3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Identity engraved: artistic endeavour and ethnic entities in Central South Africa(2009-02-12T10:32:12Z) Rifkin, Riaan FABSTRACT Ethnicity has been a focus of socio-scientific research for at least three decades, but for the greater part of that period it has been virtually ignored by archaeologists. As a result, many researchers remain committed to an essentialist approach to ethnicity. The reluctance to respond to such views by taking up more explicitly the dynamic and situational approaches to identity, as is currently underway in anthropology and sociology, arise from several sources, which undeniably also include the political. Ultimately, though, the essential reason is practical. The literature demonstrates that ethnicity and ethnic identity are slippery concerns in contemporary societies, let alone in pre-historic social contexts. Rock art presents an opportunity for assessing assumptions about identityconsciousness. It provides a category of material culture for the establishment of historical and chronological records of multi-cultural interaction and ensuing episodes of adaptation and change. Engraved art is a source of information on past societies, subsistence strategies and, most importantly, on the development of cohesive social systems and social consciousness. Artwork is the most obvious example of symbolic storage outside the human mind, yet it is not universally practised by huntergatherers and it cannot therefore be used as the sole criterion for recognising modern symbolism, modern behaviour, and ethnicity. Given this ambiguity with regards the function of rock art in the demarcation of territorial boundaries and in the construction of social and ethnic identities, an exploration of additional spheres of ethnic conception and assertion may illuminate the question of how San huntergatherers conceived and conveyed their respective identities. This investigation into the association between art and ethnicity is founded upon the conviction that the complexity of social identity must be explored on a dynamic continuum that allows for interface between varied social factors. Notions concerning the ethnic orientation of social groups are represented, either unconsciously or purposefully, in socio-cultural spheres as diverse as territoriality, subsistence economy, language, religion, and also aesthetic and artistic cultural patterns. This study of the relationship between conceptions of identity and engraved art aspires to augment the existing understanding of the origins of processes of identity-formation, how such processes operate, and how they may be manifest in material cultural contexts.Item Language and identity: Investigating the language practices of multilingual Grade 9 learners at a private desegregated high school in South Africa(2008-05-20T12:32:26Z) Nongogo, Nomakhalipha MargaretThis research report engages with the concern that African learners attending English medium, multiracial schools are losing their proficiency in African languages. In so doing, the report explores the language practices of four multilingual Grade 9 learners at a desegregated private high school in Gauteng. In a school environment that does not overtly support the use of African languages, I explore the extent to which multilingual learners use African languages in the school context, to position themselves and others, as an identity building resource, and the extent to which the use of African languages is implicated in their identities. I also explore the possible influence of the learners’ cultural and ethnic backgrounds on their language practices, and related to this, the expression of their identities. I look at how their language practices help them shift identities with space and purpose, and the contradictions therein. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of language and identity (Weedon, 1997; Zegeye, 2001), in considering how language constitutes identity (Pennycook, 2004) and self and other ‘positioning’ (Davies and Harre`, 1990) It also draws on Bourdieu’s (1991) theorizing of language and power and language as a form of cultural capital. I draw on two traditions in qualitative research: case study and ethnography. In my analysis of the data, I argue that both African languages and English are important in learners’ identities. I indicate that through their language practices, the learners continue to position themselves in multiple and contradictory identities that continue to shift with context. I also argue that the learners’ proficiency in English has not led to them losing proficiency in their home languages, which are retained and used as a primary marker of ethnic identities and for ideas of ethnic purity. This purity is in turn not constructed in a staidly ‘traditional’ manner, but negotiated through joking and verbal competition. Notions of ethnic purity are also often discursively constructed through the use of English, illustrating the contradictory nature of identities. I also point out that some learners protected apartheid constructed ethnic compartmentalization by setting boundaries of belonging. I point to language being a site of struggle for power and contestation in an effort by the learners to resist linguistic assimilation.Item Language, immigration and ethnicity: The choice of language in DRC immigrant families(2008-03-28T10:44:35Z) Kamuangu, Giasuma KasandjiABSTRACT In South Africa there appears to be no published work on language policy in immigrant African families. This thesis, therefore, aims to understand the language policies and language practices of four immigrant families from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) living in South Africa (SA). These four families are presented as case studies and were chosen on the basis of their different ‘family language policies’: English-only, French-only, French-Tshiluba, Multilanguage. The study explores the underlying reasons for the choice of language/s in each family. The main research question is: What are the current language policies and practices of selected DRC immigrant families, and their implications for children’s schooling, for relations within the family and the DRC immigrant community, and for relations outside of these? This research is based on observations and recorded semi-structured interviews with the immigrant parents and children, principals, teachers, and the peers of two children from each family. A theoretical framework based on the work of Bernard Spolsky (2004) is used to understand and analyse the data in relation to: external forces such as power relations within and outside the family, the choice of language for the family, its regulation, and its identity effects. The analysis of data indicated four main findings. First, in all the research families, gender and patriarchy, together with ethnicity and external forces, play a crucial role in the choice of languages for a family’s chosen language policy. Second, the family language policy (FLP) emerges mainly as a consequence of anxiety regarding the marginalisation of immigrant families in their struggle to fit into the host society and to acquire material resources. Third, in three families whose policies restrict which languages may be used, other languages are spoken or heard in addition to the language(s) stated in the policy; only the Multilanguage family has a policy which allows members of the family to communicate in any language within the household. Fourth, this research confirms earlier research (Peirce 1995; Krashen 1982) on the importance of affective factors such as motivation, investment, self-confidence, and optimism, on the one hand, and fear or anxiety on the other, on learning the host society’s languages. In South Africa, ethnic enclosure and xenophobia prevent most immigrant family members (especially the mothers) from learning local African languages and English. Their exclusion (also self-imposed), together with unequal relations of power in South Africa, plays a crucial role in their interactions, thus limiting opportunities for learning local African languages. However, schooling enables immigrant children to integrate into the South African society. Regardless of the FLP, the immigrant children in the research families speak more English than the DRC languages which are showing signs of disappearing in their language repertoires. Based on these findings, my research contributes to a deeper understanding of the experience of immigration and sheds light on foreigner identities. As well, the present study is significant in that it contributes to the emerging scholarship on language policy in immigrant African families, given the dearth of information on language choice and use among immigrants in South Africa. This research also adds to the burgeoning literature on the relationship between language and ethnicity in the diaspora.Item The role of ethnic enclaves in urban regeneration: Fordsburg as a case study(2007-02-19T12:47:28Z) Mahomed, EbrahimThe aim of this research report is to determine the viability of the hypothesis that ethnic enclaves have the potential to contribute positively to urban regeneration. This research is motivated by the importance that is placed on regenerating cities at present and by the fact that many cities around the world, including Johannesburg, are intensely diverse and are composed of a significant number of ethnic minority groups. The Johannesburg Inner City area of Fordsburg has been chosen as a case study. The area has for many years been closely associated with the Indian community of Johannesburg and appears to be showing signs of renewed interest and rejuvenation. Secondary research has been employed as a means to structure the theoretical base of the report and to explain current debates regarding urban regeneration and ethnic enclaves. Quantitative and qualitative criteria have been applied in analysing the findings regarding the scenario in Fordsburg. According to the theory, even in the modern contemporary metropolis, members of society still ascribe to ethnic identities and organise themselves spatially into ethnic enclaves within cities. It is also revealed that urban regeneration can be achieved through several means and that initiatives that target and include ethnic minorities have the potential to produce coherent and desirable results. This includes meaningful input from public sector, private sector and members of community. In analysing Fordsburg, it is shown that the area could definitely be considered as an ethnic enclave and is undergoing a certain amount of regeneration. This regeneration has been mainly driven by the private sector and members of community who identify with the Indian/South Asian enclave. While public sector input has been less significant in Fordsburg’s regeneration, it is nevertheless asserted that ethnic enclaves do have the potential to positively promote urban regeneration.Item Ethnicity and Sex Differentials in Infant and Child Mortality in Ghana(2006-11-01T07:17:36Z) Antobam, Samuel KojoSex differentials in infant and child mortality have been reported in many studies. These studies posit that generally the male child has better survival advantage over than the female child. However, none of these studies have examined the role of ethnicity in understanding these differentials. The question then is, to which extent does sex differences in child mortality exist in a society with patrilineal and matrilineal structures. Using Ghana Demographic and Health Survey of 2003 (GDHS, 2003), the study examines the intensity of these differentials by employing indirect method of estimation, and bivariate and multiple regression models, while giving detailed consideration to the differences in biological and behavioural/environmental perspectives as regards child health and nutritional care. It is found that among all the four major ethnic groups in the country, including the matrilineal societies, the male child has higher survival advantage than the female counterpart. The study therefore concludes that ethnicity, be it matrilineal or patrilineal, does not make any difference in sex differentials in child mortality.