School of Literature, Language and Media (ETDs)
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Item Giving voice: An analysis of the media’s reporting on the failed insurrection, looting and arson in July 2021 in South Africa.(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Masiza, SimphiweThis dissertation explores what the dominant voices in the media coverage of the failed insurrection of July 2021 revealed about the ideologies at play? The research further probed what discourse and ideologies were revealed regarding the way the failed insurrection, looting, and arson that took place in July 2021 were covered. The dissertation provides a background discussion of the media landscape. It then discusses the relevant literature review focusing on issues of media voices, absence, representation, and underrepresentation of certain groups in the media. The research employed qualitative discourse analysis on forty (40) online articles. Furthermore, it tested the findings using a radical democratic, symbolic annihilation and a political economy of the media theoretical framework. The limitations of the research surfaced due to the reliance on daily publications such as the Daily Sun, Sowetan as well and the Independent Online articles (IOL) mainly because weekend publications such as the Sunday Times provided limited data as they reported on the events outside the focal dates. Dependence on mainstream data rather than a balance between community and national was a further limitation. The analysis pointed to media content that is classed and ideologically mediated, it also indicated that the plurality of voices encouraged by the main theoretical framework of radical democracy is highly compromised and some groups are more visible than others. As guided by the research questions the dissertation revealed various ideologies and discourses and concluded that those that were preferred by the media were mainly dominated by the elite or privileged members of society.Item Contested Subjectivities in Textual and Visual Representations of Jacob Zuma(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Makupula, Siwongiwe Chumani; Musila, Grace A.This MA research report studies visual, textual and musical portrayals of former South African president, Jacob Zuma. The study was undertaken through an analysis of material categorised into three genres: biography, music, and visual culture. In the category of biography, I looked at Jeremy Gordin’s Zuma: A Biography (2006) and Redi Tlhabi’s Khwezi: The Remarkable Story of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo (2017). I was particularly interested in the ways Zuma’s public rape trial is presented as an obstacle in Gordin’s Zuma and as a centripetal force in Tlhabi’s Khwezi. From this, I demonstrated the ways these representations of Zuma map gender constructions in South African politics. With music, I was interested in the ways the former president uses struggle songs to construct an image of victimhood while reminding the public about his personal sacrifices in South Africa’s armed struggle I further looked at the ways maskandi music, through ethnonationalist logics, endorsed a “militant” Zuma. Lastly, I looked at Zuma as a heroic figure in amapiano and the ways that communicates Black exigencies in peri-urban South Africa. In the last category, visual culture, I looked at the slipperiness of parody in a country overdetermined by a history of racial tension. I explore the strengths of the portraits and where they offer poignant criticism of the former president. Three of the four portraits are inspired by the predatory sexuality covered in the first chapter while one, “Umshini Wam” is inspired by opportunist and self-serving practices of Zulu culture explored in the chapter on music. I demonstrate that even with these conditions, the erect Black penis is inadvertently harmful. As this should suggest, the three chapters outline three different paradigms to conflicts of subjectivity in post-apartheid South Africa. The first chapter takes a gender studies approach to map violent masculinity performances while trying to locate the place of women in these spectacular displays of [ethno] nationalism. The second chapter, where we study visual portrayals, focuses on class and race as the guiding categories of analysis. We argue that with South Africa’s complicated and violent colonial then apartheid history, racialized exchanges are inevitably charged with a range of discourses. This chapter argues that the “rainbow-nation” narrative prevents South Africans from meaningful engagement with histories of racial and economic formations and this lack manifests itself in negative social exchanges that are inadvertently harmful and potentially retraumatizing. In the final chapter, our guiding paradigm is ethno-cultural codes of social organizing. These guiding or dominant paradigms do not exist 6 exclusively as is evident in the final chapter where gender is an operative category in tandem with ethnic and class subjectivities. As such, this report argues that these categories infuse each other and manifest as complicated mixtures in all three genres studied.Item Exploring early-stage digital transformation in secondary mathematics education(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mata, Songezo; Abrahams, LucienneResearch problem: Digital transformation or technology integration in secondary mathematics education in South Africa is at an early stage. Technology integration can be used in either an enhanced manner (substitution or augmentation) or a transformational manner (modification or redefinition) as described by the substitution-augmentation-modification-redefinition (SAMR) model. The enhancement level is regarded as the early stage in this research study. Previous studies on South African schools have not thoroughly investigated the data and dimensions associated with shifting digital transformation in secondary mathematics education beyond the early stage. Hence, this study investigates the use of digital technologies for teaching mathematics in secondary schools, which are critical for the deep conceptual understanding needed for better education outcomes. Method/approach: Grounded in a social constructivist approach, this qualitative study undertook two complementary case studies. Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) schools were examined via semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and document analysis to collect the necessary data. This was done to examine the study’s four dimensions, namely the digital skills of educators, digital leadership, digital infrastructure, and the digital teaching experience. The data were collected purposefully from key secondary mathematics stakeholders (teachers, district officials, academics, local development agency officials, and independent experts) in the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces. The study explored the early use of dynamic software applications – GeoGebra and Geometer’s Sketchpad, amongst others. Findings: The findings from the two case studies identified the need for (i) a holistic digital transformation in the secondary mathematics environment framework; (ii) an appropriate governance structure for digital education policy design, implementation, and monitoring; (iii) a continuous evolving technical architecture; and (iv) a focus on digital pedagogy for mathematics, to shift digital transformation in secondary mathematics beyond the early stage. Conclusions: The use of digital technologies such as Excel, GeoGebra, and Geometer’s Sketchpad in a transformational manner for teaching mathematics in secondary schools is linked to the promotion of deep conceptual understanding for the improvement of mathematics education outcomes. Based on the data analysis, the study proposed a digital transformation in secondary mathematics education 2022 (DT-SME 2022) framework as a theoretical and practice-oriented framework for South Africa. The study theorises that shifting digital transformation in secondary mathematics education beyond the early stage can be facilitated by applying the DT-SME 2022 framework, which advocates (i) the kinds of intermediate and advanced digital skills that are crucial for the successful implementation of digitally supported teaching of secondary school-level mathematics; (ii) attention to digital leadership, including the establishment of a formal governance structure for the participation of all stakeholders during the design, implementation, and monitoring of digital education policy; (iii) an effective technical architecture to address connectivity issues; and (iv) a constructive and enjoyable digital teaching experience that encourages learning-centred pedagogical approaches.Item The Heart Experience: A Study of Poetry and Piety in Methodist Hymnody in the Eighteenth Century in Britain(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Worster, Starr Liane; Houliston, VictorThis study engages in an exploration of the poetics of Methodist hymnody of the eighteenth century in Britain focusing on Charles Wesley, William Williams and Ann Griffiths. Throughout, the reference point is that of the heart experience which shapes the hymns both in terms of poetic expression and theological belief. Methodism was – and is – above all, an experiential faith, a faith of not only knowing but also feeling God and it is in this confluence of knowledge and emotion that the hymnists of the eighteenth century gave voice to what was for all of them a spiritual pilgrimage. It is a confluence which inspired and informed the hymns, and which is brought to bear on the examination of what John Wesley calls the ‘Spirit’ of poetry and piety at the core of this study. The transforming power of Methodism on British society is universally accepted. John Wesley’s preaching, ministry and organisational abilities were key, but as much as hearing the spoken word played a major role in evangelisation so, too, did the sung hymns of Charles Wesley and others like him. Their poetic expressions of spirituality served to inspire, to encourage, to teach but, most of all, to bring people together in shared worship of their God. The hymns were both a personal articulation of Christian faith and the spiritual journey and an inclusive means of expression for all believers. Charles Wesley, a founder of Methodism along with his brother, John, gave to the movement an enduring channel of evangelism, testimony and testament to the power and love of God through the creative output of his hymns. They emerge out of the context of a spirituality that was focused and devotional; the poetry in his hymns became a means to express praise and reverence to God, and the communication of his faith and religious experience was underscored, in every instance, by his linguistic, thematic and stylistic choices. Charles Wesley was at the forefront of hymnody as it manifested in eighteenth- century Britain although certain figures, namely William Williams and, at the end of the century, Ann Griffiths, became the voices of a Welsh hymnic expression. While Charles Wesley and Williams were evangelists as well as poets, Griffiths wrote to convey her deeply personal and mystic experience of God; all three, nonetheless, used the hymn form to articulate poetically the experience and intensity of emotion in the journey of faith. Methodism’s religion of the heart is at the forefront of all its creeds, its mission, its ministry, but nowhere is this more evident than in its hymns. It is in the consideration of the manifestation and poetic functionality of that heart experience that the crux of this thesis lies.Item Exploring cyber misogyny and women journalists’ work and practice in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Nyamweda, Tarisai L.; Daniels, GlendaWomen journalists are increasingly facing cyber misogyny. However, there is a paucity of research and evidence, particularly in the global South, on this worrying phenomenon. This research study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on cyber misogyny and its effect on women journalists’ practice through documenting their experiences of cyber misogyny and how it affects journalism work and practice as well as contribute to new insights on recommendations to deal with the issue. It uses in depth interviews with selected media development and feminist organisations to understand the phenomenon of cyber misogyny as it relates to women journalists who have encountered cyber misogyny, to collect information to inform this study. Data collected has been augmented by content analysis of selected X posts generated by journalists and the responses from audiences on the selected X posts. The data collected from the in-depth interviews was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The research is grounded on feminist theory, the concept of the role of the media in democracy and hegemonic masculinity, and uses the concept of journalistic routines as a lens through which to examine the effects of cyber misogyny on journalism practice.Item Stratégies d’apprentissage et auto-efficacité dans l’enseignement-apprentissage du français langue étrangère : le cas de l’université du Witwatersrand(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) le Roux, Toni; Horne, FionaMost university students of French as a foreign language do not continue their studies after the first year. The aim of the current study was to find the causes of this phenomenon; with the recognition that language learning strategies and self-efficacy beliefs are key factors in autonomous, engaged, and active learning. A mixed-methods study was conducted in 2022 with students and lecturers in the French department at the University of the Witwatersrand. This study included questionnaires and interviews to evaluate the students’ use of language learning strategies and levels of self-efficacy beliefs, their motivations to continue their French studies, and their level of active engagement in their French courses. The results of this study showed that while both strategies and self-efficacy beliefs are important factors in the French learning journey at university, autonomous engagement and the intention to continue their French studies are in reality driven by students’ intrinsic motivation.Item Newsroom Culture and Journalistic Practice at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC): An Ethnographic study(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Dlamini, Tula; Chiumbu, SarahThis research sets out to examine newsroom culture and journalism practice at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The primary objective is to understand the factors inside the SABC newsroom that impact the construction of news stories and current affairs productions. Anchored on Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of the habitus, doxa, and capital, together with Habermas’ concept of the Public Sphere, this thesis describes the newsroom culture of the SABC between 2016 and 2021 based on everyday work experiences and perspectives of news workers, managers at the broadcaster and available documents. As a secondary objective, the study explores how SABC newscasts and current affairs programming mediate news. Specifically, the content analysis of News and Current Affairs products assesses how the SABC mediated pluralist politics during the 2016 local government elections from the perspective of normative public sphere principles and examines how routines, practices, and professional values broadly impacted the broadcaster’s coverage, particularly the contested issue of ‘land’. The study is essentially a qualitative ethnography of the SABC newsrooms, although a multi-method approach is adopted to arrive at a more encompassing view of the journalistic culture of News and Current Affairs construction at the broadcaster. The 2016 period and after are interesting because these are also moments in time when the SABC newsroom was characterised by widely reported tension and editorial turmoil. The findings reveal some of the embedded structural systems in the SABC’s newsrooms, such as the role of the management hierarchy and the institutional norms, shared professional values, and routines that journalists use to achieve functional ends for the broadcaster. Furthermore, the study identifies a gap in the general scholarship of the SABC. For example, fewer studies have attempted to account for the culture and journalistic practice inside SABC newsrooms, all of which have impacted directly on the general operations of the broadcaster and execution of its PSB mandate.Item Minimality in siSwati(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Magongo, Vusi Musa; Kadenge, MaxwellMany languages have minimal prosodic restrictions on the size of well-formed words. This study explores word minimality restrictions on the siSwati Prosodic Word, with emphasis on how the grammar of the language repairs submininal constructions. It provides evidence for word minimality in different forms of the Verb and the Noun within the siSwati grammar. It further illustrates that siSwati grammar triggers different augmentation strategies across various morphosyntactic domains. The dissertation provides a formal Optimality Theory analysis of the minimality restrictions on the PWord, highlighting how minimality effects in siSwati pattern with other Bantu in general and Nguni languages in particular. This work demonstrates that the Prosodic Hierarchy and its domains determine whether the siSwati grammar triggers or blocks augmentation to satisfy minimality constraints. The aim of this study is to present the first comprehensive account of repair strategies used in siSwati to maintain preferred phonological structures, highlighting the importance of the syllable and word as essential levels of phonological analysis in this language and others like it. Findings reveal that the language selects phonological or morphological augmentation to parse grammatical constructions that are minimally well-formed in all surface representations in the siSwati grammar. The requirements for minimality evident from this study are the same crosslinguistically, with siSwati and Xitsonga employing a suffixal morpheme as opposed to the prefixal morpheme employed by all the other Nguni languages in the imperative. In Nguni languages prefixing augmentation is unmarked while suffixing augmentation is marked. Additionally, the results of this analysis are compared to those of other Southern Bantu languages in an effort to situate siSwati within its language family, thereby contributing, in a small but significant way, to linguistic typology.Item Time, Temporality, Narrative and Identity in Three Works of Historiographic Metafiction(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Liebenberg, Xanya; Williams, M.A.This dissertation examines the ways in which concepts of identity and self-understanding cluster around notions of time and temporality in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1981), Peter Ackroyd’s Hawksmoor (1985), and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything Is Illuminated (2002). It argues that many theories of time neglect the uniquely human experience thereof, which finds expression in the intersection of time and narrative. Narrative is an inherently temporal process which functions as an epistemological tool through which we grapple with our embeddedness in time, and within the stories of others. The process of narrative identity formation, that is, of becoming, is explored from different perspectives in each text. In Midnight’s Children, identity is formed through intergenerational narratives and intersubjectivity. In Hawksmoor, the syncretic layering of Nicholas Dyer’s churches embodies the same syncretism which constitutes identity. Identity, in this novel, is made up of fragments and traces manifesting in different timelines. In Everything Is Illuminated, identity is formed through absences, loss, and silences which function as traces, negative spaces and Derridean cinders. Everything Is Illuminated also underscores the role of intersubjectivity and the co- creation of identity. Through patterning and repetition, each novel embodies a sense of time which rejects linearity. Furthermore, each novel foregrounds the temporal processes that infuse narrative by engaging with time and temporality thematically, as well as embodying these temporal processes in various ways throughout each text. Although all three texts are examples of historiographic metafiction, this dissertation concludes by suggesting that our understanding of the human experience of time, temporality and identity in other texts and genres may benefit from an approach which foregrounds the intersection between time and narrativeItem Analyzing Financial Survival Strategies for Public Service Broadcasters in Disruptive Environments: A Case Study of SABC and Alternative Funding Models(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mnguni, Thamba Isaack; Koba, YoloFollowing the upsurge in globalization, digitization, and audience fragmentation, public service broadcasting and its legitimacy are often questioned, if not undermined. This study explores the financial survival of public service broadcasters in the digital era. The lack of funding for public broadcasters has a bearing impact, affecting the delivery of public mandate, diversity of content, cultural diversity, inadequate production of television content, and editorial independence due to the lack of funds. In production, producers often need reduced production budgets, thus limiting the quality of the media output and the representation of audiences. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews, and the case of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), this study argues that traditional public broadcasters need to modernize their business operations and adopt technology and innovation to survive against competition while retaining the public service mandate as its Unique Selling Point (USP). This paper also highlights internal and external organizational impediments that have thus far hindered the successful financial operation of the SABC. This, therefore, leads to questions about the legitimacy and democratic role of public broadcasters. In response to the financial challenges exerted by poor funding from the government, poor commercial revenues, and TV license evasion, this study argues that public broadcasters can deploy multiple alternative revenue streams to harness revenues to make up for the shortfalls with traditional revenues. As a result, this study recommends four funding models for the SABC to harness alternative revenues: Services and Commercial model, Endowment Funding and Licensing and Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives and the Hybrid model. This study also reveals that the legitimacy of the SABC as a public broadcaster is hanging on a shoestring until the matter of Analogue Switch Off (ASO), Set Top Boxes (STBs), and Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) are successfully resolved by the government.