Browsing by Author "Mlambo, Nelson"

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    Exploring the literary representations of urban survival and coping strategies in selected contemporary Zimbabwean fiction in English from 1999 to 2009
    (2013) Mlambo, Nelson
    This study is an exploration of the literary representation of survival and coping strategies during times of socio-political and economic crisis as presented in selected contemporary Zimbabwean fiction in English. The main purpose of the study was to investigate how fiction, particularly the short story, manages to capture the various innovative and resilient ways used by the people inhabiting the city during tempestuous and trying times, and how they manage to live with hope and positivity. The study was primarily a qualitative, desktop research where from a total of nine short story anthologies, nineteen short stories and one novel were purposefully selected and analysed. This analysis was mainly informed by three theoretical frameworks - the resilience theory, trauma theory and the chronotope theory. Resilience theory is a literary interpretation of texts that puts emphasis on people’s strengths which enable them to survive and cope with challenges they meet in life. The chronotope is a theory which elucidates the fictional connectedness of temporal and spatial relationships that are artistically expressed in literature. Resilience theory assisted in investigating the capacity for successful adaptation and socio-cultural innovation as presented through the characters in the selected fictional works. Trauma theory in literary studies refers to the literary presentation of a person’s emotional response to an overwhelming event that disrupts previous ideas of an individual’s sense of self and the standards by which one evaluates society. The chronotope theory helped in contextualising the study and amplifying the period of extreme socio-political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe’s history (1999 to 2009) as a special case for scrutiny. The study contributes to the creation and dissemination of knowledge on literary theory, particularly in its espousal of theoretical frameworks which cohere with practical issues faced by Zimbabwean people. The study also contributes to the body of knowledge which seeks to recognise the creative potential of disadvantaged people, as it recognises the innovativeness and agency of the ordinary people as represented through fiction about the Zimbabwe crisis. The findings in this study revealed that human agency is ubiquitous and that Zimbabwean ordinary people are able to innovatively face their challenges with varied measures of success. The characters in the Zimbabwean short stories explored in this study courageously and resiliently reconstruct the city space to make it a liveable place of their own. The utilisation of city spaces for urban informalities helps the characters to negotiate space and thereby survive. It has further been revealed that in order to survive and adapt to new situations, the characters in the Zimbabwean literary fiction reflect what was really happening during the crisis, had to resiliently change their cultural identities and transform into protean beings. Furthermore, the study revealed that one way of negotiating crisis times is through migration. Through an analysis of metaphors of migration in Zimbabwean fiction, the study highlighted the role of diaspora and remittances as a critical coping strategy to survive catastrophic economic collapses. Moreover, the fictionalization of resource politics, which is how writers present the people’s claim on the natural resources, also revealed the democratic ways of surviving hegemonies and also building a peaceful ethos for a better future. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that human agency abounds in many forms and survival is still an option, in spite of the challenges faced by the ordinary people as presented by the characters in Zimbabwean fiction. It can also be concluded that the women characters as presented through the fiction are better able to cope with dystopian and crisis times than their male counterparts. Coping strategies demonstrate that the ordinary people are innovative, resilient and capable of exploiting opportunities at their disposal and manage change.
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    The literary representation of the resilience of the slave family and familial relations in Frederick Douglass’ autobiography
    (University of Namibia, 2015) Mlambo, Nelson
    The thrust of this paper is to make an exploration of the literary representation of the black family under slavery. How the family fared under the peculiar institution of slavery was determined by the social system of the Old South that determined how and to whom goods were produced, to satisfy human wants. An exploration of this capitalist patriarchal ideology shows that the slave was objectified for economic gains, this causing a severe impact on the slaves’ familial relations. Therefore, it is the slave who can give an objective account of how the slave family fared under slavery, which resulted in the slave narrative being labelled “the” mode of expression during that time. The narrative by Douglass has therefore demonstrated that slavery certainly was a horror to the slaves but the resilience of the slaves, their fortitude and inner strength made them to survive and keep their families intact. In the final analysis it has been made clear that despite all the odds against it, the slave family survived the horrors of slavery.
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    Opportunity Granted or Denied: An analysis of teachers’ implementation of English Language syllabus’ learning objectives and the fate of Grade 10 ESL learners at Public Schools in Windhoek
    (University of Namibia, 2016) Lyamine, Yolana; Mlambo, Nelson
    There is growing evidence that a lack of mastery of the English language causes negative academic consequences for learners. Poor performance of learners in national examinations in some countries, including Namibia, where English is the medium of instruction, has been attributed to low proficiency in English. Studies have also shown that there is often misalignment between what is intended to be taught in the classroom, and what is actually taught. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore whether teachers implemented intended Grade 10 ESL learning objectives, specifically in terms of content coverage in their classrooms. The study used a mixed method sequential explanatory design. Quantitative data was collected by questionnaire from thirty teachers of English as Second Language (ESL) at public schools in Windhoek. For the qualitative phase of the study, four teachers were interviewed. The study revealed that teachers do not implement all the intended Grade 10 ESL learning objectives in their classrooms. This ultimately compromises learners’ opportunity to learn and attain academic success.
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    Rethinking the poetics of urban informalities in fiction: Reconstructing the city space in times of crisis
    (University of Namibia, 2012) Mlambo, Nelson
    This paper considers ways of reading and theorising urbanity and the urbanites’ coping strategies for survival. The prime motivation is to demonstrate their apt capacity to transform the urban space and utilise it to better their lives. Using resilience theory and focusing on the profundity of agency, the paper takes literature, particularly the short story set in urban Zimbabwe during the crisis of the past decade to focus on the characters as actors with the capacity to innovate and respond to difficulty with ingenuity through urban informalities; strengths we can all learn from.
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    A stylistic analysis of Diescho's dictums published from January 2014 to December 2015
    (University of Namibia, 2017) Nepolo, Theresia; Mlambo, Nelson
    Using the Formalist Theory and the pedagogical stylistics perspective, this article analyses stylistic features of foregrounding and figurative language used by Joseph Diescho in his “Dictums”, published in the New Era newspaper between January 2014 and December 2015. The study seeks to demonstrate how public discourse can provide useful insights to teachers and lecturers as well as students who are inter-ested in understanding how language and literature can be analysed in the classroom. The study found that Diescho is a writer with multiple authorial styles. Furthermore, he creatively combines (writing) styles such as deviation, parallelism, reference, rhetorical questions and the extensive use of quotes to communicate what he intends the readers to understand. The varied styles are also intended to strengthen and enhance his arguments, as well as to voice his views, beliefs and opinions on multiple issues. The study recommends the need for classroom practitioners to scrutinise public discourse from a stylistic perspective in the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors in order to enhance their interpretive skills and creative writing skills.