Thesis/dissertation: Ethno-archaeology of African pottery manufacturing processes

PhD on the ethno-archaeology of African pottery manufacturing processes is online at the following address:

http://www.africamuseum.be/publications/publications/onlinepub

This is a digitised version of the original printed work without corrections (as received by the jury).

Swaziland: Thesis - “The Legal Abolition of Racial Discrimination and its Aftermath: The Case of Swaziland, 1945 - 1973

Nhlanhla Dlamini. “The Legal Abolition of Racial Discrimination and its
Aftermath: The Case of Swaziland, 1945 - 1973.”

Department of History, Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate School, Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2007.

Copyright by Nhlanhla Dlamini 2007

Abstract

Despite abundant evidence that race has been a significant factor in informing historical processes in Swaziland there is presently no major study that focusses on the theme. The main aim of the current thesis is to examine the impact of discriminatory policies and practices in the country by analyzing the reaction of different sections of the society to formal and informal discrimination. While focussing on the period between 1945 and 1973 the thesis traces the evolution of Swaziland’s racial history dating back to the 1840s. The thesis also shows how the conditions created by the intervention of the colonial state as well as competing white interests between 1903 and 1944 deepened political and economic inequality in the country. In parallel, the thesis explores Swazi agency as was manifested through the reactions and initiatives of the monarchy when it stood up to challenge discriminatory policies and practices which were being applied to blacks. This was strongly indicated from the 1930s when a revived cultural nationalism was embraced by the Swazi monarchy to articulate Swazi grievances. To highlight contradictions in Swaziland’s racial patterns Coloured identity is discussed extensively. The thesis also explores the manner in which the Swazi educated elite confronted racial discrimination and argues that their approach was inadequate in alleviating racial injustices as they were experienced by most Swazis in different places. The central argument of the thesis, therefore, is that the formal abolition of discrimination in Swaziland in 1961 is to be understood against the anti-colonial politics in the post- World War II era. The thesis contends that the abolition of racial discrimination by the Swaziland colonial administration was largely a diplomatic gesture necessitated by the local and contemporary political climate as well as changing international relations of the 1960s including developments in the Union/Republic of South Africa. Finally, the thesis observes that since the outlawing of discrimination did reflect the government’s political commitment to confronting racism the post-abolition period was not a fundamental departure from the pre-abolition era. Discriminatory attitudes and practices persisted in covert as well as overt, but, subtle forms in most spheres of Swazi society and particularly at the work place. This thesis also observes that the lack of holistic strategies to curb racially inspired practices led to unabated manifestations of discrimination in the country.

Africa dissertation: Benchmarking Language Policies in West Africa Through Reassessment, Networked Technologies and Continuing Involvement with Other Learning Communities

Benchmarking Language Policies in West Africa Through Reassessment, Networked Technologies and Continuing Involvement with Other Learning Communities

Institution: Purdue University
Program: Linguistics Program
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2005

Author: Anatole Balma

Dissertation Title: Benchmarking Language Policies in West Africa Through Reassessment, Networked Technologies and Continuing Involvement with Other Learning Communities

Dissertation Director:
Michael Brzezinski
Alan Garfinkel
James Greenan
Venetria Patton
Victor Raskin

Dissertation Abstract:

Whether our concerns are about the everyday lives of people and their social interaction, or about social change and education, the issue of language is as vital as it is complex. Language performs different functions including a means of communication, expression and conceptualization. Therefore, language should be seen as a resource rather than a problem. In a multilingual society, knowledge of more than one language is an asset both in an immediate economic sense, at the workplace, for instance, and in the larger social sense of opening many worlds or cultures and as a nation-building and pro-democracy practice. In the 21st century, multilingualism is the norm, not the exception, and Africa is well endowed in this respect. We work with, not against, the grain of our societal multilingualism. The purpose of this study is to attempt to articulate language policies in West Africa from the field of benchmarking with the goal of improving educational outcomes. In so doing, this study has elected to describe, compare and contrast existing language policies in Burkina Faso and Ghana, it will also explore whether benchmarking offers genuine promise for improvement in teaching and learning and ask what approaches to policy and Benchmarking hold the most promise.

http://linguistlist.org/issues/18/18-1563.html

Madagascar: Projet Radio

The following article was seen on The Soul Beat 83

Projet Radio - Madagascar
This is a rural radio project for regional development in Southern Madagascar funded by the European Commission Food and Security Division. The project delivers information to isolated rural village populations in the southern parts of the country via Freeplay radios with the aim of empowering local people to help improve their standards of living - in particular, by developing programmes to promote practical ways of increasing food security and reducing the effects of poverty. The project collaborates with 16 local FM radio partners, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and service providers that form an association called Partners for Communication and Information for Development (PCID).
http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds32003/experiences-2400.html

Contact Rosalba Leonelli OR Gerry de Lisle admin@andrewleestrust.org OR Hanitra Raharimanana altmg@fortnet.net AND alt@wanadoo.mg OR Yvonne Orengo yorengo@andrewleestrust.org

Regimes of Multilingualism and the Language of Literacy in The Gambia

An interesting handout of a presentation on Regimes of Multilingualism and the Language of Literacy in The Gambia  by Kasper Juffermans who is doing his doctorate on the subject. He has a couple of sociolinguistic schemata in the paper which bear further investigation.

AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY: DRESS OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN IN SLAVERY AND FREEDOM: 1500 TO 1935

DRESS OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN IN SLAVERY AND FREEDOM: 1500 TO 1935
LYDIA JEAN WARES

Date: 1981

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Abstract
Dress behavioral patterns for the African American woman evolved from her cultural heritage. Major emphasis was on clothing worn in Africa and the United States during slavery and freedom from 1500 until 1935. Both social situation and geographic location dictated codes of dress. Information was gleaned from documents, analysis of cultural traits, and elements of African American history. A sequence of clothing styles was developed.

From 1619 to 1808 nine million Africans were enslaved and imported to America. Virginia law declared slavery hereditary. South Carolina law required masters to clothe slaves and dress codes resulted from the Negro Act of 1735. Slaves provided raw materials and made items of clothing on Southern plantations. Textile machinery improved during the Industrial Revolution increasing demands for raw cotton and a supportive labor force. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and amendments to the Constitution of the United States abolished slavery, granted citizenship, and gave voting privileges. During the Reconstruction, African Americans were excluded from mechanized industry. Organizations and schools were founded to improve economic and educational opportunities, with resulting changes reflected in dress.