Acta Academica

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Acta Academica is an academic journal dedicated to scholarship in the humanities. The journal publishes scholarly articles that examine society, culture and politics past and present from a critical social theory perspective. The journal is also interested in scholarly work that examines how the humanities in the twenty-first century are responding to the double imperative of theorising the world and changing it.

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ISSN 2415-0479 (Online), ISSN 0587-2405 (Print)

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 692

Open Access
Die aard en omvang van bullebakkery in skole: strategieë vir die voorkoming van die probleem
(University of the Free State, 2007) De Wet, Corene
English: It is a common misconception that bullying is part of the process of growing up. Bullying, however, leads to violation of the victim’s human rights and has serious negative consequences for his or her physical, emotional, social and educational wellbeing. It is therefore imperative that ways and means be found to prevent bullying. The aim and purpose of this article is to report on the experiences of a group of Free State learners as victims, spectators and auditors of bullying. This will be done against the background of a literature study. Cognisance will be taken of their strategies concerning the prevention of bullying. The survey indicates that both direct and indirect verbal bullying are a problem in Free State schools. Important elements in the campaign against bullying include maintaining discipline; being conscious of the nature and extent of bullying; establishing a culture of caring, and involvement on the part of both learners and adults.
Open Access
Academic inbreeding and isolation in South African psychology
(University of the Free State, 2001) Fouché, Jan; Louw, Dap
English: Several factors have contributed to the fact that academic inbreeding and isolation have reached almost epidemic proportions at South African universities. Although this phenomenon has been described as a cancer in tertiary education, almost no data are available regarding the specific prevalence of inbreeding and isolation in academic psychology in South Africa. The present study aims to make a contribution in this regard. More than 1 000 questionnaires were distributed to academics and professionals to determine how many of them have obtained their qualifications from a single university; whether they were, at the time of the study, employed at a university from which they had graduated; what overseas training they had had; how many were members of international psychological associations; their attitudes towards continuing education, and to what extent they utilised computer networks. The findings are presented and recommendations made.
Open Access
Academic workload, performance appraisal and staff development: issues of quantification, criteria, perception and affect
(University of the Free State, 2001) Ruth, Damian
English: There is graving concern over the intrusion of managerialism into academe. The debate often centres on the concept of quality management and involves problematic assumptions about the notions of workload, performance and development. This article problematises these assumptions, with reference to the role of perception and affect in the quantification of workload, the production of performance criteria, and the construction of development programmes. It argues that these activities need to be part of an organic process arising out of specific circumstances. There are real conceptual difficulties involved and any failure to attend to the role of perception and affect will seriously undermine education.
Open Access
Academic writing in Blackboard: a computer-mediated discourse analytic perspective
(University of the Free State, 2012) Brokensha, Susan
English: This article reports on how text-based synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication in Blackboard were employed at tertiary level to encourage students to share their perceptions of academic writing and sensitise them to the writing process. Employing a computer-mediated discourse analytic (CMDA) framework, three research questions were posed: What were the discussion topics in each mode of computer-mediated communication (CMC)? What types of knowledge construction were reflected in each mode? What kinds of discourse features were generated in each mode? The overall conclusions reached were that both modes of CMC reflected conceptual moves, although few theoretical ideas were present in asynchronous CMC and none in synchronous CMC. Asynchronous CMC was also more syntactically complex than synchronous CMC. This preliminary study suggests that both modes may help learners achieve the above aims.
Open Access
Accented futures. Language activism and the ending of apartheid
(University of the Free State, 2015) Kriel, Mariana
Abstract not available
Open Access
Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance
(University of the Free State, 2012) Nthala, Grant
English: communities of Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. With this particular dance – and indeed with many others – historical connotations, cultural reverberations, and systemic institutionalisation come into play. The hierarchical organisation of the Chewa dance systems and the orderly and enigmatic tendencies of the dance displays are reminiscent of historical phenomena linked to the Chewa diaspora. In essence, mimicry, satire and other forms of enactment (often dramatic) in Chewa dance subtly or candidly unearth acculturative elements within the Chewa ethnicity. This article seeks to illustrate that the Chewa dances gulewamkulu and mganda constitute theatre and that their performance demonstrates a manifestation of traditional Chewa cultural features that have been altered or modified by borrowing from or adapting to other Bantu-related and European cultures.
Open Access
Acta Academica, critical views on society, culture and politics
(University of the Free State, 2014) Lange, Lis
Abstract not available
Open Access
Action research: a wonderfully uncomfortable mode of creating knowledge
(University of the Free State, 2007) Beylefeld, Andriana; Bitzer, Elias; Hay, Henriette
English: Changed views on the nature and purpose of knowledge production provide the backdrop for the authors’ demonstration of the ways in which action research on the development of general skills transformed their values into a living theory. This paper recounts how action research was used to integrate general skills into a medical curriculum. It also presents evidence of the critical scrutiny to which the first author’s educational practice was subjected. The distinctive features of action research provide an analytical framework for arguing that an action researcher can produce useful knowledge and so certainly can have a “scientific message”.
Open Access
Active learning approaches in mathematics education at universities in Ethiopia: the discrepancies between policy and practice
(University of the Free State, 2012) Alemu, Birhanu; Schulze, Salome
English: This article aims to examine the extent to which active learning approaches are implemented in mathematics classrooms in selected Ethiopian universities. Constructivist learning theories are used as conceptual framework. In a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, four universities in one state are purposefully selected. In the quantitative phase, 84 lecturers completed questionnaires. The qualitative approach included observation of 16 lessons, and interviews with eight lecturers and four department heads. The study found that, although the application of active learning is emphasised in Ethiopian policies, traditional lecture methods dominate most classrooms. Obstacles that practitioners experienced are identified and recommendations made. The significance of the study lies in the fact that it highlights discrepancies between policy and practice.
Open Access
Adaptation – A model for bringing human rights and religions together
(University of the Free State, 2015) Kirchschlaeger, Peter G.
From the perspective of a collective – e.g. a religion, culture, tradition, society, or civilisation, human rights can seem to be an individualistic approach undermining the community. This negative view of human rights can be enhanced by the claim of the universality of human rights provoking connotations of imperialism, colonialism, and neo-liberal globalisation. The call for a “universal culture of human rights”, which can sound like the striving for a uniform culture, also strengthens these fears. Finally, a philosophical and social discourse about the groundings of human rights faces the challenge that human rights are defined as “un hecho del mundo” (Rabossi 1990: 161) – as a “fact of the world” – neglecting the need for a justification of human rights. Based on an analysis of the relation between human rights and religions, the following article will discuss the above-mentioned misunderstandings and deliberate on human rights as a “steering notion” of social theory and philosophy in their interaction with religions.
Open Access
Administrative sociology and apartheid
(University of the Free State, 2014) Pavlich, George
Although sociological discourses are multiple and varied, with deeply critical versions challenging the auspices of apartheid, there is also a strand of what I call ‘administrative sociology’ that actively defined, supported and defended the vanguard of apartheid thinking and practice. It cloaked its biopolitical commitments beneath images of scientific neutrality, casting as necessary its assertions about apartheid society. The legacy of this strand of sociology remains subject to few explicit critiques, and its complicity in social atrocities is under-referenced (despite the decisive role of such professors of sociology as Hendrik Verwoerd, Jan De Wet Keyter and Geoffrey Cronjé). This article charts a brief genealogy of administrative sociology in context, focusing especially on the approach Cronjé adopted in his inaugural address, and indicating several dangers that attend to this sort of administrative sociology whose logic is still evident in strands of the discipline.
Open Access
Adventure tourism: opportunities and management challenges for SADC destinations
(University of the Free State, 2013) McKay, Tracey
English: The international tourism industry is becoming increasingly segmented with the growth of different ‘niches’ or ‘segments’ of tourism. One notable and rapidly expanding niche segment in the international tourism economy is that of adventure tourism. Although adventure tourism has attracted a growing international scholarship, research on adventure tourism in Africa is currently undeveloped. Despite this, all Southern African Development Community (SADC) states are promoting themselves as adventure tourism destinations. This article identifies seven key management and policy issues relating to the development of the adventure tourism business in the SADC region.
Open Access
'Affective' witnessing and testimony in contemporary environmental cinema
(University of the Free State, 2018) Konik, Inge
This article advances that through incorporating registers of affect, environmental cinema might better approximate its socially and ecologically transformative goals. A film in which this has been attempted is Fisher Stevens’s Before the Flood (2016), and it is contended here that for this reason the film holds promise despite the weakness of some of its proposed solutions to climate deterioration. An analysis of the film is offered, during which certain of Julie Doyle’s, Nathan Farrell’s and Michael Goodman’s reservations about Before the Flood are countered, drawing particularly on Anton Van der Hoven and Jill Arnott’s arguments in favour of affective cinema. Indeed, a pro-affective film-making approach finds theoretical support in the perspectives of materialist ecological feminists and African philosophers on the role of affect and emotion in being fully human. The article concludes that affect should be recuperated and strategically included within cultural products and interactions, particularly if these aim to engender significant socio-cultural change.
Open Access
Afghanistan: gender, silence and memory
(University of the Free State, 2015) Atashi, Elham
This article explores the juncture of gender and collecting memory in the context of Afghanistan and establishing accountability for past atrocities. After situating Afghan women in the context of past wars, it examines two projects in truth-telling following the ousting of the Taliban and what was termed as the transitional period. Providing a critical analysis, it argues that recalling and telling of the past from the bottomup approach has done little to break the prevailing culture of impunity and address the motivation of victims in participating and contributing to memory projects. By promoting truth-telling and giving meaning to collecting memory, the international community has focused on the production rather than representation of memory. Production for the external market rather than localised confrontation with the past to alleviate trauma has led to an increasing commoditisation of memory. As a result, women’s representation in relation to past wars have remained marginalised as victims. In conclusion, the article positions silence as a tool of local resistance to an ever-increasing popularisation in the globalised markets of memory and truth-telling.
Open Access
African diviner-healers and oral performance: a perspective on Sepedi divination
(University of the Free State, 2004) Masoga, Mogomme; Nel, Phillip; Moleleki, Mohlomi
English: Divination is receiving ever more attention in the media. Communities, groups of people and individuals are asking questions, voicing opinions, and making judgements on the function of this important branch of African life and philosophy. This paper investigates African oracle-speech as a typical genre of oral poetry. In short, it argues that the African diviner-healer (ngaka) becomes an oral performer, employing some of his or her clan praises (among other dynamics of orality) during the divinatory process. The data on African divination oracles drawn from interviews with diviners is provided and analysed in terms of theories of orality.
Open Access
Afrikaans se unieke posisie en uitdagings in ’n veeltalige Suid- Afrika
(University of the Free State, 2010) Slippers, Jana; Grobler, Anské; Van Heerden, Neels
English: Afrikaans, as one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, finds itself in a unique position, facing many challenges. This overview of the history and events that lead to this position endeavours to gain insight into the current position of Afrikaans. Currently the literature lacks such an updated contribution. It appears that the challenges of a multilingual South-Africa are not new or unique to Afrikaans, except for the consequences of apartheid. Despite this legacy, Afrikaans can make a significant contribution to the further development of a multilingual South Africa. Research into the day-to-day experience of Afrikaans-speaking people in a multilingual South Africa is needed to exploit this potential.
Open Access
Afrikaner nationalism, apartheid and the perversion of critique
(University of the Free State, 2014) Eloff, Rene
In this article I investigate the relationship between Afrikaner nationalism, apartheid and philosophy in the context of the intellectual history of the University of the Free State. I show how two philosophers that were respectively associated with the Department of Political Science and the Department of Philosophy, H J Strauss (1912-1995) and E A Venter (1914-1968), drew on the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd to justify separate development. I argue that their interpretation does not simply amount to a wilful misunderstanding of Dooyeweerd, but rather that the foundational moment of Dooyeweerd’s philosophy involves an interpretive violence that accommodates this interpretation.
Open Access
After theory
(University of the Free State, 2003) Peeters, Leopold
English: In French literary studies the reign of “Theory” has come to an end and its demise has left a void. This article proposes that literary studies be founded on anthropological considerations. In order to justify this approach the insufficiencies of theory are first shown to be rooted in dualistic rationalism. Poetry concerns the whole experience of human beings, and three aspects of their irreplaceable individuality and unity are explored: verbal image, rhythm and voice. Since poetry is essentially human it needs to be studied in an interdisciplinary context.
Open Access
After universalisms: music as a medium for intercultural translation
(University of the Free State, 2012) Viljoen, Martina
English: Postmodernity is characterised by the fundamentalisation of plurality. As Aleida Assmann (1996: 99) finds, difference is affirmed in the form of deviance, gaps, and radical alterity. Within this intellectual milieu, the acknowledgment of alterity and the acceptance of difference have become foremost ethical claims (Assmann 1996: 99). Appropriating the thought of Goethe, she finds that the emphasis shifts from the embrace of the One to an encounter with the mode of the Two (Assmann 1996: 100). This encounter is marked by awe and surprise, but also by the shrouding of each of the Two as if cloaked in eternal solitude. The question posed in this article is whether Assmann’s viewpoints may enhance a reading of a work from the South African art music repertoire, Hans Huyssen’s Ciacona & Tshikona (2007). Engaging with a broader selection of viewpoints on cultural translation, it is asked whether Assmann’s (1996: 99) notion of otherness is a productive context for mediating a meaningful encounter between cultures and whether, as such, it is relevant to an interpretation of Huyssen’s work. A speculative interpretation of Huyssen’s Ciacona & Tshikona reveals that the work is suggestive of a complex heredity being translated into an ‘impure’ new South African contextuality.
Open Access
Against trauma: silence, victimhood, and (photo-)voice in northern Namibia
(University of the Free State, 2015) Becker, Heike
The article shows how the discourses of trauma, victimhood and silence regarding local agency contributed to the production of the nationalist master narrative in postcolonial Namibia. However, I point out repositories of memory beyond the narratives of victimhood and trauma, which began to add different layers to the political economy of silence and remembrance in the mid-2000s. Through revisiting visual forms of remembrance in northern Namibia an argument is developed, which challenges the dichotomy between silence and confession. It raises critical questions about the prominent place that the trauma trope has attained in memory studies, with reference to work by international memory studies scholars such as Paul Antze and Michael Lambek (1996) and South African researchers of memory politics, particularly the strategies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The fresh Namibian material supports the key critique of the TRC, which suggests that the foregrounding of pain and victimhood, and rituals of therapy and healing entailed a loss of the political framings of the testimonial moments.