Browsing by Author "Fox, Tom"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Assessing virtual culture exchanges
    (University of Namibia, 2012) Fox, Tom
    The rapidly growing presence of old and new media in postcolonial Namibia, particularly from the decade after the turn of the Millennium, has signifi cance for cultural and lifestyle transformations in the country. Formerly entrenched social identities, shaped by restrictive colonialism and indigenous traditions, appear to be under pressure as shifts become apparent in the face of cultural globalisation. This article examines the characteristics of change from the perspective of young Windhoek adults’ experiences of Internet social networks. The research constitutes a cultural study that addresses the current knowledge gap regarding how the Internet is increasingly situated in youth identity and cultural lifestyle spaces. Social networks appear to be changing the cultural landscapes of Namibia, if the evidence is accepted, and youth are at the cutting edge of cultural transformations wrought by new media such as the Internet.
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    Confronting the global: The ‘mediatization’ of local culture and Namibian youth receptions of media power
    (University of Namibia, 2016) Fox, Tom
    This paper investigates the idea of the ‘mediatization’ of Namibian cultures, media power, and degrees of reflexive actor ‘negotiations’ of media institutionalism. It seeks to understand awareness of and reaction to local and global power narratives in relation to actors’ symbolic relationships with media. Research reveals that Namibian youth are often positive regarding the novelty and opportunities that global media off er for identity and lifestyle negotiations. However, it also revealed ontological anxieties about erosion of ‘traditional’ culture on the one hand, and concerns on the other about the absence of representation or recognition of the ‘local’ in global media productions. The Windhoek research on which this paper is based conceptually establishes three reflexive youth orientations and identities toward local/global media power: cultural appropriationist, cultural traditionalist and cultural representationalist. Theories of power and media are contrasted and analysed in relation to these reflexive categories, giving special reference to Lukes (2005). The paper concludes that while media culture today appears to be instrumental in Namibian identity formation and cultural change, social tensions and conflict over matters of culture and power are evident.
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    Mass media, lifestyle and young adults’ (un)reflexive negotiation of social and individual identities in Windhoek
    (University of Stellenbosch, 2012) Fox, Tom
    The rapidly growing presence of old and new media in postcolonial Namibia, particularly from the decade after the turn of the Millennium, has significance for cultural and identity transformations in the country. Formerly entrenched social identities, shaped by restrictive colonialism and indigenous traditions, appear to be under pressure as shifts become apparent in the face of globalisation.This thesis examines the characteristics of change from the perspective of young adults’ mediated experiences in the city of Windhoek. The research constitutes a cultural study that addresses the current knowledge gap regarding how growing local and global media presences are increasingly situated in youth identity and cultural lifestyle spaces. Degrees of reflexive response to mediated information and entertainment are examined in an attempt to understand awareness of and reaction to local and global power narratives situated in actors’ relationships with media. It was found that participants responded positively to the novelty and opportunities that global media offered for identity and lifestyle negotiations, while also revealing ontological anxieties about erosion of ‘traditional’ culture, and concern about absence of recognition and representation of the ‘local’ in global media productions. This led to the research conceptually establishing three participant orientations to media: cultural expropriationist, cultural traditionalist and cultural representationalist. The study concluded that while media seemed to be instrumental in identity and cultural change, social tension over matters of culture appeared to be emerging. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za
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