Wits School of Arts (ETDs)

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    (Il)legitimacy of Freelance Artists: Exploring Current Government Legislation and Policies that Influence Economic Exclusion and Inclusion of South African Freelance Artists
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-03) Mmeti, Lehlohonolo Tebalelo Rudy Matome; Chatikobo, Munyaradzi
    The prevailing descriptors—such as "illegitimate," "non-compliant," "unprofessional," and "informal"—resonate globally, attributing a lack of structure to freelance artistry. This characterization places these artists in precarious legal and economic positions, hindering access to fundamental employment benefits, credit, loans, and housing. Therefore, it is imperative to answer the central questions, Which legislative measures and policies currently influence the economic integration, compliance and legitimacy of freelance profession within Cultural Creative Industry and Economy in South Africa? The scarcity of literature on the subject prompts an exploration into the legislative landscape, framed by the notion that policy acts as a guiding roadmap. The central argument is that existing policies failure to adequately address the unique challenges faced by South African freelance artists, leaving a critical void in understanding their economic participation. Focused on a qualitative methodology, the research examines documents and policies to unravel the impact on freelance artists' economic standing, employing lenses that navigate the intersections of formality and informality within the Cultural Creative Industries. The research underscores the imperative to bridge this knowledge gap, arguing for targeted interventions to rectify the economic disparities and (il)legitimacy associated with freelance artists in South Africa. It is through the aims and objectives of this research that I was be able to come with a concrete understating of the landscape so appropriate intervention measures can be suggested.
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    The Case of Analytic Philosophy as ‘the Philosophy’ and Its Problem for the Decolonization of the Curriculum
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2018) Ramaphala, Dorcus; Etieyibo, Edwin
    In this research, I shall be examining two related issues. The first issue is about whether the presentation of analytic philosophy as the proper and only method of doing philosophy is justified. The second concerns the problems posed for the decolonization of the philosophy curriculum by this hegemonic and triumphant position of analytic philosophy as “the philosophy.” My motivation for engaging with these issues is to try and make the case for other philosophical traditions and methods, including African philosophy as legitimate and proper philosophical enterprises even when they do not share all or some of the traits and features of analytic philosophy. Success in making this case seems crucial to the project of decolonizing the philosophy curriculum.
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    Men, Masculinity, Aggression and Dominance: An Exploration of How Young Men are Socialized to Deal with Situations of Man-on-Man Aggression and Dominance
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2019) Vilakazi, Zinhle; Davies, Nick
    There is a considerable body of research placing young South African men at the core of interpersonal violence. Within these studies they are frequently positioned as both perpetrators and victims of extreme and homicidal modes of aggression. In light of this gendered nature of interpersonal violence, this study was directed at exploring how young men’s responses to a situation of man-on-man aggression and dominance might be linked to how society encourages or expects a certain masculine performance from men in such situations. This study’s secondary goal was to offer some ideas about how young men might establish a masculine identity through aggression and dominance. In the pursuing research aims, a total of 14 young adult men attending university participated in this qualitative study. From the analysis what became evident was the continuous pressure that young adult men experience in society, through various social institutions, to somehow fit into dominant or hegemonic constructions of masculinity. Within the context of this study, the proximal cause of aggression and dominance was attributed to broader concerns regarding presentation of a masculine identity, self-worth and social status.
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    Composing Augmented Spaces
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Ferreira, Jaco Louwrens; Harris, Cameron; Crossley, Jonathan
    This dissertation explores the notion of place as sensed, conveyed and created through soundscape composition. This is done by looking at works in the genre of soundscape composition and a concert presentation that took place in the Great Hall at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Spatiality in electroacoustic music is explored in relation to theories centred around the notion of place and practically applied to my concert presentation of Sound Spaces. Different forms of spatiality are explored from a compositional perspective with considerations for the listening space, the space created and occupied by the music itself and the methods of diffusion that allows for an augmentation of space. Sound Spaces forms the basis of my investigation of how spatiality in electroacoustic music and soundscape composition can be used to engage with the notion of place as created through the musical experience and illustrates how the notion of place can be incorporated as an active compositional domain in soundscape composition and electroacoustic music.
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    Transgender Character Representation and the Gender Binary: Theorizing a Philosophy for Transgender Character Construction in Video Games.
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Bowler, Keagan Benjamin; Cloete, Stephen
    Transgender characters in video games are often met with negative opinions by the largely heteronormative playerbase which, like in other media, results in a wider negative opinion on transgender people and subjects in reality. In exploring a personal identification with Celeste, I formulate a philosophy concerning the gender binary norm and its role in perpetuating harmful ideas. This philosophy manifests as both an ideology and platformer video game questioning what gender means to story and character. Through exploring gender, metaphor, queerness and game design, a philosophy is constructed to create a transgender character and video game story in a positive light.
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    The impact of childhood trauma on intimacy: A literature review exploring Drama Therapy techniques for intimacy recovery in adult relationships.
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Magee, Kathryn; Thibedi, Linda (Mdena)
    This research paper explores how Drama Therapy techniques may be used for intimacy recovery in adult relationships in the context of childhood trauma. The immediate and long term consequences of childhood trauma are multifaceted and vary significantly. However, studies indicate that exposure to trauma during childhood adversely impacts brain development, which may disrupt other developmental processes as well as an individual’s capacity to form and maintain intimate relationships in adulthood. Intimacy is a vital element of relationships in that it provides a framework for communication and connection on various levels. Despite correlations between the two notions, research pertaining to the treatment of trauma with the intention of fostering intimacy is limited. Similarly, in the Drama Therapy field, there is little evidence indicating how the discipline could be adapted with the specific intention of fostering intimacy in relationships. Through an integrative literature review method, research pertaining to the impacts of childhood trauma, how childhood trauma influences intimacy, and predominant trauma treatment approaches and their effects, were explored. This informed an analysis of various Drama Therapy approaches, which may be useful in dealing with childhood trauma and fostering healthy relationships. From the literature examined, Drama Therapy may serve as a versatile tool for emotional regulation, narrative exploration, vulnerability and sharing, and transformation and empowerment, which all have the potential to foster intimacy in relationships
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    Encountering apartheid publics: an essay film on Hendrik Verwoerd as public symbol 1958-1966 and implications for counter-publics today.
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-11-10) Effendi, Karima; Louw, Lieza; Kenny, Bridget
    The policies of separate development under Verwoerd created the material conditions for apartheid and capitalism to thrive, but it's the hypothesis of this project that the pomp and ceremony, the suit, his speeches and performative statecraft, created the affective conditions for his thinking to make its way from the past into our present-time. This is a discursive inquiry that draws on political theory, psychoanalysis, feminist theory and essayistic film theory to explore how the slipperiness of apartheid discourse makes it impossible to counter it on its own terms. Verwoerd symbolised a pernicious ‘covering over’ of irreconcilable ambiguities in apartheid discourse that was used to construct and stabilise whiteness against ‘other’ constitutive subject formations. The second part of the creative project is an essay film, Verwoerd’s Smile, that uses an ‘apartheid’ and colonial archive to attempt to show up its own discriminatory logic. The film’s failure in doing this has a productive value that is instructive for understanding how the cloak of invisibility that shrouds whiteness from being seen doing its work, also protects it from being dismantled. Understanding this has implications for radical projects concerned with undoing apartheid.
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    Locality Shaping the Institution: Genesis Connection Youth Skills Multimedia, Riverlea, Johannesburg
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Pather, Jodie; Ntombela, Nontobeko; Khan, Sharlene
    Following the rich history that community art centres have had in South Africa, this research questions how locality may ideologically shape community-based arts institutions and have a bearing on how they operate and what they have access to. Specifically, this study looks at the community-based arts organisation, Genesis Connection Youth Skills Multimedia (Genesis), in Riverlea, Johannesburg. This research report is carried out to ascertain the extent to which Genesis and the work that they do is influenced by their home community of Riverlea, and how this locality may affect or determine their curriculum, programming, and access to funding. Through episodic interviews, I explore the significance of locality to community-based art centres as is experienced directly by facilitators of different initiatives. The first chapter in this report deals with an overview of scholarship on community art centres; defining and contextualising them, including a historical overview of community art centres that have existed in Johannesburg. Locality, as a concept and its associated literature as related to community art centres is discussed and incorporates perspectives from facilitators working in the field. The second chapter presents a historical overview of the area of Riverlea and builds on the description from Chris Van Wyk’s autobiographical work Shirley, Goodness and Mercy (2004), as a way of complementing, enriching and humanising the academic perspectives on the area of Riverlea. These upfront chapters provide the context for the birth of Genesis, and the terrain that it operates in. Lastly, the third chapter looks at the funding landscape that has sustained community-based arts in South Africa, with specific attention paid to government-funded community-based arts centres, alongside a discussion of how Genesis is funded. The purpose of this is to establish an understanding of the accessibility of funds for arts organisations, what their unique challenges may be, as well as to highlight the sustainability of government-funded organisations in comparison to that of self funded organisations, such as Genesis
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    The affordances of Narradrama as a tool for psychological adjustment among Traumatic Brain Injury survivors in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-03) Bekker, Jané-Desire; Clarke, Lucy Draper
    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an acquired disability that can easily be overlooked, and there is a need for innovative, accessible and more effective therapeutic models for neuropsychological rehabilitation in the South African context. This practice-based research aimed to explore how Narradrama may assist TBI survivors in identifying and adjusting psychologically to their own identity, exploring ways to expand this identity and uncovering the affordances of familial witnessing. The practical application was conducted with a group of six to twelve adult TBI survivors in Johannesburg more than three years after their injury. Data was collected from interviews, six Narradrama sessions, and creative expressions made by participants. The findings in this study document two case studies and determined four sub-categories of witnessing that made an impact. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed the main themes of shame to empathy and disconnection to connection. For this sample group, a Narradrama approach proved effective for psychological adjustment to changes in identity and provided ways to expand confidence, meaning, agency and a sense of belonging.
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    A transpersonal approach to drama therapy techniques for embodied grief work with women who experience loss and distress from an abortion.
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Brollo, Gillian Susan; Pankhurst, Margie
    Abortion as a lived experience is not often explored in research or therapy, particularly when women are distressed as a result of an abortion. This research addresses the scarcity of such explorations through developing and testing a workshop model based on transpersonal drama therapy in order to examine how women who are distressed after an abortion express and manage their experience, and also how women can integrate an abortion into their life story in order to find healing. The two key questions are concerned with firstly, how embodied activities can bring unconscious feelings to the surface, and secondly how narrative can work to integrate a distressing experience into a life story so that its emotional impact is managed and the individual finds ways to move forward from the traumatic event. Chapter One is an introduction to the context, one in which women who experience a sense of loss or grief after an abortion find few places for support, healing and most importantly, for expressions of distress. The introduction touches briefly on the hyper-politicised nature of abortion as a phenomenon and how difficult it is to communicate nuance within such a polarised context. Chapter Two is a description of the theoretical framework of the transpersonal approach which also serves a literature review. The literature drawn on includes models of drama therapy, griefwork, embodied grief activities such as rituals, transpersonal philosophies which present a world where the material and the immaterial are connected and draws these theories together within an Afrocentric paradigm. Chapter Three describes the methodology and explains how the workshop was designed and its aims. Chapters Four and Five are concerned with how data was obtained and a data analysis and discussion flowing from that analysis. The final chapter looks at findings including a deep sense of relief and healing in being offered a space to explore their personal experiences of abortion, and in the affirmation provided by witnessing other women’s stories and telling of their own; and recommendations for future research such as trying the model with a rural cohort, and extending the process in combining individual and group work in order to dive deeper into individual stories.