DOCSLIB.ORG

December 2009 Is Passed on Only Through the Male Line

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Volume 36 Number 1 December 2009 is passed on only through the male line. The only source of variation among mtDNA types is mutation, and the number of mutations separating two mtDNA types is a direct measure of the length of time since they shared a common ancestor. Since women do not carry Y-chromosomes, they can only be tested for mtDNA, but men can be tested for both types. Occasionally some of the genes carried by the DNA types mutate and the resultant genetic changes are passed on to future generations. The mapping of these mutations allows geneticists to track the history of various population groups. This has enabled researchers to determine that the most recent common ancestor of all modern humans on the maternal side Reports covering the period February to June 2009 lived some 150 000 years ago, while that on the paternal side dates to somewhere between 60 000 and 80 000 years ago. Prof. Soodyall then provided information on three facets of her work. The first is of a scientific nature and involves mapping the genetic codes of populations around the globe, but in particular in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, and especially those groups that have lived in relative isolation in a particular region over a long period of time. The second aspect of her studies revolves around three burning questions: 1. Is it possible to localise the most likely regions for the origins of various lineages? EVENING LECTURES 2. What impact did trade, which had occurred for well over 2 000 years in the Indian Ocean, have on population groups? 3. If the African continent is divided by region and language, do the results mesh with the genetic data? February: DNA is at the heart of evolution She explained that her work covered population genetic studies in coordination with a world- wide study undertaken by the National Geographic Society. She related how the knowledge Professor Himla Soodyall is Director of the Human Genomic Diversity and Disease gained through DNA studies had been used to demonstrate that Homo sapiens sapiens evolved in Research Unit, National Health Laboratory Service, SA Medical Research Council. Africa and then about 60 000 years ago began migrating to the rest of the world. She pointed out he day of the lecture, 12 February 2009, was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles that excavations at early human sites, such as Border Cave, could provide supporting evidence to Darwin. Prof. Himla Soodyall introduced her lecture by saying that this date was being demonstrate that this migration had started from southern Africa. In this respect it is important to celebrated worldwide as it marked the enormous contribution that human curiosity and note that the oldest branches of Y-chromosome DNA are found in San populations in southern T th ingenuity had made to scientific knowledge. The year would also be the 150 anniversary of the Africa, although also in population groups in the Sudan and Ethiopia. publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1859. For more than 20 years Darwin had She elaborated on some other research projects, including research concerning the origin of collected vast quantities of scientific data and pondered the issue of how animals and plants the Karretjie people living near Colesberg. Their ancestry had been unclear since they were changed their morphology over long periods. Eventually he realised that the mechanism under- nomadic sheep shearers and fence menders. Samples taken from 36 individuals had demonstrated lying the process of evolution was that of natural selection. This idea led to him to publishing On that their lineage can be traced back to an origin that is common in Khoisan populations and is the Origin of Species. Darwin’s work provided the foundation for the now convincing evidence confined to southern Africa. that modern-day genetic studies have unravelled concerning human origins. Mitochondrial DNA Another of her projects had examined the population of Buysdorp, a small town situated north (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA data have provided insights into how females and males, of Makhado (Louis Trichardt), which was founded by the son of the renegade Coenraad de Buys respectively, have contributed to shaping our evolutionary history. In addition, data from the from whom the inhabitants are reputedly considered to have descended. If this were indeed the completed human genome sequencing project, coupled with genome comparisons, have provided case, the men would all carry the same Y-chromosome, yet tests showed that it occurred in only deeper insights into what makes us human. Through time, species adapted to the environment, but eight of the eleven men tested. you could not change your DNA, your blueprint of life. Prof. Soodyall also referred to her research project related to the ancestry of people living in Prof. Soodyall’s research focuses on the evolutionary history of the peoples of Africa and she is currently the principal investigator representing sub-Saharan African on the Genographic A publication of the Trans-Vaal Branch Project, which is supported by the National Geographic Society in partnership with IBM and the South African Archaeological Society Waitt Family Foundation. In her lecture, Prof. Soodyall introduced the principles of genetic research and elucidated the mechanisms underlying the formation and evolution of human traits. PO Box 41050 Craighall 2024 She elaborated on the two types of DNA that were used to trace ancestry: mtDNA, which lies Editor: Reinoud Boers outside the cell nucleus and is inherited from the maternal side, and Y-chromosome DNA, which Production: Marion Boers the Maldives. This string of islands had been occupied for over 2 000 years and had been a Anniversary of an extraordinary innovation, Charles Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of stopping point for Indian Ocean traffic over a long period of time. The ancestry of the original Species. About the book, the philosopher, Daniel Dennett had said, ‘If I were to give an award for inhabitants was not clear, yet many inhabitants displayed physical traits reminiscent of southern the single best idea anyone has ever had, I’d give it to Darwin.’ Darwin was intrigued by the Indians and their language was related to Dravidian. Results from mtDNA tests showed that 58 wonderful diversity of species each with its own abilities to survive in a changing world, and the per cent belong to the M-Haplotype, which is common in southern India and Sri Lanka, 25 per most important idea he had given us was that we are all connected to and had grown out of the cent to the U-Haplotype, which is common in Eurasia, and 2,7 per cent to the D-Haplotype, which great family tree of life. He wrote: ‘I should infer from analogy that probably all the organic is common in East Asia. Y-chromosome tests revealed that over 50 per cent of men belonged to beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from one primordial form, into which the Indian Haplotype, while 20 per cent were part of the J-Haplotype prevalent in the Middle East. life was first breathed’. Himla Soodyall acknowledged the significant role of fellow researchers in the Human Recognising our interconnectedness to this family tree, according to Croucamp, can be a Genome Project, for example James Watson and Craig Venter, referring to an article published in source of profound inspiration. We are not parachuted into the universe; we are grown out of it. Science and Nature in 2003. She mentioned significant biology informatics initiatives such as the We now know that we carry memories of the last 14 billion years in our bodies. An example is the research of Francis Collins and the important research being done at Wonderwerk Cave and carbon we carry in our bodies. Carbon is the most important ingredient of organic molecules. It Pinnacle Point. She also referred to the Genographic Project, a five-year genetic anthropology was created inside stars in the early universe. We are literally made out of stardust. The more study that aims to map historical human patterns, and to research that has a close bearing on cynical amongst us might say that we are made out of the nuclear waste of burnt out stars. contemporary societies. This included research on cultural and physical changes that followed the We carry memories of that moment when single-celled organisms joined together to become domestication of cattle some 7 700 years ago, the development of lactose intolerance and lactose multi-cellular organisms. This was the moment that fatty acids, those healthy Omega-3 oils one persistence. She also touched on adaptations related to carbohydrate and alcohol metabolism, and can buy in health shops, first appeared in the sea and combined with cell membranes to create to projects that focus on the split of the south-eastern and southern Bantu-speaking peoples. Prof. semi-permeable membranes making inter-cellular communication possible for the first time. We Soodyall highlighted the HapMap project collaboration that identifies single-nucleotide even call parts of our brain reptilian because we share it in common with reptiles. We call other polymorf (SNP) base changes and that has collected 3,1 million SNPs over three years, and the parts of our brain mammalian because we share it in common with mammals. There is even a development of a map of recent positive selection in the human genome, such as for example the bone in our ear that used to be the jaw of a fish. If fishy bits in our ear is a strange thought, consider selection of genes for skin colour.
Recommended publications
  • Re-Creating Home British Colonialism, Culture And

    Re-Creating Home British Colonialism, Culture And

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) RE-CREATING HOME BRITISH COLONIALISM, CULTURE AND THE ZUURVELD ENVIRONMENT IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Jill Payne Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts Supervisor: Professor Paul Maylam Rhodes University Grahamstown May 1998 ############################################## CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ..................................... p. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................... p.iii PREFACE ................................................... p.iv ABSTRACT .................................................. p.v I: INTRODUCTION ........................................ p.1 II: ROMANCE, REALITY AND THE COLONIAL LANDSCAPE ...... p.15 III: LAND USE AND LANDSCAPE CHANGE .................... p.47 IV: ADVANCING SETTLEMENT, RETREATING WILDLIFE ........ p.95 V: CONSERVATION AND CONTROL ........................ p.129 VI: CONCLUSION ........................................ p.160 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................ p.165 i ############################################## LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure i. Map of the Zuurveld ............................... p.10 Figure ii. Representation of a Bushman elephant hunt ........... p.99 Figure iii: Representation of a colonial elephant hunt ........... p.100 ii ############################################## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My grateful thanks must go firstly to Professor Paul Maylam. In overseeing
  • Early History of South Africa

    Early History of South Africa

    THE EARLY HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA EVOLUTION OF AFRICAN SOCIETIES . .3 SOUTH AFRICA: THE EARLY INHABITANTS . .5 THE KHOISAN . .6 The San (Bushmen) . .6 The Khoikhoi (Hottentots) . .8 BLACK SETTLEMENT . .9 THE NGUNI . .9 The Xhosa . .10 The Zulu . .11 The Ndebele . .12 The Swazi . .13 THE SOTHO . .13 The Western Sotho . .14 The Southern Sotho . .14 The Northern Sotho (Bapedi) . .14 THE VENDA . .15 THE MASHANGANA-TSONGA . .15 THE MFECANE/DIFAQANE (Total war) Dingiswayo . .16 Shaka . .16 Dingane . .18 Mzilikazi . .19 Soshangane . .20 Mmantatise . .21 Sikonyela . .21 Moshweshwe . .22 Consequences of the Mfecane/Difaqane . .23 Page 1 EUROPEAN INTERESTS The Portuguese . .24 The British . .24 The Dutch . .25 The French . .25 THE SLAVES . .22 THE TREKBOERS (MIGRATING FARMERS) . .27 EUROPEAN OCCUPATIONS OF THE CAPE British Occupation (1795 - 1803) . .29 Batavian rule 1803 - 1806 . .29 Second British Occupation: 1806 . .31 British Governors . .32 Slagtersnek Rebellion . .32 The British Settlers 1820 . .32 THE GREAT TREK Causes of the Great Trek . .34 Different Trek groups . .35 Trichardt and Van Rensburg . .35 Andries Hendrik Potgieter . .35 Gerrit Maritz . .36 Piet Retief . .36 Piet Uys . .36 Voortrekkers in Zululand and Natal . .37 Voortrekker settlement in the Transvaal . .38 Voortrekker settlement in the Orange Free State . .39 THE DISCOVERY OF DIAMONDS AND GOLD . .41 Page 2 EVOLUTION OF AFRICAN SOCIETIES Humankind had its earliest origins in Africa The introduction of iron changed the African and the story of life in South Africa has continent irrevocably and was a large step proven to be a micro-study of life on the forwards in the development of the people.
  • The Construction of Eugène Marais As an Afrikaner Hero*

    The Construction of Eugène Marais As an Afrikaner Hero*

    The Construction of Eugène Marais as an Afrikaner Hero* SANDRA SWART (Stellenbosch University) Eugène Marais (1871–1936) is remembered as an Afrikaner hero. There are, however, competing claims as to the meaning of this ‘heroic’ status. Some remember him as the ‘father of Afrikaans poetry’, one of the most lionised writers in Afrikaans and part of the Afrikaner nationalist movement. Yet a second intellectual tradition remembers him as a dissident iconoclast, an Afrikaner rebel. This article seeks to show, first, how these two very different understandings of Marais came to exist, and, secondly, that the course of this rivalry of legends was inextricably bound up with the socio-economic and political history of South Africa. We look at his portrayal at particular historical moments and analyse the changes that have occurred with reference to broader developments in South Africa. This is in order to understand the making of cultural identity as part of nationalism, and opens a window onto the contested process of re-imagining the Afrikaner nation. The article demonstrates how Marais’s changing image was a result of material changes within the socio-economic milieu, and the mutable needs of the Afrikaner establishment. The hagiography of Marais by the Nationalist press, both during his life and after his death, is explored, showing how the socio-political context of the Afrikaans language struggle was influential in shaping his image. The chronology of his representation is traced in terms of the changing self-image of the Afrikaner over the ensuing seven decades. Finally, in order to understand the fractured meaning of Marais today, the need for alternative heroes in the ‘New South Africa’ is considered.
  • The Cape Supergroup in Natal and the Northern Transkei

    The Cape Supergroup in Natal and the Northern Transkei

    485 The Cape Supergroup in Natal and the Northern Transkei SIR,—The rocks of the so-called Cape System (Cape Supergroup) of South Africa outcrop in two coastal belts, separated by 300 km of younger rocks (see map). In Cape Province, a full succession has been described (see Table 1), extending frorn possible Lower Cambrian to Upper Devonian. The Natal sequence is incomplete, and consists of 'thick . sandstones, with grits and conglomerates' (Anderson, 1901), resting on Precambrian rocks and overlain by Karroo strata. In his First Report of the Geological Survey of Natal and Zulu/and, Anderson (1901) observed that: 'Petrologically, they are very unlike the quartzites and grits of the Table Mountain Sandstones of Cape Colony.' In his Second Report, however, Anderson (1904) concluded: '... I think that there is no doubt as to the correlation of the formation spoken of in my first report as "Palaeozoic Sandstones", with the Table Mountain Sandstones of Cape Colony'. No palaeontological evidence existed to confirm or disprove this identification, but subsequent authors have accepted Anderson's conclusions, and reference to the 'Table Mountain Sandstones of Natal' is encountered commonly. Late in 1970, a few poorly preserved fossils were found by quarry workers at a locality about 5 km W of Port St Johns, in Pondoland. Originally thought to be fish, they were sent to Grahamstown, where they were identified as protolycopods. Similar lycopsids are known from the upper parts of the Bokkeveld Group, and from the Witteberg Group. Although rare lycopsids have been recorded from the Early Devonian, the class did not become abundant until later in the period; it is thus improbable that any strata containing lycopsids are correlatives of the pre-Devonian Table Mountain Group.
  • Chapter 3 the Gustav S Preller-C Louis Leipoldt

    Chapter 3 the Gustav S Preller-C Louis Leipoldt

    87 CHAPTER 3 THE GUSTAV S PRELLER-C LOUIS LEIPOLDT POLEMIC – THE HEDGEHOG AND THE FOX1 Chapter 2 analysed a selection of theoretical works by pioneering thinkers, leading scholars and other authors, against which The Valley as a work of narrative fiction could be read. A selection of writers of theory from ‘standard’ works was made. Newer trends in the theory of history were discussed. And voices of criticism against the deconstructivist paradigm were heard. Against these works, it was seen if historical fiction is fully-enough equipped to provide an alternative (reading of the) past. Put another way, the question is asked whether the profession of history can benefit from the inspiration offered by the work of writers of fiction, such as C Louis Leipoldt’s The Valley trilogy. Chapter 3 examines C Louis Leipoldt’s The Valley trilogy as a set of fictional novels, in their full thrust, as contestation against Preller’s romanticised, idealized and popularized volksgeskiedenis made up of a set of wide-ranging history-as-heritage media, to include enactments, film, the theatre, literature and history, although his predominant medium was his carefully researched historical accounts of the Voortrekkers. This volksgeskiedenis was the prevailing public narrative dominating South African history for the first forty years or so of the twentieth century. This public history-construct, covering a period of circa 100 years ― the time of the start of the Great Trek in 1838 till the commemoration of it a century later culminating in the Voortrekkereeufees2 of 1938 ― was the tireless efforts of Gustav S Preller.

  • Biko Met I Must Say, He Nontsikelelo (Ntsiki) Mashalaba

    LOVE AND MARRIAGE In Durban in early 1970, Biko met I must say, he Nontsikelelo (Ntsiki) Mashalaba Steve Biko Foundation was very politically who came from Umthatha in the Transkei. She was pursuing involved then as her nursing training at King Edward Hospital while Biko was president of SASO. a medical student at the I remember we University of Natal. used to make appointments and if he does come he says, “Take me to the station – I’ve Daily Dispatch got a meeting in Johannesburg tomorrow”. So I happened to know him that way, and somehow I fell for him. Ntsiki Biko Daily Dispatch During his years at Ntsiki and Steve university in Natal, Steve had two sons together, became very close to his eldest Nkosinathi (left) and sister, Bukelwa, who was a student Samora (right) pictured nurse at King Edward Hospital. here with Bandi. Though Bukelwa was homesick In all Biko had four and wanted to return to the Eastern children — Nkosinathi, Cape, she expresses concern Samora, Hlumelo about leaving Steve in Natal and Motlatsi. in this letter to her mother in1967: He used to say to his friends, “Meet my lady ... she is the actual embodiment of blackness - black is beautiful”. Ntsiki Biko Daily Dispatch AN ATTITUDE OF MIND, A WAY OF LIFE SASO spread like wildfire through the black campuses. It was not long before the organisation became the most formidable political force on black campuses across the country and beyond. SASO encouraged black students to see themselves as black before they saw themselves as students. SASO saw itself Harry Nengwekhulu was the SRC president at as part of the black the University of the North liberation movement (Turfloop) during the late before it saw itself as a Bailey’s African History Archive 1960s.
  • Black Power, Black Consciousness, and South Africa's Armed Struggle

    Black Power, Black Consciousness, and South Africa's Armed Struggle

    Binghamton University The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB) Graduate Dissertations and Theses Dissertations, Theses and Capstones 6-2018 UNCOVERING HIDDEN FRONTS OF AFRICA’S LIBERATION STRUGGLE: BLACK POWER, BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS, AND SOUTH AFRICA’S ARMED STRUGGLE, 1967-1985 Toivo Tukongeni Paul Wilson Asheeke Binghamton University--SUNY, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Asheeke, Toivo Tukongeni Paul Wilson, "UNCOVERING HIDDEN FRONTS OF AFRICA’S LIBERATION STRUGGLE: BLACK POWER, BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS, AND SOUTH AFRICA’S ARMED STRUGGLE, 1967-1985" (2018). Graduate Dissertations and Theses. 78. https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/78 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations, Theses and Capstones at The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNCOVERING HIDDEN FRONTS OF AFRICA’S LIBERATION STRUGGLE: BLACK POWER, BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS, AND SOUTH AFRICA’S ARMED STRUGGLE, 1967-1985 BY TOIVO TUKONGENI PAUL WILSON ASHEEKE BA, Earlham College, 2010 MA, Binghamton University, 2014 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate School of Binghamton University State University of New
  • Apartheid's Grand Design

    Apartheid's Grand Design

    The Washington Office on Africa Educational Fund 110 MARYLAND AVENUE. N .E. WASHINGTON. 0. C. 20002 (202) 546-7961 APARTHEID'S GRAND DESIGN South Africa's policy is to preserve white power and control through an unequal system of separate development, more commonly known as apartheid. A central feature of this system is the carving up of the country into what white South Africans term as ten "independent states" for Black people. These ten states, considered by South Africa to be the "homelands" of specific Black ethnic groups, comprise a mere 13% of the land, yet are designated for 73% of the population. The remaining 87% of the land is to be reserved for whites, Indians, and Coloreds. South Africa's strategy is to establish "independent" Black states, so Blacks will be forced to exchange their South African citizenship for bantustan citizenship. THE 'BANTU HOMELANDS' 4 HOMELAND I PEOPLE I Boputhatswanai Tswana 2 lebowa I North Sotho -~ Hdebete Ndebe!e 0 Shangaan Joh<tnnesourg ~ Gazankulu & Tsonga 5 Vhavenda Venda --~------l _ ______6 Swazi 1 1 ___Swazi_ _ _ '7 Basotho­ . Qwaqwa South Sotho 8 Kwazulu 9 Transkei 10 Ciskei It• vvould w-ork The South African government states that the homeland governments should have control of health, education, pensions and local government. The South African government however, would retain control over t h e common structures such as defense, the monetary s y stem, the economy and foreign policy . Blacks wi ll have only advisory powers in these common spheres. In addition, these Black states would function as buffer zones against any external threat, since most of them shield white South Africa from the Black countries of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
  • Title: Black Consciousness in South Africa : the Dialectics of Ideological

    Title: Black Consciousness in South Africa : the Dialectics of Ideological

    Black Consciousness in South Africa : The Dialectics of Ideological Resistance to White title: Supremacy SUNY Series in African Politics and Society author: Fatton, Robert. publisher: State University of New York Press isbn10 | asin: 088706129X print isbn13: 9780887061295 ebook isbn13: 9780585056890 language: English Blacks--South Africa--Politics and government, Blacks--Race identity--South Africa, South Africa-- Politics and government--1961-1978, South subject Africa--Politics and government--1978- , South Africa--Social conditions--1961- , Blacks--South Africa--Social cond publication date: 1986 lcc: DT763.6.F37 1986eb ddc: 305.8/00968 Blacks--South Africa--Politics and government, Blacks--Race identity--South Africa, South Africa-- Politics and government--1961-1978, South subject: Africa--Politics and government--1978- , South Africa--Social conditions--1961- , Blacks--South Africa--Social cond Page i Black Consciousness in South Africa Page ii SUNY Series in African Politics and Society Henry L. Bretton and James Turner, Editors Page iii Black Consciousness in South Africa The Dialectics of Ideological Resistance to White Supremacy Robert Fatton Jr. State University of New York Press Page iv Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1986 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Fatton, Robert. Black consciousness in South Africa. (SUNY series in African politics and society) Revision of the author's thesis (Ph.D)University of Notre Dame.
  • Trade and Interaction on the Eastern Cape Frontier: an Historical Archaeological Study of the Xhosa and the British During the Early Nineteenth Century

    Trade and Interaction on the Eastern Cape Frontier: an Historical Archaeological Study of the Xhosa and the British During the Early Nineteenth Century

    TRADE AND INTERACTION ON THE EASTERN CAPE FRONTIER: AN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE XHOSA AND THE BRITISH DURING THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY 0.i\ By. FLORDELIZ T BUGARIN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2002 Copyright 2002 by Flordeliz T. Bugarin This is dedicated to Cris Bugarin, my mom. Tern Bugarin, my father, and Marie Bugarin, my sister. Thank you for being the family that supports me. Also, this is in memory of my Uncle Jack who died while I was in South Africa. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Researching and writing this dissertation gave me an incredible chance to meet some generous, warm, and intelligent people. From South Africa to California to Florida, I have met people who challenged me, motivated me, and supported me. To them, I offer my heartfelt thanks. My advisor, longtime teacher, and good friend, Peter Schmidt, gave me unending support, faith in my abilities, encouragement when I had doubt, and advice when I needed direction I appreciate the many hours he set aside to advise me, seriously consider my ideas no matter how esoteric, and shape the development of my writing • skills. I thank him for pulling together my committee when I needed them and for choosing a cohort of students who will be my close, life long colleagues. I am very gratefiil for the opportunity to work with Hunt Davis. His enthusiasm, warm nature, and love for South Africa gave me inspiration and encouragement.
  • Black Consciousness and the Politics of Writing the Nation in South Africa

    Black Consciousness and the Politics of Writing the Nation in South Africa

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository Black Consciousness and the Politics of Writing the Nation in South Africa by Thomas William Penfold A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of African Studies and Anthropology School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham May 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Since the transition from apartheid, there has been much discussion of the possibilities for the emergence of a truly ‘national’ literature in South Africa. This thesis joins the debate by arguing that Black Consciousness, a movement that began in the late 1960s, provided the intellectual framework both for understanding how a national culture would develop and for recognising it when it emerged. Black Consciousness posited a South Africa where formerly competing cultures sat comfortably together. This thesis explores whether such cultural equality has been achieved. Does contemporary literature harmoniously deploy different cultural idioms simultaneously? By analysing Black writing, mainly poetry, from the 1970s through to the present, the study traces the stages of development preceding the emergence of a possible ‘national’ literature and argues that the dominant art versus politics binary needs to be reconsidered.
  • "De Voortrekkers" (1916): Some Stereotypes and Narrative Conventions

    "De Voortrekkers" (1916): Some Stereotypes and Narrative Conventions

    The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library. Find more at: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ Available through a partnership with Scroll down to read the article. "De Voortrekkers" (1916): Some Stereotypes and Narrative Conventions Hannes van Zyl De Voortrekkers was the first of five e~pensive film epics produced by African ~llm Product10ns between 1916 and 1922.1 With these films, and with a number of less expensive productions, the young company sought to secure a place in the international film market, an ideal which never quite materia1ized.2 Harold Shaw was brought out from london to direct the film and the Afrikaans historian and writer Gustav S. Preller was commissioned to write the screenplay and to see to the historical accuracy of costumes and settings It is probably not entirely accidental that De Voortrekkers is the only one of all the early South African feature films stl11 available for study.3 Of all African Film Productions' early films it seems to have been the biggest commercial success both abroad and locally. But it was more than just a commercial success. Besides having an initial record-breaking three week run at the Johannesburg Palladium, it was to become a regular feature at Day of the Covenant celebrations every year for at least three decades.4 Dr. Thelma Gutsche in her study of the history of motion pictures in South Africa notes that in 1938: De Voortrekkers (now twenty years old, silent, jerky and antiquated) was shown extens1vely in the Transvaal and particularly along the Reef where it played to thousands of people even more enthusiastic than its original audiences.