Department of Liberation Studies

Permanent URI for this community

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/689

The Department of Liberation Studies collection in DSpace at the University of Fort Hare showcases the academic and research outputs of staff and students. This collection includes research publications, conference papers, and examination question papers. The Department is dedicated to the critical study of liberation thought, histories, and movements, with a strong focus on Africa’s struggles for freedom, decolonisation, human rights, and social justice. It brings together diverse fields of inquiry, including History, Library and Information Science, and Theology, to explore liberation as both an intellectual tradition and a lived experience. Through interdisciplinary teaching, research, and knowledge preservation, the Department advances critical inquiry, cultural transformation, and social consciousness. By making these resources openly accessible, the collection supports teaching, learning, and research, while reflecting UFH’s unique role in shaping liberation thought and scholarship in Africa.

Browse

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12

African National Congress Education in Exile in Tanzania, 1978-1992: Dilemmas and Ambiguities
(University of Fort Hare, 2000-10) Pulumani , Loyiso
The opening of an educational institution by the African National Congress (ANC) in 1978 was a crucial step in the history of the organization. The very fact that a school is not at first sight an obviously 'political' entity implied that the ANC was bidding to lead and mould South African society in a comprehensive way, and signified that it was finally re-establishing itself as a major player in contemporary South African politics. The lull of the late sixties and early seventies had seen other organizations emerging to the fore in the ongoing political discourse. That the ANC had its headquarters and leaders outside the country made it seem far away in the eyes of ordinary people.
The Loss of the Ancestral Inheritance.... Land Loss During the Monarchical Era in Israel, and its Relevance for South Africa
(University of Fort Hare, 2001-05) Sonanzi, Zanele
This dissertation seeks to investigate and analyse the issue of land loss. This study will focus on the monarchical era in particular as described in the Old Testament as well as its relevance for South Africa. At first the study highlights the significance of land and its ownership from an Old Testament perspective. Contrary to that ideal of land ownership, the aspect of land dispossession by those in power is a major concern in this work especially during the monarchical era. This is coupled with some detrimental effects it has on people's social lives both during the Monarchical era and the contemporary South African contexts. The term "land ownership" as used in both contexts is perceived as the basic human right to property while "land loss" on the other hand, is understood as the violation of that basic human right.
Memory Into Narratives: An Analysis of Stories of Xhosa Widows In the Eastern Cape
(University of Fort Hare, 2004-07) Guzana, N.V.
The research has been prompted by the diversity of the Xhosa culture of mourning, which is the cause of the detriments of this rite of passage. My objective is to create ground for the evaluation of widow's experiences, their views about widowhood and the culture of mourning. It is intended as a call to the Xhosa society and intellectuals to listen to the voices of the silenced widows. It intends to serve as a witness that, as long as they are silenced, there is much that is not known about widows and widowhood. It also looks at two widows' experiences as a demonstration of a need to allow widows to narrate their personal experiences with the culture of mourning as a way of liberating them, and to let us, the others, to know who they really are. The research seeks to emphasize the importance of narrative as a tool for representing experience, to create ground for a realistic portrayal of widow characters in works of literature, and to motivate these silenced women to raise their voices against their distortion, therefore their misrepresentation. Hopefully, a debate on the culture of mourning, based on personal narratives by widows, could lead to a way of observing this culture that will be owned and upheld with pride and conviction by Xhosa women.
Bare life in the bantustans (of the Eastern Cape): re-membering the centennial South African nation-state
(University of Fort Hare, 2009) Westaway, Ashley
This thesis argues that 1994 did not mark a point of absolute discontinuity in the history of South Africa. More specifically, it asserts that 1994 did not signal the end of segregationism; instead of democracy leading to national integration, the Bantustans are still governed and managed differently from the rest of the country. Consequently, it is no surprise that they remain mired in pervasive, debilitating poverty fifteen years after 1994. In insisting that contemporary South Africa is old (rather than new), the thesis seeks to make a contribution to political struggles that aim to bring to an end the segregationist past-in-the-present. The thesis is arranged in seven chapters. The first chapter considers the crisis that has engulfed South Africa historiography since 1994. It traces the roots of the crisis back to some of the fundamentals of the discipline of history, such as empiricism, neutrality and historicism. It suggests that the way to end the crisis, to re-assert the relevance of history, is for historians to re-invoke the practice of producing histories of the present, in an interested, deliberate manner. Chapter 2 narrows down the focus of the thesis to (past and present) property. It suggests that instead of understanding the constitutional protection of property rights and installation of a restitution process as the product of a compromise between adversarial negotiators, these outcomes are more correctly understood as emanating from consensus. The third chapter outlines the implementation of the restitution programme from 1994 to 2008. The productive value of restitution over this period is found not in what it has delivered to the claimants (supposedly the beneficiaries of the programme), but rather in its discursive effects related to citizenship in the new South Africa. Chapter 4 considers the exclusion of dispossession that was implemented in the Bantustans from the restitution programme. It argues that this decision was not an oversight on the part of the post-1994 government. Instead it was consistent with all other key policy decisions taken in the recent period. The Bantustans have been treated differently from the rest of South Africa; they have been deliberately under-developed, fabricated as welfare zones, and subjected to arbitrary customary rule. Whereas Chapters 2 to 4 look at the production of historical truth on the side of domination, Chapter 6 and 7 consider production on the side of resistance. Specifically, they describe and analyse the attempts of an NGO to establish the truths of betterment as dispossession, and post-1994 prejudice against the victims of betterment dispossession. They serve as case studies of third party-led processes that seek to produce truth-effects from within a prevailing truth regime. The final chapter attempts to bring many of the threads that weave through the thesis together, by means of a critical consideration of human rights discourse. The chapter calls on intellectuals to establish truths in relation to the history of ongoing human wrongs in South Africa (as opposed to the rainbow narrative of human rights) Finally, the thesis includes a postscript, comprising technical summaries of each of the chapters.
Reconstructing Malay and Coloured identity : reimagining pasts and presents through the Cape Malay choirs and the New Years Carnival
(University of Fort Hare, 2010-01) Smith, Michelle
This dissertation explores through the 'Malay' Choirs and New Year's Carnival, the ways that race (particularly 'coloured' and 'Malay'), identity and nation are engaged, imagined and re-imagined in the post-1994 period. 'Malay' and 'coloured' identity are situated and interrogated in the contexts of their historical emergence and the processes which informed and influenced ideas of 'Malay' and 'coloured' identity, some of which are part of current perceptions of these groups. Additionally the configurations of 'Malay' as it is motivated through the choirs are engaged. Such a perspective from within the choirs enables a look at the mechanisms used by the choirs to negotiate and deconstruct popularly derogatory ideas about this practice and 'Malay' identity. In addition, as a particular 'cultural' expression of 'coloured' identity, the carnival invites contestation with regard to its associated negative perceptions and becomes a site for negotiating 'coloured' identity. The public staging of 'coloured' identity through the carnival draws 'Malay' and 'coloured' identity into the public domain. Current ideas concerning 'Malay' and 'coloured' identity unfold in these domains, and as claims to historical roots become an important way in which to assert a distinct South African identity, the 'Malay' choirs and the carnival become instrumental in re-constituting 'Malay' and 'coloured' identity in particular ways.
Impact of missionary activities and the establishment of Victoria East, 1824-186
(University of Fort Hare, 2012-04) Maxengana, Nomalungisa Sylvia
This thesis covers a period of drastic change in that part of Xhosaland later known as Victoria East. Chapters One and Two deal with the clash between the Glasgow missionaries at Lovedale and the amaXhosa who were expected to simply discard their way of life in favour of the new dispensation. Chapter Three explains the arrival in the Eastern Cape of the amaMfengu, formerly called abaMbo, and their role in the divisive policies of the colonial government. Chapter Four recounts the brief interlude (1836-1846) during which the colonial government tried but ultimately rejected a more equitable model of cross-border relations known as the Treaty System. The final chapter deals with the introduction of direct rule over the newly created district of Victoria East, and with the policies of Henry Calderwood, its first magistrate, which were artfully constructed to perpetuate 'Divide and Rule' so as to maintain a comfortable life for the white settlers in the border area.
A visual past in East London : the photography of Daniel Morolong (1950-1970)
(University of Fort Hare, 2013) McNulty, Claire
As I sit writing, the sounds of song carrying Madiba's name reverberate through the air, sharing these voices with my heart. Two years ago, another son of the Eastern Cape, Daniel Kgomo Morolong, passed away, leaving an entirely different legacy: another small but significant mark on our world and our history as a nation. He was not a big man, nor a particularly well-known man. He was a worker, a musician, a photographer - a person people trusted to capture their memories forever. The images he captured were not massively important political milestones or of anyone famous, just ordinary people getting on with the business of living their lives the best way they could. Taken during apartheid, they show us a side of our history that was hidden from many people through our separation. Seeing them now illustrates and teaches us that the separation was more physical than real in any other sense. Underneath it all, we all have aspirations, celebrate, play sport and generally like to enjoy ourselves and be remembered for the best that we can be. Morolong's photographs preserve and reveal these memories and moments.
Enhancing sexual and reproductive health Information of adolescents as a panacea to curb HIV and AIDS in Nigeria
(Kamla-Raj Enterprises, 2015) Ajibade, Patrick
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the information available to adolescents concerning sexual health, existing approaches need to be assessed to determine their efficacy as a means of reducing the vulnerability and exposure of adolescents to HIV and AIDS. This paper takes the form of a case study and makes use of Peer Education Training (PET) as an intuitive and innovative approach to enable adolescents to make informed sexual decisions to reduce the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Africa. The data was gathered by observing the behavior of participants in Peer Education Training, as sharing information among peers within a single demographic group has been found to provide an effective way of encouraging communities to participate in and own their campaigns against the spread of HIV and AIDS. On the basis of the findings, the wide adoption of peer education campaigns within individual ecosystems is suggested as an effective means of mitigating the spread of sexually-transmitted infections, HIV and AIDS. Cultural and academic institutions could play a vital role in the designing and use of peer education information programs, and media-centered peer education can provide an effective means of transmitting information, which may be further enhanced through the use of gaming techniques.
A review of some literature on economic history in southern Africa and the eastern Cape to around 1800
(University of Fort Hare, 2015-03) Kenyon, Micheal Thomas
The 2 000 years in southern Africa until the end of the 18th century was a period of massive change, perhaps surpassed only by the development of capitalism in the 19th century. The beginning of the period under discussion was characterised by a very low and scattered population using ancient techniques of hunting, foraging and gathering. Over the next 2 000 years there was a diffusion of new technologies, languages and human population into Southern Africa from the north. This was a very complex and uneven process and included diffusion and population movements in all directions within southern Africa, probably including back northwards. While hinted at by writers in the 1960s and 1970s, recent scholarship has shown convincingly that the internal dynamics within southern Africa and the development of the society as it existed at the end of the period under discussion owes far more to local interactions with so-called Late Stone Age people of southern Africa, the Khoikhoi and San, than is generally acknowledged.
The role of knowledge management in improving small, micro and medium enterprises productivity: a case of Nkonkobe Municipality, South Africa
(University of Fort Hare, 2016) Ajibade, Patrick
The paper explores the role of knowledge management (KM) in Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) as a catalyst for an improved productivity. The paper highlights that KM as important resources, and as an intellectual capital to help small business achieve sustainable growth. The aim was to confirm that small business competitiveness requires an ability to create, retain, use and transfer knowledge as business intelligence. Data was collected through a systematic literature review, interviews and observations. The findings showed that SMMEs could improve productivity through knowledge sharing and transfer. It was difficult to test the robustness of sharable knowledge claim in the business processes. The paper shows that the business owners experience difficulties on how knowledge acquisition, retention and transfer impact their operations. Most of the SMMEs still lack the skills to convert tacit knowledge into an explicit knowledge for business intelligence and improved productivity. The paper recommended that the SMMEs give adequate priority to the importance of collaboration through business intelligence gathering and sharing. SMMEs should endeavour to convert their tacit into explicit knowledge. This might facilitate process replication, and knowledge transferability.
Managing electronic records at the University of Fort Hare
(University of Fort Hare, 2023-01-01) Mnguni, Zandiswa; Dewah, P; Muchaonyerwa, N; Ajibade, P
The study's goal was to examine the electronic records management practices at the University of Fort Hare's Alice location. The topic under investigation was the management of electronic records and the infrastructure that was available to handle them. The aim of the study was to understand the infrastructure for handling electronic documents at the University of Fort Hare and to gain more knowledge about how electronic records are managed there. To create staff competencies and skills for managing electronic records at the University of Fort Hare and to research the applicable laws and statutes. The records continuum model supported the positivist and interpretive perspectives of the research. The respondents for the study were selected using methods for purposeful sampling. A sample of 25 respondents were drawn from faculty administrators, examination unit workers, workers in the registrar’s office, researcher and research assistants, finance officials and human resource department officials. Qualitative data was used with basic descriptive data, mainly for demographic data, coded and analysed using Office Microsoft Excel 2022. This study's major finding indicated that there were ongoing electronic records management (ERM), but it management is not hope to expected professional standard and which might affect service delivery in the university. There seems to be no coherent ERM policy due to some respondents’ views. Because poor records management will lead to data loss, negatively impacting the institution. Furthermore, the study indicated that some of the people handling electronic records (ER) did not receive training and lack of unprofessional handling of records due to incompetent workers might increase lack of service delivery or poor decision-making. The conclusion was that mobile phone, laptops, desktops and other smart devices were used to create and manage records at the institution. Most of the predominant storage systems were cloud-based. A cloud-based storage system implies that it enhances the accessibility of records and exposes vital records to attack. The study also concluded that most of the staff handling ERM should endeavour to receive professional certification in record management. The study recommended appropriate infrastructure for electronic records management. The study already encourages each unit to enlist their staff in professional records management training.
The importance of data mining, user information behaviour and interaction audit for information literacy
(Emerald, 2023-11-04) Ajibade, Patrick; Muchaonyerwa, Ndakasharwa

Browse

Browsing Department of Liberation Studies by Issue Date

Results Per Page

Sort Options