http://hdl.handle.net/10386/28 English Studies 2026-04-13T11:08:14Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5388 Patriarchy in Dangarembga and Medie's selected novels : a post-colonial exploration Makgoba, Magaret Dipolelo Patriarchy remains a rooted system that shapes the lives of women in post-colonial Africa, preserving gender inequalities and constraining women‘s independence. For this reason, this study was prompted by a need to investigate how contemporary African literature reflects and critiques the impact of patriarchal structures facilitated by indigenous and colonial ideologies on women‘s lives. In particular, it sought to show how the intersectional identities of African women facilitate economic marginalisation, objectification and gender roles‘ socialisation, to name a few. Through a thematic analysis of Tsitsi Dangarembga‘s This Mournable Body (2018) and Peace Adzo Medie‘s His Only Wife (2020), this study primarily examined the depictions of female experiences under the influence of patriarchal norms, both in public and private spheres by uncovering the ongoing struggles of females striving for agency and equality in the face of patriarchal structures. The study employed African Womanism and Intersectionality as theoretical frameworks to understand the layered aspects that contribute to the identified marginalisation of Black women. The findings of this study highlighted that in addition to indigenous and contemporary African philosophies of gender, colonial history continues to aggravate the shaping of gender dynamics in contemporary African societies, perpetuating inequality based on both gender and race. Fundamentally, this study revealed that Black women in post-colonial Africa face multiple layers of oppression, such as patriarchal dominance, economic marginalisation, cultural and social expectations, and educational and professional barriers. The general implication of these findings is that Black women should continue to strive for survival by building solidarity, which influences their opportunities for advancement and self-fulfilment. Thesis (M. A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5374 User satisfaction with library and information services at Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology, South Africa Nsingwane, Siyabonga Jerry Library and information services in higher education institutions exist to serve and satisfy the information requirements or needs of students by providing some services and resources required to support their academic journey. These information services and resources must be evaluated from time to time to establish if library users are satisfied with their encounters. This study, therefore, was conducted to evaluate how students at Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology (RGIT) in Kempton Park branch Campus, South Africa, were happy and satisfied with its library services and resources. The study adopted the positivist research paradigm through quantitative research approach for data collection. An electronic questionnaire (Google form) with closed-ended questions, was utilised to collect data, from 468 students who were chosen though the application of both stratified and systematic random sampling methods. The findings showed that most of the respondents visited the library either weekly or monthly to check-out books, for study space, to conduct research and use computers and the printers. They also showed that they are happy and satisfied with services and resources provided for them to access information by the RGIT library, as well as the conduct and behaviour of library staff. However, there were few respondents who were not happy and not aware of the services and facilities provided by the library for accessing information. This calls for the intensive marketing of the RGIT library resources and services, including provision instructional services to the users in the form of user education programmes, that is, Bibliographic Instruction and Information Literacy education. Thesis (M. Information Studies) -- University of Limpopo, 2025 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5154 Teachers' and learners' perceptions towards translanguaging pedagogy in English First Additional Language among Grade 7 Tshivenda learners in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa Ralushai, Mpfariseni Moses This study reports on a study conducted among bilingual Grade 7 teachers and learners in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding their use of the translanguaging pedagogy in the teaching and learning of English FAL. The study comprised 9 Grade 7 English FAL teachers and 90 Grade 7 learners who registered for English FAL and Tshivenḓa Home Language (HL) at 3 different primary schools situated in the Luvuvhu Circuit, Vhembe District. A multiple case study of three primary schools was conducted using the mixed method to collect data concurrently using the four instruments, that is, classroom observation schedules, closed-ended questionnaires, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews. The overall results of the study revealed that the majority of Grade 7 teachers and learners have a positive outlook on the translanguaging pedagogy in the teaching and learning of English FAL. Alternation and flexible use of Tshivenḓa HL and English is permitted, and HL was used to scaffold and accelerate the learning of English FAL. On the other hand, the study revealed that some of these Grade 7 teachers and learners objected to the use of the translanguaging approach to promote the use of an English-only approach to accelerate the learning of English FAL in their classrooms. As the strict language isolationist belief is still widely accepted and utilised by some Grade 7 teachers and learners, the researcher was prompted to recommend an awareness of the cognitive and affective benefits of the translanguaging pedagogy in the second language (L2) classrooms and the need to value the learners' full linguistic repertoire that they bring to their classrooms for learning purposes. Thesis (Ph.D. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5030 Re-thinking gender : feminist representation of gender paradoxes in selected novels by Emecheta and Adichie Masha, Lethabo This study is a qualitative enquiry on the paradoxes brought about by the hegemonic concept of gender, which are fundamentally based on the differences of biological sex. Gender ideology proves to be problematic in the ways in which it facilitates inequality in African societies. The problem identified and addressed by this study is that dominant gender ideals are to a large extent, imposed and influenced by colonialism in many African countries. Furthermore, the way in which contemporary African cultural ideologies facilitate gender disparity demonstrates that they are diluted products of the interface of the native and coloniser. In line with these views, this research sought to reimagine gender ideologies through a thematic analysis of Emecheta’s Double Yoke (1983) and The Joys of Motherhood (1979), as well as Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus (2003) and Americanah (2013). These novels were purposively sampled due to their impactful contribution to African literature which advocates for gender equality in the continent and diaspora. Moreover, the novels explore different plights of black women throughout the pre-colonial, colonial as well as post-colonial era, from early advocacy against sexist labour restrictions to contemporary issues of imperial aesthetics. African centred perspectives of Womanism and Stiwanism were employed as theoretical lens to analyse the literature discussed as well as the chosen literary texts. The analysis and review of the selected literature demonstrates that since the incursion of colonialism, African men and women were juxtaposed against white/European men and women and in that way, the former were re-constructed through a modification driven by Western ideologies. In addition, the study examined how African and Western cultures as well as religions perceive gender with regard to chastity, marriage and parenthood. The analysis of Double Yoke revealed that black women in post-colonial Nigeria, are confronted with the burden of establishing identities within a society that is filled with contradicting traditional and modern ideologies. Matladi (2022) explains that even with constitutions based on human rights, many post-independence African states embody patriarchy in various ways. The Joys of Motherhood on the other hand, exposed how colonialism tempered with African practices of marriage (monogamy and polygyny), son preference as well as the othering of women in their role as mothers. Purple Hibiscus mainly exposes the toxicity of a patriarch who forces his subjects into submission through physical and psychological abuse. Lastly, Adichie uses Americanah to portray the struggles of black women in the diaspora whereby their existence as black and female continues to be used as a discriminatory tool even in the 21st century. Moreover, in the African context, traditional ideologies of approved femininity perpetually bolster the marginalisation of females in the private and public spaces. The current study is distinguished by its adoption of African centred theoretical perspectives to analyse the selected literature, particularly in its deviation from the redundant critiques of universalising gender and validity of feminist and womanist theories in the African context. The current research undertaking recommends that studies on African societies must be actively committed to the liberatory practice of decolonising sex and gender ideologies in their attempt to debunk the myth of African societies and cultures as naturally and inherently patriarchal. Furthermore, indigenous African cultures should cease to be cited as justifications for gender bias but instead, should be seen as having an ability to evolve. And lastly, while black people in Africa and diaspora may share some commonalities, their experiences should be accurately analysed by considering their differences. Thesis (Ph.D. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z