3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item "You can only claim your yard and not a country": exploring context, discourse and practices of cosmopolitanism amongst African migrants in Johannesburg(2010-11-24) Haupt, IriannAdopting a social constructionist methodology, this research explores the contexts, discourse and practices of cosmopolitanism amongst African migrants in Johannesburg, South(ern) Africa’s economic hub and top migrant destination. The research argues that the central function of this cosmopolitanism is to serve as a counter-narrative to an exclusive South African nationalism and as an expression of a more general struggle to overcome the unwarranted limitations of being born in a country which does not provide enough opportunities. On the basis of both qualitative and quantitative data collected between 2006 and 2008 in Johannesburg, this study challenges the still widely held assumption that cosmopolitanism is not for those whose mobility is ‘unprivileged’ and argues that this assumption becomes particularly unsustainable once situated in the contexts of Africa’s unachieved nation-states, hyper-diverse urban centres and multiple alternative systems of belonging and identity. Instead, this study argues that it is exactly these conditions that have actually allowed a particular type of cosmopolitanism to emerge rather than having suppressed it. The three empirical chapters explore how migrants’ counter-narrative to discourses of nationalism, exclusion and pathologisation of migration constructs notions of mobility and space in particularly cosmopolitan, de-territorialised terms; generates a concept of cultural diversity and the engagement with the Other as normal, enriching and unproblematic; and establishes a more inclusive and multifaceted cosmopolitan social order that is claimed to be morally superior to that of nationalism. Finally, the conclusion provides some pointers towards three central imperatives for future research on cosmopolitanism: firstly, the imperative to address the present disconnect between cosmopolitanism from above and from below – and as part of that the lack of attention to empirical forms of cosmopolitanism; secondly, the importance of paying more attention to the social, cultural and economic contexts in which forms of empirical cosmopolitanism are embedded; and, thirdly, the need to overcome the three ‘isms’ that the majority of research on cosmopolitanism and migration remains stunted by: ethnocentrism, class-centrism and, somewhat ironically, methodological nationalism. The study argues that if we want to know more about how individuals become cosmopolitan agents of change and reformulate social orders ‘from below’, we should begin to treat migrant populations, and particularly those who move within and across the African continent, as a crucial source of knowledge about how to negotiate both the uncertainties and the opportunities that are intrinsic to more de-territorialised, post-national forms of social organisation and identity.Item A critical analysis of the discourses on Muslims in the media before and after the events of September 11, 2001(2008-08-06T13:25:14Z) Ebrahim, HanifaThis research explores the discourses of Muslims that had emerged in The Star, Daily News, Cape Argus and New York Times before and after the bombings of the New York City’s World Trade Centre Towers on September 11, 2001. This was a qualitative study that analysed a total of 176 articles from the various newspapers from July 2001 to November 2001. A discourse analytic approach was used as the method of analysis within a broad depth hermeneutic framework. The depth hermeneutic approach emphasises the analysis of the socio-historical context in order to understand how certain constructions of Muslims had historically emerged. Therefore, this study traces the construction of Muslims and the media historically. The results indicate that the dominant discourses of Muslims that have emerged are that ‘Muslims are fundamentalists’, ‘Muslims are violent’, ‘ Muslims cannot be trusted’ and the depiction of Muslims in conflicting terms in relation to the West, namely: ‘Muslims versus the Western World’. The various sub-themes that had emerged are as follows; ‘Muslims are a force to be feared,’ ‘Islam teaches violence’ and that ‘Muslims are inhumane and uncivilised. The ideological representation of Muslims within the texts as the out-group when compared to the West is emphasised through these discourses. A comparison of the various newspapers portrayal of Muslims in the media before and after September 11, 2001, shows that the Cape Argus depicts a more positive representation of Muslims in both instances. The findings reveal that Daily News, The Star and the New York Times present a more negative view of Muslims before and after the events of September 11, 2001.Item Interracial intimate relationships in post-apartheid South Africa(2008-05-30T07:06:09Z) Jaynes, Claire LisaAlthough both the Immorality Act and the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act were repealed in 1985, for the most part, interracial intimate relationships continue to be fraught with controversy. It was hypothesised that discourses on interracial intimate relationships in post-apartheid South Africa would intersect with racist and/or antiracist discourses. This study sought to identify and explore discourses on these relationships, and to investigate the possible intersections with discourses on racism. Thompson’s method of depth hermeneutics (of which critical discourse analysis was a component) was employed to analyse data generated by two focus group discussions and two interviews with interracial couples. The study yielded a wealth of data. This research report presents significant findings in terms of how discourses on interracial intimate relationships in post-apartheid South Africa intersect with discourses on race and racism. The three main discursive themes were on race, whiteness, and interracial intimate relationships, with the latter theme dominating. Of particular significance was how discursive strategies were employed in order to deny, negate and justify racism. The most striking findings relate to how discourses on interracial relationships intersect with discourses on three main themes: i) experimentation, as depicted by discourses on developmental psychology, ii) geographical locations, socio-economic status, and class, as manifested in the discourse of “It depends on where you go”, and iii) the ideological construction of the family, which functions to maintain a racially stratified society that maintains the status quo.Item Stained judgments, tarnished judges, tainted desire: The rhetoric of sexual orientation in South African judgments 1926-1999(2008-03-18T09:12:01Z) Montgomery, John HenryAbstract This is a study of law and language; in particular an investigation into the language of judgments. The focus is on judgments as texts authored by judges. The main thinkers chosen as the theoretical basis are not experts in law – Michel Foucault, Mikhail Bakhtin, Norman Fairclough and Hayden White, for example. The reason for this choice is to consider the language of law from insights outside of law. Topics such as rhetoric, narrative, critical discourse analysis, intertextuality, interpretive communities, the monologic voice, oppositional reading, and power relations are seldom found in mainstream legal literature. The position taken is that judgments are texts which are no more privileged (simply because they are legal texts) than any others that a society creates. However, judgments are viewed by some as being special societal texts, coated with a patina of mystique because they are dealing with inviolate legal principles. The patina is removed enough to suggest that judges use various linguistic processes to shape their judgments in ways no different from other authors, notwithstanding that they are writing about ‘the law’. Judges are rhetoricians who use rhetoric to shape the facts, choose the most expedient legal principle, and incorporate views of society expedient to their opinion. The thrust of this study is to locate rhetoric at work within a specific sphere. The corpus consists of forty-four cases over a seventy-five year period dealing with sexual orientation. This area of law was chosen for a number of reasons. It is self-contained and lends itself to detailed examination. The topic is emotive which means more rhetorical techniques are at play than in a fairly technical area of law. There have been significant changes in the way sexual orientation has been treated in law over the years. It is interesting to trace how rhetoric facilitated that change. Lastly, we see how a judicial hegemony deals with an apolitical, splintered minority. Any categorical conclusions are impossible in an exploration of this kind. The findings, however, indicate that judges are not as restricted as is generally considered and that their judgments are shaped by employing linguistic techniques available to writers of both fact and fiction. The intention is to provide a fresh way of reading judgments, where observations gleaned in one area can be applied to other areas of law.