scholarly journals The construction of the African being in South African history textbooks

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marshall Maposa

This study is rooted in the move by the South African government at the turn of the 21stcentury to spearhead the conception of what then President Thabo Mbeki referred to as anAfrican Renaissance. This move entailed cultivating an African consciousness; educationbeing one of the key tools. With textbooks still playing a critical role in the educationsystem, I analysed South African National Curriculum Statement-compliant historytextbooks in order to understand the construction of the African being. I employed a criticaldiscourse analysis methodology to analyse a sample of four contemporary South Africanhistory textbooks with a focus on the chapters that deal with post-colonial Africa. At adescriptive level of analysis, the textbooks construct the African being as five-dimensional:the spatial, the physical, the philosophical, the cultural and the experiential notions. Theinterpretation is that the African being is constructed as multidimensional. I usepostcolonial theory to explain that while the macro-level of power produces the dominantdiscourses, the micro-level of the citizen also contributes to the discourses that permeate thehistory textbooks. Indeed, the production of textbooks is influenced by multifarious factorsthat when the discourses from the top and from below meet at the meso-level of textbookproduction, there is not just articulation but also resistance, thus producing heteroglossicrepresentation of the African being.

Author(s):  
Marshall T. Maposa

This article is premised on the current (2015–2016) developments in South Africa whereby the country’s youth are increasingly engaging in discourses of South Africa’s post-colonial condition and the need for decolonisation. But how do the history textbooks that they use in schools construct this contentious post-colonial period? On this basis, the main objective is to examine the temporal representation of post-colonial Africa in South African history textbooks. Critical discourse analysis was applied on a sample of four National Curriculum Statement-aligned textbooks with a focus on sections that covered content on post-colonial Africa. The findings from the textual analysis show that the temporal notion of post-colonial Africa is not clearly framed within a particular period. The ambiguity of the temporal notion, a fundamental concept in history, stems from the fact that the lexicalisations used as time markers in the textbooks cannot be linked to one particular date, resulting in a post-colonial Africa whose beginning and – more specifically – end cannot be unambiguously determined. The textbooks also sometimes refer to the post-colonial period as singular, whereas in other cases they describe the period as consisting of different phases. I conclude that such ambiguity reveals a loophole in educating the learners about a period whose circumstances they are trying to not only engage but also transform.


2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niyi Awofeson ◽  
Pieter Degeling ◽  
Jan Ritchie ◽  
Mark Winters

This paper examines the debate regarding efforts by the South African government to control the spread of HIVinfections, with particular reference to events surrounding the 13th International AIDS conference. We posit that thereaction of the medical, pharmaceutical, and media sectors to the stance by the President Mbeki on HIV controlamounts to an over-simplification of a very complex issue. Empathy and sincere partnership are required to addressSouth Africa's worsening AIDS situation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mokoko Piet Sebola ◽  
Malemela Angelinah Mamabolo

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the engagement of farm beneficiaries in South Africa in the governance of restituted farms through communal property associations. The South African government has already spent millions of rands on land restitution to correct the imbalance of the past with regard to farm ownership by the African communities. Various methods of farm management to benefit the African society have been proposed, however, with little recorded success. This article argues that the South African post-apartheid government was so overwhelmed by political victory in 1994 that they introduced ambitious land reform policies that were based on ideal thinking rather than on a pragmatic approach to the South African situation. We used qualitative research methods to argue that the engagement of farm beneficiaries in farm management and governance through communal property associations is failing dismally. We conclude that a revisit of the communal property associations model is required in order to strengthen the position of beneficiaries and promote access to land by African communities for future benefit.


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (1-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lungisani Moyo

ABSTRACT This paper used qualitative methodology to explore the South African government communication and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on food security using Alice town located in the Eastern Cape Province South Africa as its case study. This was done to allow the participants to give their perceptions on the role of government communication on land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. In this paper, a total population of 30 comprising of 26 small scale farmers in rural Alice and 4 employees from the Department of Agriculture (Alice), Eastern Cape, South Africa were interviewed to get their perception and views on government communications and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. The findings of this paper revealed that the agricultural sector plays a vital role in the South African economy hence there is a great need to speed up transformation in the sector.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-29
Author(s):  
Sogo Angel Olofinbiyi ◽  
Thembelihle Mtambo

South African societies have been characterized by the prolific incidence of illicit drug use in recent times.  The paper attempts to examine the legislations implemented on the use of illicit drugs in South Africa. The study adopts a review of the literature to identify and describe the most common illicit drugs used around South Africa communities, placing emphasis on the policies developed by the South African government in combating these situations. The research follows a critical   discussion on the issues associated with drug use, its causes, as well as its effects on humans and the environment. The study recommends relevant initiatives to combat all intricacies associated with drug use within the country. This approach will be appropriate in facilitating a clear-cut   understanding of the possible remedies to quench the burning flame of illicit drug use across a broad range of South African communities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaniyi FC ◽  
Ogola JS ◽  
Tshitangano TG

Background:Poor medical waste management has been implicated in an increase in the number of epidemics and waste-related diseases in the past years. South Africa is resource-constrained in the management of medical waste.Objectives:A review of studies regarding medical waste management in South Africa in the past decade was undertaken to explore the practices of medical waste management and the challenges being faced by stakeholders.Method:Published articles, South African government documents, reports of hospital surveys, unpublished theses and dissertations were consulted, analysed and synthesised. The studies employed quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods and documented comparable results from all provinces.Results:The absence of a national policy to guide the medical waste management practice in the provinces was identified as the principal problem. Poor practices were reported across the country from the point of medical waste generation to disposal, as well as non-enforcement of guidelines in the provinces where they exit. The authorized disposal sites nationally are currently unable to cope with the enormous amount of the medical waste being generated and illegal dumping of the waste in unapproved sites have been reported. The challenges range from lack of adequate facilities for temporary storage of waste to final disposal.Conclusion:These challenges must be addressed and the practices corrected to forestall the adverse effects of poorly managed medical waste on the country. There is a need to develop a medical waste policy to assist in the management of such waste.


Author(s):  
Pacifique Manirakiza

A matter raised consistently by eminent personalities asked to report on atrocities in Africa, such as former South African President Thabo Mbeki, is the utilization of traditional justice mechanisms known to Africans. Their use has been limited to Gacaca courts in Rwanda, set up in haste and subject to much criticism. However, there exist several types and models of traditional justice mechanisms at the African level. The contribution of these sui generis mechanisms towards accountability for heinous crimes is largely unaddressed in academic literature. This chapter intends to fill this gap by exploring their potential contribution towards accountability for heinous crimes, alongside the International Criminal Court (ICC). In short, the chapter explores how community-based judicial mechanisms and the ICC, two types of accountability mechanisms with different methodologies and approaches, can work side by side to eradicate impunity regarding, and also to prevent, mass atrocities on the African continent.


2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Vorster ◽  
J.H. Van Wyk

Church and government within a constitutional state. The prophetic calling of the church towards the South-African government With the transition to a new political dispensation in South Africa, a constitutional state has been established. A typical characteristic of this new dispensation is that the government remains neutral while the executive powers are subject to the Bill of Human Rights. The question of how the church can realize its prophetic task towards the government within the context of a constitutional state is highlighted in this article. The central theoretical argument is that a constitutional state that acknowledges fundamental rights provides an excellent opportunity for the church to fulfil its prophetic calling within the South African context. The church can contribute to a just society by prophetic testimony within the perspective of the kingdom of God.


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