Journal of humanities (Zomba)最新文献

Witchcraft as Social Metaphor: Exploring the Supernatural Beliefs Among the Ogoni and Ikwerre of the Niger Delta 巫术作为社会隐喻:探究尼日尔三角洲奥戈尼和伊克维尔人的超自然信仰

Journal of humanities (Zomba) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 DOI: 10.4314/jh.v31i2.4

Sunday Deezia Burabari, Lawrence-Hart Grace

{"title":"Witchcraft as Social Metaphor: Exploring the Supernatural Beliefs Among the Ogoni and Ikwerre of the Niger Delta","authors":"Sunday Deezia Burabari, Lawrence-Hart Grace","doi":"10.4314/jh.v31i2.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/jh.v31i2.4","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores the underlying philosophy, beliefs, and practices surrounding witchcraft among the Ogoni and Ikwerre ethnic groups inhabiting the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Throughout recorded history, humanity has embarked upon a rational journey to identify solutions to the myriad vicissitudes and afflictions that have plagued human existence. Belief in supernatural phenomena such as witchcraft has conventionally furnished reasonable explanations for tragedy and occurrences deemed odd or inexplicable through conventional epistemologies. Within these cosmologies, witches are frequently perceived as enemies of societal equilibrium, capable of inflicting ill health, misfortune, and diverse forms of affliction upon communities. However, while beliefs related to witchcraft and the supernatural may serve as metaphors for powerful forces or social dysfunction, they simultaneously constitute autonomous systems of signs, symbols, and meanings that can potentially generate tangible positive effects for adherents, with historical origins rooted in indigenous cultures. This paper uses the descriptive methodology to argue that witchcraft, as a construct dependent on human agency, is not inherently immoral or detrimental. Rather, the central issue lies in the improper application of knowledge, experience, and intelligence derived from witchcraft practices toward selfish ambitions, such as harming others for personal advantage. The paper concludes that if oriented toward serving the greater good, advancing human society, and promoting human dignity, witchcraft merits encouragement, provided it is harnessed ethically through proper use.","PeriodicalId":477213,"journal":{"name":"Journal of humanities (Zomba)","volume":"9 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136018568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Problematising Simplicity: Addressing Comprehension Gaps of RFI’s ‘Le Journal en Français Facile’ 简单化的问题:解决RFI“Le Journal en fran<s:1> ais Facile”的理解差距

Journal of humanities (Zomba) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 DOI: 10.4314/jh.v31i2.5

Boniface Dokotala

{"title":"Problematising Simplicity: Addressing Comprehension Gaps of RFI’s ‘Le Journal en Français Facile’","authors":"Boniface Dokotala","doi":"10.4314/jh.v31i2.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/jh.v31i2.5","url":null,"abstract":"This paper evaluates Malawian learners’ French language comprehension abilities concerning the French radio program ‘Le Journal en français facile’ (The News in Simple French), broadcast by Radio France Internationale. Specifically, it assesses learners’ levels of aural comprehension of this Francophone news content designed for non-native audiences. The paper examines whether the universal applicability of the ‘français facile’ (simple French) concept across heterogeneous learners can be assumed, considering linguistic aspects deemed elementary from a Francophone perspective may not prove equivalently rudimentary for anglophone learners of French. Methodologically, the paper is grounded in the Bottom-up and Top-down listening comprehension model, which emphasises integrating linguistic and prior sociocultural knowledge to facilitate aural meaningmaking. Through French listening exercises and teacher interviews with a sample of Malawian college students, the study highlights limitations in comprehension, with listeners restricted to grasping essential lexical news components like numbers, names and locations while failing to parse complex news concepts —attributed to newscaster accent, pronunciation, speech rate, unfamiliar vocabulary, and insufficient prior knowledge activation. This paper argues the notion of “simple” French may be misconstrued when applied uniformly across diverse global learners engaging with RFI broadcasts, evidenced by difficulty comprehending the news program among numerous Malawian learners despite its simplified linguistic profile. Mastery of these broadcasts, it is contended, necessitates more advanced proficiency.","PeriodicalId":477213,"journal":{"name":"Journal of humanities (Zomba)","volume":"9 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136018565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Rethinking Media Arts Instruction in Nigerian Universities 重新思考尼日利亚大学的媒体艺术教学

Journal of humanities (Zomba) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 DOI: 10.4314/jh.v31i2.6

Abiodun Olayiwola

{"title":"Rethinking Media Arts Instruction in Nigerian Universities","authors":"Abiodun Olayiwola","doi":"10.4314/jh.v31i2.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/jh.v31i2.6","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores the pedagogical challenges and dilemmas surrounding film and media arts education within Nigerian tertiary institutions against deficient teaching facilities and infrastructure. Teaching film and media arts has rapidly developed in recent years. Many Nigerian universities now recognise the necessity of robust film/media pedagogy to complement and respond to the escalating growth of the country’s indigenous film and entertainment industry. The onus is increasingly placed on Nigeria’s tertiary institutions to spearhead the advancement of film and media arts education, premised on disseminating adequate practical knowledge, skills acquisition, and integrating international best practices. However, a pivotal issue emerges regarding whether Nigerian tertiary institutions possess the requisite facilities to fulfil and drive this pedagogical mandate. This paper argues that most Nigerian universities continue to emphasise theoretical instruction over practical application, constrained by the unavailability of resources required to execute a technologically immersive media pedagogy tailored to the needs of the nation’s thriving creative industries. Drawing insights from a recent experimental pedagogical model undertaken at Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe, this paper highlights how an integrated pedagogical methodology combining conventional teaching formats with social media tools and platforms may potentially mitigate the difficulties imposed by insufficient practical teaching facilities for film education in most African tertiary institutions.","PeriodicalId":477213,"journal":{"name":"Journal of humanities (Zomba)","volume":"9 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136018569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Honouring Uncelebrated Heroes in Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King and Beneath the Lion’s Gaze 纪念Maaza Mengiste的《暗影王》中的无名英雄 /i>和在狮子的注视下

Journal of humanities (Zomba) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 DOI: 10.4314/jh.v31i2.3

Chrispin Mkumba

{"title":"Honouring Uncelebrated Heroes in Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King and Beneath the Lion’s Gaze","authors":"Chrispin Mkumba","doi":"10.4314/jh.v31i2.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/jh.v31i2.3","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines literary representations of marginalised, uncelebrated heroes in two novels by Maaza Mengiste: The Shadow King and Beneath the Lion’s Gaze. The central argument is that Mengiste excavates and portrays the overlooked heroic contributions of select male and female protagonists to honour their legacy and illuminate their vital yet under-recognised roles in constructing Ethiopian national identity. By adopting close textual analysis, the paper examines the conception of ‘heroism’ to characters derived from Mengiste’s fictionalised historiography centred upon Ethiopia. Furthermore, the sociocultural and ideological factors engendering the marginalisation of these heroic figures shall be scrutinised within the novels’ specific narrative contexts. Incorporating critical theoretical perspectives, the efficacy of violence as a liberating praxis against political oppression shall be evaluated through the lens of Frantz Fanon. At the same time, Marxian theories of alienation are employed to elucidate the subjective motivations compelling certain protagonists towards heroic but uncelebrated deeds. Methodologically, the paper is grounded in a close literary analysis of the theme of unheralded heroism within the two primary texts. A synthesis of supplementary scholarly perspectives bolsters this paper’s central thesis regarding unrecognised heroic narratives. The paper argues that despite contributing substantially to anti-oppressive struggles, Mengiste’s marginal protagonists remain uncelebrated within Ethiopia’s dominant historical discourses due to their race, class, gender, and ideological positionality.","PeriodicalId":477213,"journal":{"name":"Journal of humanities (Zomba)","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136018570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Rethinking Female Rites of Passage: The Chinamwali, Male Power, and African Feminisms 重新思考女性的成年仪式:中国、男性权力和非洲女权主义

Journal of humanities (Zomba) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 DOI: 10.4314/jh.v31i2.1

Carina Mweela Talakinu

{"title":"Rethinking Female Rites of Passage: The Chinamwali, Male Power, and African Feminisms","authors":"Carina Mweela Talakinu","doi":"10.4314/jh.v31i2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/jh.v31i2.1","url":null,"abstract":"Engaging the African Feminist ideological framework, this paper explores the intersection between African female initiation rites and male power and privilege. The paper engages the chinamwali, a female initiation rite practised by the Chikunda of Zambia. The initiation rite involves the seclusion of the ‘namwali’, the initiate, in an informal learning process during which older and more experienced women, aphungu, pass on messages to her on what it means to be a woman in society. The data for the article were generated from a study undertaken in 2018 in Chief Mphuka’s area of Luangwa District, in the Eastern part of Zambia, using narratives from 30 participants, including 15 women who have undergone chinamwali, who constituted the main research participants; 5 ritual instructors, aphungu; 5 men; and five uninitiated women. A thematic analysis of the findings led to the development of the ‘Chikunda masculinity’, which gives impetus to feminist scholarship regarding a new focus on women’s sexuality as a source of legitimising men’s dominant position over women. The article recommends the integration of transformative messages in the chinamwali curriculum that could empower the initiate to confront cultural practices that reinforce patriarchal hegemony.","PeriodicalId":477213,"journal":{"name":"Journal of humanities (Zomba)","volume":"9 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136018567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Profit, Tradition, and African Wildlife: Examining Animal Commodification Through Eco-Bio-Communitarianism 利润、传统与非洲野生动物:通过生态-生物社群主义审视动物商品化

Journal of humanities (Zomba) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 DOI: 10.4314/jh.v31i2.2

Carla Turner

{"title":"Profit, Tradition, and African Wildlife: Examining Animal Commodification Through Eco-Bio-Communitarianism","authors":"Carla Turner","doi":"10.4314/jh.v31i2.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/jh.v31i2.2","url":null,"abstract":"In Southern Africa, there exists a large-scale commodification of fauna, extending to the utilisation of animals in traditional medicine. In South Africa alone, 1,175 documented cases of rhinoceros poaching transpired in a single annum, and analogously, an estimated 100,000 pangolins are smuggled from there to Asia annually. These and myriad other species, whether intact, in part, or processed into medicaments, are vented either in their country of origin for application in traditional medicine or exported illicitly across the globe for similar purposes. In this paper, I posit that this large-scale commodification conflicts with a relational African environmental ethic. To substantiate this claim, I consider two cardinal concepts in African ecological ethics, which will illuminate how animals should be utilised and considered morally. Firstly, the Shona concept of Ukama employs Felix Murove’s exegesis. Secondly, I explore eco-bio- communitarianism, precisely the Nso worldview of Godfrey Tangwa. Upon applying these concepts to the utilisation of fauna in traditional medicine by traditional healers and to the current largescale commercial exploitation of animals in conventional medicine, this thesis concludes that only the profit-driven use opposes an African environmental ethic.","PeriodicalId":477213,"journal":{"name":"Journal of humanities (Zomba)","volume":"9 5","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136018566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0