabwean transnational migration, (in) visible masculinities, and the reconfiguration of gender in Shimmer Chinodya’s chairman of fools
No full textThis article examines the effect of the relationship between Zimbabwean transnational migration and gender on the concept of “invisible masculinities†and how the space that would have been evacuated by these “masculinities,†as a direct consequence of the migratory experience, is reorganized or reconfigured in Shimmer Chinodya’s Chairman of Fools. This space, both marital and familial, compels us to reconfigure our conceptualization of masculinities and femininities, gender relations, and gendered identities in general. However, men’s temporary or permanent return migration results in return masculinities being forced to accept the changes provoked by their absence and in the process transforming gender relations and gendered identities into more democratic spaces of interaction. The transformation of these gender relations and gendered identities also triggers changes in the marriage institution as spouses begin to see and interact with each other as partners and equals. In addition, the changes witnessed in gender relations and gendered identities result in the production of a tolerant masculinity that is adaptive, flexible, and reflexive
White Zimbabwean farmers’ unstable mobilities, identity and history in Douglas Rogers’ The last resort: a memoir of Zimbabwe
No full textWhite displacement as a consequence of Zimbabwe’s land reform programme resulted in white economic and social mobilities and the need to reconfigure identities and preserve white Zimbabwean farmers’ history and memory as reflected in Douglas Rogers’ The last resort: A memoir of Zimbabwe (2009). This dislocation provokes a fear of loss of memory and history in the white Zimbabwean community and therefore triggers a desire to preserve history and memory, which are central in identity formation. In addition, the preservation of history and memory acts as an important site for the contestation of the land reform programme, identity and belonging
Destabilizing and subverting patriarchal and eurocentric notions of time: an analysis of Chenjerai Hove’s bones and ancestors
No full textThis article explores the notion of time as conceptualized and articulated in Chenjerai Hove’s Bones and Ancestors. These texts, as this article sets out to demonstrate, are characterized by a deliberate attempt to subvert and transcend the Eurocentric and patriarchal notions of time as premised and predicated on linearity and progression. The authors argue, as is reflected in the texts, that these notions of time are a simplistic model and do not reflect the diversity that characterize and constitute human experience. These notions of time are premised on linearity and progression, and so they repress and stifle the existence of other and alternative narratives of history, time, and experience as demonstrated in the texts
The depiction of migration and identity in Zimbabwean Literature from 1980-2010
No full textPhDADepartment of EnglishThis thesis analyses the relationship between migration and identity in Zimbabwean literature from 1980 to 20 I 0. It employs an eclectic/interdisciplinary theoretical approach in its exploration of the relationship between migration and identity in Zimbabwean literature. However, prominence is given to certain strands of postcolonial theory that privilege issues of migration, identity and globalisation. The study offers a historical trajectory of the patterns and shifts of the Zimbabweans' migratory experiences within and across the borders of Zimbabwe, as mirrored in the selected literature. The nexus between migration and identity in Zimbabwe is closely related to the history and fate of the Zimbabwean nation state. This history is marked by instability and fracture and has key defining moments that are critical in determining the nature of the generated ontological insecurities and the subsequent nature, shifts and patterns of the migratory experiences of Zimbabweans. In addition, the migratory patterns and shifts can be very instructive in illustrating how Zimbabweans mediate, negotiate and construct their identities and at the same highlight the ambivalent nature of their relationship to the Zimbabwean nation state. Focus within the borders of Zimbabwe is on the patterns and shifts of the migratory experiences that are aligned to the colonising structure that witnessed a dichotomised urban/ rural space which continue to exist in post-independent Zimbabwe. This inherited colonial dichotomised rural/urban space is problematised in an attempt to decipher the more subtle migratory patterns
and shifts, such as rural to rural, urban to urban and urban to rural migrations, and their impact on identities. Furthermore, the study seeks to expand our understanding of migration from the conventional physical and linear narrative to include migrations of a discursive, dialogical and spiritual nature. The study will also explore and problematise the impact of transnational migration that got accentuated in 2000 because of the heightened Zimbabwe crisis and globalisation on the construction of diasporic identities in Zimbabwean literature. Selected texts from both black and white Zimbabwean writers will be used to explore the various issues raised above
Intra-urban mobilities and the depiction of the city in Zimbabwean fiction as reflected in Valerie Tagwira’s uncertainty of Hope (2006)
No full textThis article explores intra-urban mobilities and the depiction of the city in contemporary Zimbabwean literature as reflected in Valerie Tagwira’s Uncertainty of Hope. It shall be argued that intra-urban mobilities are closely related to the depiction of the city as a heterogeneous space that is unevenly constituted. This unevenness is influenced by economic and political factors and translates into the realm of the social and symbolic as some spaces are projected as “safe†and “respectable†while others are conceptualized as of “ill repute†and “threat†to the security, morals, and safety of its inhabitants. However, the boundaries between “safe†and “threatening†spaces are constantly transgressed by Zimbabwean urban dwellers in their day to day struggles for survival in a harsh and unrelenting economic and political climate. This political and economic environment has resulted in most Zimbabweans being insecure as testified by heightened intra-urban mobilities. Furthermore, the insecurity and intra-urban mobility are exemplified by the creation of unstable identities premised on fear, anxiety, and restlessness that characterize the lives of most urban dwellers
Twitter Diary and COVID-19 Survival: The Case of @acielumumba
No full textThis article examines the Twitter diary of Lumumba William Gerald Mutumanje, popularly known as Ace Lumumba in Zimbabwe, which chronicles his experiences of being COVID-19 positive, his recuperation and survival from the contagion. I argue that the Twitter diary attempts to create a resilient and survivor identity for Lumumba and at the same time underscores the fact that everyone is vulnerable and susceptible to the virus. The diary further complicates our understanding of a text and how meaning is generated given that meaning is no longer localised to the immediate (con)text as inferences have to be drawn from and made to other (con)texts. Twitter largely relies on intertextuality and the reader (prod-user/prod-sumer) needs to demonstrate an awareness of intertextuality if (s)he is to have a holistic appreciation of Twitter texts. Lumumba’s Twitter diary also extends debates on the role of social media and infodemics in health advocacy and community education, especially in times of COVID-19.
Opsomming
Hierdie artikel bestudeer die Twitter-dagboekinskrywings van Lumumba William Gerald Mutumanje, beter bekend as Ace Lumumba in Zimbabwe, waarin hy sy ervarings opteken rakende COVID-19-positief wees, sy herstel en sy oorlewing van die siekte. Ek voer aan dat die Twitter-dagboek poog om \u27n lewenskragtige oorlewende-identiteit vir Lumumba te skep. Dit onderstreep ook die feit dat almal weerloos en vatbaar vir die virus is. Verder kompliseer die dagboek ons begrip van \u27n teks, en hoe betekenis geskep word gegewe dat betekenis nie meer gelokaliseer is tot die onmiddellike (kon)teks nie, aangesien gevolgtrekkings gemaak moet word op grond van ander (kon)tekste. Twitter steun grootliks op intertekstualiteit en die leser (prod-gebruiker/prod-verbruiker) moet \u27n bewustheid van intertekstualiteit demonstreer om \u27n holistiese begrip van Twitter-tekste te kan hê. Lumumba se Twitter-dagboek dien ook as uitbreiding van debatte oor die rol van sosiale media en infodemia in aanbevelings oor gesondheid en gemeenskapsopvoeding—veral in die tyd van COVID-19
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