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Browsing English by Author "Brooks, M."
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Item Open Access A critical study of specific exploded violent hierarchies in five novels by Toni Morrison(University of the Free State, 2000-01) Strauss, Helene Johanna; Brooks, M.; Lovisa, M.In a study of Toni Morrison's fiction it is appropriate to consider some of the relevant philosophical insights of Jacques Derrida, particularly Derrida's theory of deconstruction and the way in which it facilitates the explosion of violent hierarchies. Firstly, a general overview of relevant Derridean terminology is given. In his work, Derrida exposes many classical philosophical oppositions in which one pole of the opposition dominates the other. In fact, he questions the very nature of a Western reason which causes difference to be viewed as opposition. He uses the phrase 'violent hierarchy' to show that there is no peaceful co-existence of terms within oppositions but that one term traditionally has the upper hand. Derrida also demonstrates that these hierarchical structures of dominance and oppression not only manifest themselves in language but are also promoted by logocentric language. By insisting on the play of différance in language, Derrida offers a way in which these violent hierarchies can be exploded. The term 'explode' is similar (yet not identical to) the Derridean term deconstruction. However, instead of deconstructing Morrison's texts, the aim of this study is to lay bare Morrison' s treatment of the tensions inherent in specific hierarchical structures of dominance. To explode the chosen violent hierarchies is to expose the contradictions and ironies in certain hierarchic structures which manifest themselves and are reflected in language, whereas deconstruction itself is a complex reading strategy that Derrida uses when revealing discrepancies within certain classical philosophical texts. The term 'explode' is thus a more accurate description of what is aimed at in this research. Next, the study entails an assessment of exploded gender, class and racial hierarchies in five novels by Toni Morrison. In The Bluest Eye and Sula, Morrison's explosions of the male/female violent hierarchy are evaluated, while violent class hierarchies are addressed in Song of Solomon. Finally, the way in which Morrison explodes racial and colourist hierarchies in Beloved and Paradise is researched. By opening up language to the play of différance and consequently undermining traditional metaphysical binary reason Morrison, like Derrida, encourages the perpetual explosion of these violent hierarchies in both literature and society at large.Item Open Access Deconstructing the otherness of queer identity in contemporary lesbian fiction(University of the Free State, 2011-01-03) Calitz, Martha Lydia (Talita); Lovisa, M. M. G.; Brooks, M.This dissertation explores queer identity construction using theories of gender fluidity and performance. The research suggests that binary structures such as masculine/feminine, male/female, and heterosexual/homosexual, restrict the expansion of queer gender identities. A deconstructive theoretical framework based predominantly on the philosophy of Judith Butler is applied to a selection of contemporary lesbian novels. The textual analysis of lesbian, transgender and transsexual characters focuses on the ways in which binary structures are challenged by the multiplicity of gender expressions depicted within a variety of sociopolitical contexts. The reality of gender-based violence is investigated as a significant consequence of hegemonic power structures. The charge against butch/femme identity as imitative of heterosexual norms is challenged by demonstrating how such a category functions as a parodic subversion of heteronormative ideals. Female masculinity is also presented as a powerful identity category that inverts expectations of dominant masculinity, while allowing for an interrogation of the connection between sex and gender. From the arguments presented in this dissertation, what emerges very clearly is that queer gender identities empower the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex) community when identity is freed from the constraints of heteronormative discourse.Item Open Access The discourse of the opressed and the language of the abandoned in selected plays of Harold Pinter(University of the Free State, 2000-10) Jacobs, Edwena; Brooks, M.; MacDonald-Smythe, A.The focus of this study is to explore the notions of oppression and abandonment and language and discourse as it pertains to the works of Harold Pinter. A selected reading of three psychoanalysts: Erich Fromm, Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan facilitates an explanation of the psychological effects of oppression, violence, victimisation and alienation. According to Fromm, isolation is wo/man's most prodigious fear as being abandoned from society institutes psychological disturbances. In the Pinterian landscape, the characters are subjected to isolation and abandonment due to the oppressive society in which they are positioned. The Freudian concept of unconscious discourse offers an engaging explanation of the way in which Pinter's characters use discourse to signify their ontological fears and repressed desires. Freud's theory on the mechanisms of the id, ego and super-ego, and how these concepts correspond to repression and thus anxiety, highlights the significant themes in Pinter's plays. The Lacanian notion of Other as it relates to the laws and restrictive demands of society is manifested in Pinter' s plays as an omnipresent menace. Thus the characters attempt to retreat from society as it threatens to annihilate them, should they not conform. Ironically the tyrannical society is too powerful for the characters, and consequently destroys them when they endeavour to defy the laws of the Other. Accordingly Pinter's plays end with this final image of oppressed and abandoned characters struggling in vain against the oppressive Other.Item Open Access The importance of reading in nurturing emergent literacy skills in pre-school learners, with special emphasis on children from disadvantaged backgrounds(University of the Free State, 2011-01) Drennan, Lisa Michelle; Brooks, M.This dissertation explores the benefits of nurturing early literacy which are increasingly being recognized. Many language practitioners (Snow, Barnes, Chandler, Goodman and Hemphill, 1991; Gestwicki, 1997; Krashen, 2004; White, 2005; Morrow, 2007) emphasise that withholding instruction in reading and literate behaviour until schoolgoing age results in children being unprepared for the rigours of school. Intervention should therefore commence as early as possible (Auerbach and Roche, 1971; Brierley, 1987; Essa, 2007; de Witt, 2009) to ensure school readiness and to pave the way for a successful transition into Grade R. At present, it is compulsory for South African learners to begin school in Grade R. This is a government endeavour to ensure that all learners have at least one compulsory year of kindergarten tuition. However, the years preceding Grade R are the most important in terms of acquiring emergent literacy skills (Hechinger, 1966; National Research Council, 1998; Barbarin and Richter 2001; Arnold and Doctoroff, 2003), and urgent attention should therefore also be paid to nurturing literacy during these crucial years. Clearly, children from less advantaged backgrounds who receive little or no stimulation involving printed matter start Grade R at a severe disadvantage as opposed to children who regularly attend pre-school and have literate parents who spend ample time reading to their children. This study highlights ways in which parents and caregivers can significantly alleviate this disadvantage simply by reading to children and by exposing them to a literate environment. Reading to children provides an immensely powerful tool for teaching crucial skills such as page-turning, reading from left to right with return sweeps, following words and understanding basic narrative structures (Bloch, 1996; Ntuli and Pretorius, 2005; Joubert et al, 2008).Item Open Access The transnational intellectual in contemporary Nigerian literature(University of the Free State, 2013) Pretorius, Marilize; Strauss, H. J.; Brooks, M.𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 This thesis investigates the effects of globalisation on identity formation and how this specifically impacts on the ability of the intellectual to function in Nigerian society as presented in three contemporary Nigerian novels. Chris Abani's Grace/and (2004), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) and Sefi Arta's Everything Good Will Come (2006) are examined in terms of the Afropolitan and Afrotransnational identities that Nigerians develop through their encounters with and participation in the globalising processes, namely through circulation and transformation (Ashcroft, 2009). These identities correlate with the extent to which intellectuals are able to address the right audience with a message relevant to their context and concerns and delivering this message effectively so as to affect a positive change in society as required by Said (1994). The degree to which intellectuals fulfil these three requirements determines whether they are labelled academics or vernacular intellectuals. The former consists of those intellectuals who exhibit an Afropolitan identity which often causes them to use predominantly western concepts and perspectives to define and explain African problems. They also seldom go beyond discussing and theorising the causes and effects of problems in Africa. Even when they are able to come up with solutions, they rarely translate this into practical intellectual activity with others. On the other hand, vernacular intellectuals exhibit Afrotransnational identities. Afrotransnational refers to the unique African expression of transnationalism that Africans, and specifically Nigerians in this case, develop as they consume and transform global products and ideas within the local. This enable intellectuals to draw from both western and African knowledge, perspectives and practices and combine them in a manner that allows them to work towards finding solutions for African problems. Vernacular intellectuals are also able to meaningfully engage a wider audience in a manner that mobilises them to take action that subverts and resists oppression. The Nigerian context with its militarypowered dictators complicates the function of the intellectual as they disallow active participation by members of society in the public sphere. Intellectuals, and indeed all member of society, are consequently forced to either remain silent in the face of injustice and oppression, making them complicit; taking revolutionary action in speaking the truth to power, which puts their lives at risk; or finding alternative ways of resisting oppression. Functioning as vernacular intellectuals is further complicated for women in Nigeria. Like their male counterparts, they too have to fulfil all three Said's (1994) requirements and have to overcome the effects of dewomanisation (Sofola, 1998) which renders them unable to effectively engage with women's issues in Nigeria due to their western education. The development of an Afrotransnational identity enables them to combine the knowledge and practices from both sides of the urban and rural divide to address women's issues. Women also have particular challenges in negotiating this divide between the urban, modem and rural, traditional spaces in Nigeria. Patriarchal society still imposes certain limitations on women's role in the home and society which affects the extent to which they are allowed to function as vernacular intellectuals. Women can find ways of liberating themselves from the limitations of motherhood and the kitchen by using these to their own advantage, but the use of customary law alongside civil law still disempowers women to a large extent in Nigeria. It is imperative that men and women collaborate in allowing women the freedom to function as intellectuals in both the public and private spheres. ___________________________________________________________________