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Browsing Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French by Author "Erasmus-Alt, Joanita"
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Item Open Access Die bydrae van nie-artistieke praktyke tot die literêre sukses van eksemplariese Afrikaanse tekste. 'n Ondersoek na beeldvorming(University of the Free State, 2019) Erasmus-Alt, Joanita; Van Coller, H. P.English: As one of the symbolic aspects of human existence, art is inextricably linked to the material aspects of this existence. The result is that art has, for quite some time now, no longer been flourishing in isolation; rather, it has become part of a larger system in which economic principles also have an important part to play. The literary field is thus structured around two opposing poles: the economic and the artistic. Whereas the economic pole is engaged in a struggle to obtain economic capital ‒ the struggle in which particularly the media play an important part ‒ the artistic pole, for its part, strives to gain symbolic capital, which is the capital of legitimation. In this pole the prestige, fame, esteem, literary prizes and translations of the author’s work are decisive factors. Based on the premise that critics’ literary views differ, there are two main kinds of adjudication, namely intrinsic evaluations and extrinsic evaluations. Intrinsic evaluations are conducted in terms of specific artistic considerations that have a bearing on those formal characteristics that qualify a text to be classified as literature. The extrinsic evaluation, on the other hand, focuses on considerations, such as the standing of the text within a tradition and how the work is received. In this thesis the focus has been on extrinsic adjudication, that is, on the elements and role players that were involved in the process of literary canonisation. Because the image that is created of a book or an author must, as it were, take precedence over either the texts or the authors themselves, the creation of a credible image is of cardinal importance in the adjudication process. As a result of increasing mediatisation, the iconic value of information that is both sensational and serves to construct a particular image of an author, is just as important as the message itself. Therefore, the issue as to precisely what it is that determines the value of a literary work leads to a rejection of the allegation that so-called non-artistic considerations have no role to play in theorists and critics’ statements about literature. To illustrate this trend, the researcher identified four authors whose work enjoyed unparalleled popularity almost directly after publication: Dalene Matthee (Kringe in ʼn Bos, 1984), Marita van der Vyver (Griet skryf ʼn sprokie, 1992), Francois Smith (Kamphoer, 2014) and Bibi Slippers (Fotostaatmasjien, 2016). These texts represent different decades in Afrikaans literature – decades during which different artistic (and critical) paradigms and poetics were current. Comparison of the different texts, the image construction process involved, their marketing and their reception thus provided a broader empirical base from which to generalise inferences. This study is a descriptive study that has endeavoured, by means of both quantitative and qualitative methods, to investigate the strengthening influence of image construction as a form of symbolic capital in enhancing the success of the chosen texts. The thesis was premised on an empirical-institutional approach, one that was preceded by a theoretical orientation and a study of the relevant published research data and available digital material. One of the aims of the study was to investigate the production of symbolic value. In that conceptions of literature as ideological, socially bound viewpoints were deemed to be desirable in a study of this nature, a reconstructive approach was coupled with the institutional approach. The aim of the reconstructive approach is to reconstruct and systematise authors’ or a particular society’s conceptions of literature at a particular juncture. The study of mediation in the process of image construction ‒ with specific reference to the role of various agents (the editor, the publishing organisation, literary critics, the media), literary prizes/awards, translations and other cultural strategies ‒ can potentially throw light not only on the extent to which the various role players in the system have contributed to the success of the chosen texts but also on the particular ways in which these role players have done so.Item Open Access Grensoorskryding in Alfabet van die voëls deur S.J. Naudé en Sondag op ’n voëlplaas deur Johann Nell(University of the Free State, 2016) Erasmus-Alt, Joanita; Van Coller, H. P.English: The point of departure in this thesis are the concepts of border crossing and liminality. The latter term was used for the first time by Arnold van Gennep in his work Les rites de passage (1908). Van Gennep (1960:166) identifies three phases in the process of border crossing: the phase of seclusion, the liminal phase (the phase during which transformation takes place) and the integration phase. According to Van Gennep rites de passage is an essential characteristic of any kind of crossing and it refers to the dichotomy that exists between stable and transient structures. It is noticed that in a continuously changing modern society there is an increase in striving for a world without borders. It is typical of post-modernism that concepts of philosophy are mixed with concepts and methods from other disciplines; therefore an increase in integration of multi-disciplinary approaches is found in academic disciplines. In this thesis an overview is provided of important views regarding the nature of topological, philosophical and literary borders. The theoretical discussion serves as point of departure for the analysis, interpretation and discussion of the extent to, and the manner in which the crossing of borders is demonstrated.The focus of this discussion is based on two Afrikaans prose texts, namely Alfabet van die voëls [Alphabet of the birds] (2011) by S.J. Naudé and Sondag op ʼn voëlplaas [Sunday on a bird farm] (2013) by Johann Nell. Due to the iconoclastic nature of post-modern literature it is clear that demarcated borders are disappearing – also in relation to literary genres. Furthermore, the line between high and low literature is continuously becoming less prominent. As the continuous development of literary forms is making it difficult to define explicit demarcated literary genres, the current trends of deliquescence in the chosen genres (short-story cycle, farm novel, town novel, city novel, as well as the coming-of-age story or Bildungsroman) were taken as premise in this investigation. In both these texts spatial, psychological and metaphysical crossing of borders by a liminal main character (or characters) occurs at the story level. Against the backdrop of socio-political changes the various main characters experience different forms of trauma and loss – experiences that inevitably play an important role in moulding a personal identity. The search for the meaning of life and the discovery of the self presumes that the main characters as a result undergo a border-crossing, transformative and disengaging process. As part of the study, attention is not merely paid to different forms of border crossing at story level; the focus also is on the ways in which this border crossing is presented in the structure of the discourse and through narration. Apart from the dynamics which the theme of border crossing effectuates at the level of the story, the aspect of choice of the liminality can also be expressed in the structuring of the actions. As a result of the course of action being structured around border-crossing occurrences, a narrative cycle is brought about by means of processes of progression and regression. At the level of the story, border crossing is closely related to demarcating the area. In the thesis attention is paid to the ways in which the territorialising characteristics of the refrain and birds as complex metaphors are employed. These metaphors are not merely an ornamental aspect of language, but due to their repetitive occurrence they become fundamental themes through which the characters can conceptualise their respective lives and their activities in their immediate surroundings. In post-modern literature the crossing of borders often is demonstrated by the author entering the text on a self reflective level. This thesis investigates the ways in which the real author is present as a character in the literary work by means of subtle manipulation. The various forms of crossing borders demonstrated in both Naudé’s Alfabet van die voëls and Nell’s Sondag op ʼn voëlplaas, serve as confirmation of the idea that the crossing or fading of borders is relevant, for a variety of reasons, to post-modern literature and that it also seems to be a significant trend in Afrikaans literature.