The 7th Africa Century International African Writers Conference (ACIAWC)

Theme:

“Unifying Africa: Writing and reading in African languages”

Date
6th – 7th November 2018

Venue
Dr Miriam Makeba Concert Hall, University of South Africa (UNISA), Muckleneuk Campus. Preller Street, Muckleneuk, Pretoria, Gauteng, RSA

The Main Speaker

Prof Kwesi Kwaa Prah

Profile

Kwesi Kwaa Prah is the founder and was the Director of the Africa-wide Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS) based in Cape Town, South Africa.

He studied at Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam. He has worked extensively across Africa, Europe and Asia researching and teaching Sociology and Anthropology in various universities including Makerere University, Uganda; University of Botswana and Swaziland; University of Juba, Sudan; Cape Coast University, Ghana; National University of Lesotho; University of Namibia; University of the Western Cape, South Africa; University of Heidelberg, Germany; the Amsterdam Municipal University, in the Netherlands and The Institute for West Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in China.

Kwesi Kwaa Prah has also been a Visiting Nuffield Foundation Fellow and Associate at the Centre for African Studies, and Darwin College, Cambridge University.

He is currently mainly involved with work in Anthropological Linguistics, specifically the harmonization of African orthographic conventions. He has published numerous books; these include: The Social Background of Coups d’etat (1973), Beyond the Color Line (1998), African Languages for the Mass Education of Africans (1995), Capitein. A Critical Study of an 18th Century African (1992), The Bantustan Brain Gain (1989), Mother Tongue for Scientific and Technological Development in Africa (1993), The African Nation: The State of the Nation (2006), Anthropological Prisms (2009), Soundings (2010), Tracings: Pan Africanism and the Challenges of Global African Unity (2014) and Sudan Matters. Reports on Traditional Leadership and Administration in Africa – Two Cases from Sudan and South Sudan (2016). Some of these books have been translated into French, Chinese and Arabic.

Speaker:

Prof Vuyisile Msila

University of South Africa, Change Management Unit, Director : Leadership in Higher Education

University of South Africa, Institute for African Renaissance Studies, Faculty Member

Topic:

Indigenous languages and Literature in South Africa: Building communities and destroying culture?

Abstract

For a number of years, the academic Eskia Mphahlele regarded the English language a superior one and perceived the apartheid government as demeaning to black South Africans when it proclaimed that blacks would learn in their indigenous languages. The English language to Mphahlele, was loftier than indigenous languages because it showed them paths and ways of resistance whilst helping in the creation of nationalism in many parts of Africa.

Every year the presses publish several books and this includes self-published works. However, few of these are in indigenous languages. Yet when Ngugi Wa Thiongo decided to publish his works in his mother tongue, Gikuyu, he wanted to consciously address this dearth in the use of indigenous languages to pass on knowledge. Ngugi maintained that there was a need to oppose the Western hegemony and bring back indigenous languages in the epistemic search for identity and culture. Countless leaders in Africa have also tried to bring African languages as languages of “doing business” although they have encountered several challenges.

This presentation explores the pros and cons of publishing in indigenous South African languages. Among the themes explored are, Identity, relevance to society’s growth, the question of multilingualism as well as schools and survival of indigenous knowledges cultures.

Keywords: Culture; Epistemic Freedom; Identity; Indigeneity

 

Profile:

Vuyisile Msila is the former Head of the Institute for African Renaissance Studies. He is a biographer whose books include Mzwandile Maqina: The Untold Story (2017) as well as The Black Train Rising: The Life and Times of Welcome Duru (2009). An overall winner of ERA/Sales House Short Story Competition in 1998 and runner up of Drum-CNA Short Story Competition in 1983. Drum Magazine has published several of his stories and Umhlobo Wenene radio station has broadcast five of his isiXhosa full length Radio Serials. He currently works at the University of South Africa and has published research in the area of indigenous languages in South Africa.

Speaker:

Prof Sara Jona Laisse

Professor of Mozambican Culture and Research Methodology, Polytechnic University.

Consultant in Teaching Quality Assessment.

Topic

Writing In African languages with and for posterity: from cultural perspective to the usage of languages to capture performative dimensions *

Abstract

In Mozambique, the scientific approach to the use of Mozambican languages in public life is still new, it began in the 1970s.

Moreover, as far as the publication of literary works is concerned, since independence in 1975, very few literary works have been published in about 23 Mozambican languages. Since most of the literary texts are written in the Portuguese language, which is official, there is a problem with regard to the understanding of the performative dimension and the representation of symbols and cultural events in literary texts. On my understanding, when writing about a culture, in a different language from that of the culture represented in the literary text, there are performative or pragmatic dimensions that can be lost. At the same time, according to Fernea (1989), there is a difference between someone who writes about their own culture and another who writes about another person’s culture.

In this study I deconstructed some cultural events in Suleiman Cassam’s novel “Lecture for a Dead Person”,ie, Palestra para um Morto (PPP). This text approaches the Ronga culture, from the perspective of a Ronga author. In my analysis I used the Culture Analysis Model (MAC) by Geertz (2008). The author used the MAC in real context. In this research, adapting and adopting this model, I analyzed a literary text, which allowed me to apprehend the different cultural representations that it contains.

In order to gauge my conclusions, I interviewed seven research subjects from the Ronga culture, who confirmed that the work approached the cultural representations of the Ronga culture in an acceptable manner. This leads me to recommend that PPM be translated into Ronga, so that the pragmatic and performative dimensions of that language are captured, which will ultimately contribute to the prosperity of African languages.

Profile

Prof Sara Jona Laisse – Doctorate in Literature and Cultures in Portuguese Language at the New University of Lisbon. Professor of Mozambican Culture and Research Methodology at the Polytechnic University. She is a consultant in Teaching Quality Assessment. She is the author of teaching manuals, articles published in national and foreign newspapers and magazines. She published the book Between the Indian and the Atlantic: essays on literature and other texts and is co-author of the work Organizational Identity: a differential for the competitiveness of Mozambican companies and the Portuguese-Bitonga-Portuguese Dictionary with Grammar Compendium. Three years ago, in coordination with two colleagues from other universities, she runs a scientific event called “Tertúlias Itinerantes” held by different academic areas of knowledge and from various universities discussing the theme “interculturality”. For 18 years, she has another program to encourage the literary books reading called “Tertúlias de Sábado”. She has participated in several national and international scientific events and has been a jury member in literary competitions in her country and in others.

Speaker:

Dr Berrington Ntombela

Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of English at the University of Zululand

Topic:

Linguistic disability: the legacy of coloniality

Abstract:

Research abounds which points to the need to use mother tongues as media of instruction. This is evidenced by the advantage that English native speakers and Afrikaans native speakers in South Africa have over the overwhelming majority of Black South Africans who do not use their native languages as media of instruction. Not only that, research in multiple intelligences indicates that some are endowed with special linguistic abilities. This means, other than the natural acquisition of language, others have gravitation towards linguistic diversity. But the natural phenomenon is that every person is endowed with a linguistic ability to read, interpret and interact with the environment through the home language. The neglect of these logical notions results in intellectual disablement.

Most Black Africans in the education system are regarded as intellectually deviant simple because they cannot express themselves because of a linguistic impediment caused by reliance on colonial languages as media of instruction. However, the same way that systems are built to exclude physically challenged such that they are labelled as disabled, the intellectual space is built to exclude many people on account of language barrier.

There are solutions none the less. The promotion and development of indigenous languages so that they operate as media of instruction will elevate the intellectual engagement of many who are excluded on account of language just the same way physical spaces must be built to accommodate every kind of ability. In other words, there is an urgency to decolonise the meritorious mentality built on uneven ground. When indigenous languages are acknowledged to have the same capacity of grappling with sophisticated intellectual theorisation and academic engagement, linguistic disability would have been addressed.

Profile

Dr Ntombela holds a D.Phil. (English) degree obtained from the University of Zululand in 2009. He is currently a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of English at the University of Zululand. He has also worked as Head of English Department at SABIS University of Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq. He was Senior Lecturer at Caledonian College of Engineering, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. He was a Lecturer at Higher College of Technology, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. He has presented scholarly papers at international conferences in Malaysia, Sultanate of Oman, Japan, Australia, Kenya, and South Africa. He has over ten journal publications. He has published chapters in books and a collection of poems. He is also an international PhD examiner.

He is very passionate about the practice of teaching and learning. He is also a doctoral supervisor. He is a 2016 recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s award for Excellence in Teaching & Learning.

Speaker:

Ms Monicca Thulisile Bhuda

Library assistant , guest lecturer / lecturer assistant, Golden Key International Honour Society member

North West University, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science; Indigenous Knowledge Systems Centre

Title:

The integration of Indigenous languages within the CAPS curriculum: A decolonising perspective

Profile:

Monicca Thulisile Bhuda is a culture activist, Library assistant, guest lecturer/ lecturer assistant and a Master’s student at the North-West University, Mafikeng. She is originally from Kwaggafontein, KwaNdebele in Mpumalanga. Thulisile holds a Bachelor (Hons) degree on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (BIKS) from the North West University (2017) and graduated with a distinction. Some of her achievements include being Golden Key International Honour Society member, representing the North West University in South Korea in 2016. She has monthly live radio interviews on Ikwekwezi FM on African Science and Technology and does live television interviews on Daily-thetha TV on SABC 1 in 2018 focusing on decolonization of education and other culture related topics. Her current master’s degree interrogates ethnomathematics amongst the Ndebele nation. She is interested in doing her PhD in IKS or African studies and has passion to remain in academia. Her main interests are ethnomathematics, African metallurgy and African indigenous astronomy.

Speaker:

Z. Matshoba

Manager: Education and Public Programmes

National English Literary Museum (Nelm)

DLitt Candidate: Nelson Mandela University

Topic:

IsiXhosa as a microcosm of African Languages Literatures in the Public Spaces

Profile

Zongezile Matshoba works at the National English Literary Museum, based in Grahamstown. He is part of the Education and Public Programmes (EPP) team that is tasked with taking the museum and its literary collection to the people, as well as ensuring that readers, writers, publishers, researchers, teachers and other users engage with the museum spaces. Matshoba is also a writer, writing in isiXhosa and English.

He is currently completing his DLitt (isiXhosa) at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth with the aim of producing an isiXhosa literary guide that could be adapted for other South African indigenous languages.

Speaker:

Kabelo Duncan Kgatea

Multi award winning author

Topic:

Go kwala ka Setswana le go se bolokela kago ya setshaba sa isago

Profile

Kabelo Duncan Kgatea ‘Mabinagotsholwa’, Kabelo Duncan Kgatea was born on 31 January 1961 at Madibogo village, Motsitlane section in the North West province in South Africa.

Kabelo is a five times winner of the Sanlam Prize for youth literature, two time winner of the Mnet book Prize.

He has a Diploma in Business Communications with Stanford Business College, Certificate in comprehensive writing with The Writing school of South Africa, Certificate in Journalism and Media Studies in 2003 with INTEC College, Certificate in Basic Principles of Public Relations in 2008 and in 2009 he completed a course in Public Relations writing both at PRISA. Advance development course in sport Managements & Administration with Sport and Management Excellence in 2006. He completed a course in Drama and Public Speaking with Mmabana Cultural Centre in 1995 and a course in Feature Film Writing from The South African Script Writing Institute, Services accredited SETA certificate in HIV/AIDS Awareness Facilitator by ITD Training in 2008.

Speaker:

Dr Hleze Kunju

Lecturer, Researcher, Author, and a Poet.

Rhodes University, ISEA

Uphuhliso lwesiGama nokuBhalwa kwesiXhosa kumaZiko eMfundo ePhakamileyo

Isishwankathelo

Abantu abantetho isisiNgesi njengolwimi lwasekhaya eMzantsi Afrika baqikelelwa kwiipesenti ezisi-8. 2 (%) kuphela, ze iipesenti ezingama-91. 8 (%) ibe ngabantu abathetha iilwimi zaseMzantsi Afrika (Banda 2009, Kamwangamalu 2004). Nangona kunjalo, olona lwimi luphambili kumaziko emfundo ephakamileyo sisiNgesi. Ukusetyenziswa kweelwimi zesiNtu kumaziko emfundo ephakamileyo kuyaqhuba kodwa isekho imiqobo kunye nemingeni ebangela ukuba kube nzima ukusebenzisa ezi lwimi zesiNtu ngokupheleleyo. IsiXhosa sijamelene negxaki yophuhliso lwesigama.

Igcuntswana leethisisi namanqaku asele epapashwe ngesiXhosa zibubungqina bokuba, uninzi lwabahlohli nabafundi aluziva lukhululeke ngokupheleleyo ukuboleka amagama esiNgesi luwazise esiXhoseni. Endaweni yoko, lubhenela ekusebenziseni izivakalisi ezinika ingcaciso yegama elo endaweni yokuboleka kwezinye iilwimi (kwisiNgesi). Umzekelo woku, endaweni yokusebenzisa u-Methodi noMethodoloji bakhetha ukunika ingcaciso ethi, ‘indlela oluqhutywe ngayo olu phando,’ Bhibliyografi, ‘uluhlu lweencwadi ezisetyenzisiweyo,’ njalo-njalo.

Mibini imiba ephambili ephononongwa kweli phepha. Owokuqala yile mingeni nale miqobo ibangele ubunzima kubhalo nophuhliso lwesiXhosa kumaziko emfundo ephakamileyo, likwabonakalisa ukuba zonke iilwimi zikhula ngokuboleka kwezinye. Umba wesibini kukuba, uphuhliso lweelwimi zesiNtu nokukhuthazwa kokunyuswa kwenqanaba lokufunda zizinto ezingundoqo nekufuneka zithathelwe ingqalelo ukuze kuphuculwe nangakumbi isizwe esintsundu.

Amagama aphambili: IsiXhosa, Isigama, Uphuhliso.

Profile:

Dr Hleze Kunju is a multi-award-winning Lecturer, Researcher, Author, and a Poet. He is the co-coordinator of the MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University. He obtained MA with Distinction in African Languages/ Music and musicology (Researching Intercultural Communication and the use of isiXhosa literature (poetry and music) in the new South African opera music from Rhodes University).

He wrote Rhodes University’s first isiXhosa PhD thesis and received The Most Outstanding PhD Thesis Award by the African Language Association of Southern Africa.

He has facilitated Creative Writing workshops in various schools (including the Eastern Cape Schools Festival). For years, he was an isiXhosa poetry editor for the Grocott’s Mail Newspaper. His interest is in innovative and experimental writing in African Languages.

Africography of language

Speaker:

Mr Thembinkosi Qwabe

Qualified teacher (BA, BA Hons, HDE and Masters)

UKZN (PhD Student)

Topic:

African literature’s struggle to break the chains of colonial bondage

Abstract

The African people have been victims of colonialism and domination over centuries. Their minds have been alienated through a painful journey of time. They have been the hunted who have to listen to their triumphant hunter telling his exploits, the story of the hunt. This painful legacy has pervaded throughout the African continent and amongst many challenges that have arisen from this is the struggle of African languages which has also resulted to literature that has been constrained.

This paper focuses on the role of African literature in the post-Apartheid era. While looking at the current state of African literature at this juncture and the reasons thereof, it also amongst others, explores the pan-Africanist principles in the development and restoration of Africa’s identity. Finally the paper also examines how African literature has been marginalized and misrepresented and how it may rise and develop.

Keywords

Colonialism: A policy by which mainly white nations maintained and extended control over foreign dependencies. It benefitted the controlling nations.

Apartheid: an official policy of racial segregation by the racist white governments in South Africa. It benefitted whites at the expense of blacks.

Post-colonialism: A period after the end of colonialism.

Post-apartheid: literature produced in period after the end of Apartheid in South Africa.

Committed literature: This is a kind of literature which writes about daily issues and challenges facing the people. While tackling issues it also guides the society.

Profile:

Thembinkosi Blessing Qwabe is a qualified teacher (BA, BA Hons, HDE and Masters). Currently, he is on his final year in PhD at the UKZN. As a publishing writer, he has vastly written and published in all genres in isiZulu. He has also co-published an anthology of short stories in English (The Perfect Choice and other stories). He has presented papers in the oral history national conferences and participated in the International Time of the Writer in 2018. . His PhD study focuses on the challenges of the post-Apartheid era as revealed in the twelve isiZulu novels.

Speaker:

Dr Hleze Kunju

Lecturer, Researcher, Author, and a Poet.

Rhodes University, ISEA

Uphuhliso lwesiGama nokuBhalwa kwesiXhosa kumaZiko eMfundo ePhakamileyo

Isishwankathelo

Abantu abantetho isisiNgesi njengolwimi lwasekhaya eMzantsi Afrika baqikelelwa kwiipesenti ezisi-8. 2 (%) kuphela, ze iipesenti ezingama-91. 8 (%) ibe ngabantu abathetha iilwimi zaseMzantsi Afrika (Banda 2009, Kamwangamalu 2004). Nangona kunjalo, olona lwimi luphambili kumaziko emfundo ephakamileyo sisiNgesi. Ukusetyenziswa kweelwimi zesiNtu kumaziko emfundo ephakamileyo kuyaqhuba kodwa isekho imiqobo kunye nemingeni ebangela ukuba kube nzima ukusebenzisa ezi lwimi zesiNtu ngokupheleleyo. IsiXhosa sijamelene negxaki yophuhliso lwesigama.

Igcuntswana leethisisi namanqaku asele epapashwe ngesiXhosa zibubungqina bokuba, uninzi lwabahlohli nabafundi aluziva lukhululeke ngokupheleleyo ukuboleka amagama esiNgesi luwazise esiXhoseni. Endaweni yoko, lubhenela ekusebenziseni izivakalisi ezinika ingcaciso yegama elo endaweni yokuboleka kwezinye iilwimi (kwisiNgesi). Umzekelo woku, endaweni yokusebenzisa u-Methodi noMethodoloji bakhetha ukunika ingcaciso ethi, ‘indlela oluqhutywe ngayo olu phando,’ Bhibliyografi, ‘uluhlu lweencwadi ezisetyenzisiweyo,’ njalo-njalo.

Mibini imiba ephambili ephononongwa kweli phepha. Owokuqala yile mingeni nale miqobo ibangele ubunzima kubhalo nophuhliso lwesiXhosa kumaziko emfundo ephakamileyo, likwabonakalisa ukuba zonke iilwimi zikhula ngokuboleka kwezinye. Umba wesibini kukuba, uphuhliso lweelwimi zesiNtu nokukhuthazwa kokunyuswa kwenqanaba lokufunda zizinto ezingundoqo nekufuneka zithathelwe ingqalelo ukuze kuphuculwe nangakumbi isizwe esintsundu.

Amagama aphambili: IsiXhosa, Isigama, Uphuhliso.

Profile:

Dr Hleze Kunju is a multi-award-winning Lecturer, Researcher, Author, and a Poet. He is the co-coordinator of the MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University. He obtained MA with Distinction in African Languages/ Music and musicology (Researching Intercultural Communication and the use of isiXhosa literature (poetry and music) in the new South African opera music from Rhodes University).

He wrote Rhodes University’s first isiXhosa PhD thesis and received The Most Outstanding PhD Thesis Award by the African Language Association of Southern Africa.

He has facilitated Creative Writing workshops in various schools (including the Eastern Cape Schools Festival). For years, he was an isiXhosa poetry editor for the Grocott’s Mail Newspaper. His interest is in innovative and experimental writing in African Languages.

Speaker:

Mocholoko, Zulumathabo Zulu

Africanist doctoral Practitioner; Metaphysical Scientist; Engineer and Author

Topic:

Africography of Language – African Metaphysics, Mathematical Linguistics and Cosmology

Abstract

This scholarly paper proposes a novel solution to the metaphysical problem wherein the African native is devoid of authenticity of knowledge. The advent of the ECC (Euro-Christian Colonial) system in South Africa has created a situation wherein the African native has trouble knowing what is indigenously African and what is not with respect to the authenticity of knowledge. This epistemic problem, herein described as cultural hegemony, poses an impressive threat to the long term survivability of the African natives in the land of their African ancients as attested for by the behaviour patterns of identity crisis; shapeshifting and moral decay that they are perpetually bedevilled by, resulting in separatist tendencies and lack of cohesion.

Like a naive defender in the carnivorous grasslands, the default response of the African native is to double down on the onslaught of cultural hegemony by retreating from the post and handing over the African child to the wolves of the Arctic North to instruct the African child to internalise the ethics; the rules and the values of foreign occupation instead of the child learning about the cosmology of the erudite ancestors who have gone before us.

There are three gaps in this abdicative strategy namely (1) the African scholars learn more about others instead of themselves; (2) suffer more from identity crisis than before and (3) the newly acquired Eurocentric knowledge does not enhance their survival experience in the terrestrial space.

Using the disruptive metascience of Africography, our novel solution addresses the knowledge gaps and the problem of cultural hegemony through the invocation of African metaphysics; numerical logic and the knowledge of the cosmos that comes to us as a paradigm case on account of the sacred intellectual achievements of the erudite ancestors who have gone before us premised on an African language as a source of new knowledge.

The implication of our solution provides the intellectual fighting sticks that enable the African natives to retake their position as the architects of their sacrosanct destiny to enhance their survival experience in the terrestrial space as it was intended to be. Badimo ke bao! Thokoza Makhosi!

Profile:

Mocholoko, Zulumathabo Zulu is an Africanist doctoral practitioner; a metaphysical scientist; an engineer; an inventor and a published author of more than eight books including South Africa’s first Sesotho Dictionary of Mathematics; The Sacred Knowledge of the Desert: African Philosophical Transcendence; African Origin of Mathematics and hundreds of scholarly articles. A software engineer with more than 20 years of North American experience, Zulu’s expertise includes object oriented analysis and design; reverse engineering; algorithms and heuristics complexity; cryptography and computer forensics. He has engineered a graphics engine for Google of San Francisco (the search engine company); a communication system for the Canadian police and a tracking system for NCR (manufacturer of ATM bank machines) to name but a few.

Since returning from exile in Canada in 2010, Zulu has been active in the indigenous knowledge systems in terms of research; teaching; decolonisation and keynote speaking in a number of conferences and universities including North West University – Mafikeng; North West University –

Potchefstroom; University of Johannesburg; University of the Free State; Central University of Technology; Nelson Mandela University and University of South Africa.

Zulu graduated in 1997 with honours in General Arts & Science at Algonquin College of Applied Arts & Technology in Canada with a concentration in Mathematics and Computing Science; completed advanced engineering at Carleton University and a post-graduate certificate in Object Oriented Analysis and Design in 1998 at the Praxis Institute of Ottawa.

Zulu completed more than ten years at the University of Ottawa conducting an independent research in brain processing for the invention of Thekwini Visual Canvass for which he was awarded intellectual property certificates by the Federal Government of Canada. Thekwini Visual Canvass was engineered for therapeutics at the School of Computer Science at Carleton University in Ottawa. It was also through the spin-off from this independent university research work in Canada that Zulu invented a new knowledge system known as Africography which served as a theoretical and methodological framework of his technological inventions.

In 2017, Zulu completed a proctored independent research that began in 2013 in the doctoral knowledge of the Basotho with the permission and supervision of the Bafokeng in the Free State province using the ancient Basotho doctoral school system known as Mophato. This indigenous doctoral knowledge of the Basotho has been completed in a form of a dissertation titled The Doctoral

Dissertation of Mocholoko: African Origin of Metaphysical Science; Cosmology and Therapeutics. After receiving permission, Zulu will publish the dissertation in book form

Zulu is a professional member of the American Mathematical Society; Association of Computing Machinery; and Academic and Non Fiction Authors Association of South Africa.

His latest scholarly paper is titled African Drum Telegraphy and Indigenous Innovation: African Contribution To Communication Science accepted for peer-reviewed publication in the forth coming book Shifting the Geography of Reason (edited by Professor Siphamandla Zondi of the University of Pretoria) to be published by the University of Witwatersrand Press, Johannesburg.