COMMUNICATION

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Curriculum development and the approach to course contents. A paper delivered at a workshop/seminar held at Israel Patrick Iyambo College, Namibian Poilice, 22 July 1999.
(1999) Koroma, S. J.
The sun that never rose: A rhetorical analysis of the July 2006 "Sunrise of Currency Reform" monetary policy review statement issued by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
(NUST, Department of English Communication, 2007) Kangira, Jairos
This paper analyses the rhetoric that Dr Gideon Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, used in his (in) famous ‘Sunrise of Currency Reform’ Monetary Policy Review Statement to make people believe that once the three zeros were removed from the currency, all economic problems would be a thing of the past. The paper argues that by largely using rhetoric that espoused the common ownership of the economic crisis, Gono attempted to create a common bond among the people. This analysis shows that Gono’s speech was fraught with buzz words and phrases such as ‘from zero to hero’ which, despite their fuzziness, were aimed at shortcircuiting the audience’s reasoning and persuading them to think that removing three zeros from the currency was a noble thing to do. Posing as a pious citizen, Gono attempted to make his speech turn the occasion into an epic moment by purporting collectivity in the exercise. It is concluded that although Gono’s speech contains a mixture of deliberative, forensic and deictic elements of a speech, the proverbial sun did not rise for the people of Zimbabwe, and that Gono’s Monetary Statement was one of his worst illusions.
Integrating an online component using a Computer Mediated Communication system to enhance the learning of English communication skills.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Tjiramanga, Alexandra
This paper examines a variety of activities used in the online component of an English Communication course taught to exit level students at the NUST. The study concentrates on the tasks that were given to students using the computer mediated communication system “Moodle”. The tasks under examination were part of the online component of the hybrid course taught in 2005. These tasks related to study material presented in the face-to-face classroom. They involved activities such as practice, revision, reflection, reading, writing, evaluation, collaboration and cooperation, among others. The tasks under investigation show how face-to-face teaching can be supplemented by online activities to enhance learning as well as students’ engagement and personal development in the learning process.
An exploration of the theme of guilt and redemption in "The Guide" by R. K. Narayan and "A Grain of Wheat" by Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Krishnamurthy, Sarala
This article examines the theme of guilt and redemption in The Guide by R.K. Narayan and A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Guilt and redemption are treated as one because redemption of the two main protagonists in the two novels follows upon guilt. The protagonists of the two novels are compared with each other because both of them dupe the general public into believing that they are heroes. They follow similar paths of being ordinary men who, in the course of their lives, win the admiration of their people because of a misunderstanding.Instead of revealing their true selves they allow this misperception to continue because it suits them. How each of the protagonists meets his destiny and seeks his redemption is, in the final count, the embodiment of the philosophical vision of the two novelists writing from a post colonial perspective. Since the article deals with the theme of guilt and redemption as one, it, therefore, not only compares and contrasts the protagonists in the novels, also addresses the issue of writing in a post colonial world and how this impacts the world view of each writer.
Review of the book Professional communication: How to deliver written and spoken messages by Jane English et al.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Tjiramanga, Alexandra
The article reviews the book "Professional communication: How to deliver written and spoken messages", by Jane English et al.
Women writers' use of metaphor as gender rhetoric in discourse on HIV/AIDS and sex-related issues: The case of "Totanga patsva" (We start afresh) by Zimbabwe Women Writers.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Kangira, Jairos; Mashiri, Pedzisai; Gambahaya, Zifikile
This article analyses the metaphors that women writers use to communicate various messages about HIV/AIDS and sex. We argue that the writers use metaphors in their discourse mainly because the Shona culture places restrictions on words and expressions which directly refer to HIV/AIDS and sex-related issues. Such direct words and expressions are considered taboo, hence the communicators have to use metaphors which make the tabooed words and expressions mentionable indirectly. This study focuses on metaphors since other forms of figures such as similes and euphemisms are used sparingly in the anthology under examination. The metaphors that are discussed are found in seventeen stories out of twenty-five stories that make up the anthology. The remaining stories do not overtly use metaphors. It is demonstrated that metaphors in the stories that are analysed enhance communication since they are contextually used. The study demonstrates the relationship between language and culture.
Reflexive inquiry and reflective practice: Critical reflection and pedagogy in English language teaching.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2007) Krishnamurthy, Sarala
There is an ongoing debate on learners’ poor performance in English at the NUST. The main challenge that the institution faces to train faculty is addressed by the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) which has an Academic Support Unit in charge of organizing teacher training workshops, special lectures and several other activities. While some members of staff believe that it is impossible to mark a test without taking cognizance of the language in which it is written, others distinguish between form and content and choose to ignore the language component of a test. This discrepancy of thought has led to skewed results with students scoring brilliantly in their content subjects like Mathematics, Business Management courses, etc, and failing in English. The current state of affairs begs the question: what do we focus upon in our teacher training programs: is it on language or on content?
Reflections on the question of mother tongue instruction in Namibia.
(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2007) Murray, Cynthia
In recent years, the question of medium of instruction in education in African countries has become one of the crucial issues in research and discussion at many levels and in many fora. Since contexts, resources and social dynamics vary widely from country to country, factors addressed in this paper cannot be generally applied. The main focus will therefore be on factors which pertain specifically to Namibia and the Namibian context.
Structuralist analysis of D. H. Lawrence's "The White Stocking".
(2007) Brewis, Alexander
The French structuralist, Roland Barthes‟ structuralist analysis of Honore de Balzac‟s short story Sarrasine, S/Z, published in 1970, has had a major impact on literary criticism. In this analysis Barthes shows where and how different codes of meaning function, and he uses specific „codes‟ to show how a text „works‟. Barthes‟ five codes (to be discussed later) form a network of meaning in a text which provides a framework for analysing any text.
An exploration study into the fictionalisation of educational theory and practice in Victorian novels.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2008) Brewis, Alexander
This article is an exploration into how Victorian writers portray education in their novels. The content of syllabi as well as details of how children were taught in different schools, using different educational ideologies is not the focus of this article. This article will illustrate how Charles Dickens and Thomas Hughes represent education differently although they were writing during the same period. Dickens’ Hard Times, henceforth referred to as HT, was first published in 1854 and Hughes’ Tom Brown’s school Days, henceforth TB, was first published in 1857.The article refers to a range of Victorian writers but Charles Dickens’ Hard Times and Thomas Hughes’ Tom Brown’s School Days are the main focus.
Manipulation of subject peoples' history, legends and myths: The case of Prestor John.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2008) Kangira, Jairos; Chirere, Memory
This article claims that John Buchan’s Prester John, a small novel of 1910 can be read, arguably, as a settler novel setting out to undercut the indigenous Africans’ wars of resistance and self-determination by manipulation of myths, legends and history. The claim is also that this novel by the private secretary to the British High Commissioner to South Africa belittles the Africans’ claim to connections with their legendary ancestral heroes. There is a contrived, systematic denigration of “the black other” at the frontier so that he appears as if he has no meaningful claim to a history of organisation to fall back on. As savages, Africans are rendered blind, leaderless and motiveless. All that is done to benefit the Empire. Some extensive supporting examples will be drawn from Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines. However, in the process of denigrating the Africans, John Buchan is caught up in some contradictions. All this demonstrates that the colonial process itself was/is complex even to its perpetrators, as shall be shown here.
Review of the book Between yesterday and tomorrow: Writings by Namibian women.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2008) Krishnamurthy, Sarala
This article reviews the book "Between yesterday and tomorrow: Writings by Namibian women", edited by Elizabeth Ikhasas.
Poster presentations
(Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), 2008-05-23) Tjiramanga, Alexandra
Mission impossible - The pentangle breaks.
(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Brewis, Alexander
The poet’s complex and ambiguous treatment of Gawain’s adventure leaves the nature of the heroic role continually in doubt, and the ending of the poem is designed to make us wonder whether Gawain has fulfilled such a role or not. This article attempts to advocate a sympathetic reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, hereafter referred to as SGGK. I propose to show that Gawain, despite failing in his mission, is indeed a hero and that the circumstances he finds himself in, make it impossible for him to succeed.
Okot p’Bitek’s revision of aspects of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s "The Mask of Anarchy".
(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Opali, Fred
This paper examines the extent to which Okot p’Bitek revises aspects of Shelley’s The Mask of Anarchy. It begins by establishing the theoretical background to revisionism and takes as its working statement a key passage from Wordsworth. The substance of this passage is pursued and related to Johnsonian newness which, implicitly, is a neo-classical revision of the Wordsworthian stance. This position is pursued further in twentieth-century theoretical views as espoused by T.S.Eliot especially his view about relationships between texts. This section ends by drawing Harold Bloom into the paper’s theoretical framework and indicating which of his revisionary ratios are seen in p’Bitek’s revision of Shelley’s poem. The next section of the paper justifies p’Bitek’s revisionism and the third part applies two of Bloom’s revisionary ratios to Okot p’Bitek’s Song of Prisoner and Song of Soldier. The paper ends by assessing p’Bitek’s anxiety. It affirms that p’Bitek achieves identity and poetic distinction in revising aspects of The Mask of Anarchy.
The necessity and implications of creative power or poetic authority in Wole Soyinka and Okot p’Bitek.
(NUST, Department of Communication., 2009) Opali, Fred
Wole Soyinka and Okot p’Bitek see Ogun and Lawino as their deities without whose blessing they cannot create poetry. My paper treats the case in which Soyinka ands Okot p’Bitek in their anxiety, pursue the creative tradition practised by the major English Romantics. In the same vein they express the need to attain authority to create poetry before beginning to speak for and on behalf of their trapped societies. As its theoretical base, the paper is informed by intertextuality as espoused especially by Harold Bloom and Jonathan Culler in their theories of influence. The paper begins by a brief presentation of the contexts that inform and significantly enrich the poetry of Soyinka and p’Bitek. From this position, the paper then considers the process, necessity, and implications of attaining creative power or poetic authority and concludes by examining the necessity in the mind of the poet-initiate in the creative process of a presence or equivalence. It observes that it is only creative artists in this condition who can attain poetic authority. Throughout the paper, the extent to which Soyinka and Okot p’Bitek extend the range of romantic continuity and intra-poetic relations in their poetry is indicated. The paper concludes by giving a brief evaluation of the Romantic inclination that the two poets display.
Pragmatic analysis of students' performance at the NUST.
(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Krishnamurthy, Sarala; Ithindi, Elina; Brewis, Alexander; Eiseb, Juliet
Pragmatics has been described as the analysis of language taking into account the socio-cultural context in which it is used. In other words, it is the study of language of a particular region which reveals the influence of mother tongue and other cultural aspects. While pragmatic analysis can be done in many ways, this paper focuses on discussions that take place in the class room. Our subjects are students of the NUST who are expected to participate in classroom discussions as part of their formative assessment. This paper explores the relative success of classroom discussions according to the proficiency level of the students with a view to identifying and improving their interactions both in the classroom and in a societal setting.
"How ya doin'?" Meta-pragmatic awareness in TV-serials: Friends (a case study).
(2009) Krishnamurthy, Sarala
That TV serials by nature consist of conversation is stating the obvious. Whether the serials are soapies (Dynasty, The Bold and the Beautiful, Dallas) or detective (CSI, Miami), drama in the courtroom (Boston Legal, The Practice), adventure (Lost) or plain and simple “slice of life" (Sex in the city, Desperate Housewives, Friends), all of them depend on two vital ingredients for their success. These two ingredients are the elements of suspense and conversational exchange. It is the plot with the element of suspense that moves the story forward, quite like the Victorian three decker novel which was serialized in magazines in the 19th century and disseminated amongst an agog, eager, hungry-for-information public. In the 21st century plot ensures that the TV audience returns week after week, episode after episode. The other element, conversation, keeps them glued to the TV set and the interplay of words amongst the characters not only furthers the action but also provides for various factors like humor, profound insight into human nature and a vicarious experience of the unknown. Any TV show's success is reflected by the number of seasons that it has run. “Friends”, a popular TV serial of the 90s ran for 10 seasons before it finally wrapped up after ten years. Part of the show’s success was because of the situational comedy in which the characters are trapped. But most of it was because of the lively verbal interaction amongst them. This paper examines the cultural assumptions that are inherent in and integral to an understanding of social behavior using “Friends” as a case study with a view to explicating that although the pragmatic conditions of communicative tasks are theoretically taken to be universal, the realization of these tasks as social practice is variable.
Representation of time: A stylistic analysis of real and surreal elements in Joseph Heller's "Catch 22".
(2009) Krishnamurthy, Sarala
Surrealism is a movement that derives from psychology and embraces widely disparate genres such as art and literature. It has been defined as pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to express either verbally, in writing or by any other manner, the real functioning of thought. In other words it is dictation of thoughts in the absence of all control exercised by reason, outside of all aesthetic and moral preoccupation; for example, as seen in dreams. According to Freud, dreams can be analysed through free association to bring to surface desires and longings suppressed in the subconscious and unconscious. The suppression of desires leads to neurosis. Surrealist painters absorbed the notion of idiosyncrasy in Freudian psychoanalysis while rejecting the underlying madness or darkness of the mind. Painters, such as Salvador Dali, are described as surreal because of the juxtaposition of the abstract and concrete in the form of disturbing and incongruous images in their paintings. This kind of depiction has come to be accepted as a characteristic style of surrealism. In literature, surreal writers have expressed a disdain for literal meanings given to objects and focused on the undertones, the poetic undercurrent that infuses their writing with an uncanny, eerie spirit. Surreal writers seldom organise the thoughts and images that they present and most people find it difficult to understand or analyse their writings.
The girl child is not a "hen that wants to be a cock": A short survey of the portrayal of the girl child in Alumenda's selected children's books.
(NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Kangira, Jairos
This paper illustrates that Stephen Alumenda represents the girl-child in a positive way in four of his children’s books. The girl-child is portrayed as active, assertive, wise and independent. Alumenda satirises the patriarchal belief system that discriminates against and demeans the girl-child in society. Alumenda’s girl-child emerges dignified, proving that girls can do what boys do equally well if given the same opportunities. Through carefully crafted plots involving Marita, Tambudzai and Thandiwe, the author demonstrates that children’s literature is an indispensable medium which can be used to empower the girl-child.

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