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Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.

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Main Author: Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred
Other Authors: Musila, Grace A.
Format: Thesis
Language:en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2013
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access_status_str Open Access
author Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred
author2 Musila, Grace A.
author_browse Musila, Grace A.
Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred
author_facet Musila, Grace A.
Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred
author_sort Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/79874
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language en_ZA
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:44:24.894Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
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source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/79874 Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred Musila, Grace A. Gagiano, Annie Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Theses -- English Dissertations -- English Child abuse in literature South African literature (English) Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study explores representations of troubled childhoods in post-1990 African narratives. Defining troubled childhoods as the experiences of children exposed to different forms of violations including physical, psychological, sexual and emotional abuse, the study reflects on depictions of such experiences in a selection of contemporary African fictional texts in English. The study‘s central thesis is that, while particular authors‘ deployment of affective writing techniques offers implicit analysis of troubled childhoods, the knowledge about this reality that such literary texts produce and place in the public sphere resonates with readers because of the narrative textures that both make knowledge concerning such childhoods accessible and create a sense of the urgent plight of such children. They render troubled childhoods grieveable. The study delineates three attributes of the selected texts that explain why such fictions can be considered significant from both social and aesthetic perspectives: namely, their foregrounding of intertwined vectors of violation and/or vulnerability; their skilful use of multi-layered narrative voices and their creation of specific posttraumatic damage and survival tropes. The four main thesis chapters are organised thematically rather than conceptually or theoretically, because representations of troubled childhoods are contextually and experientially entangled. Using Maria Pia Lara‘s notion of ―illocutionary force‖ and specific aspects of trauma and affect theory, the study focuses centrally on how the units of narration construct persuasive and convincing depictions of troubled childhoods while using fiction to convene platforms for reflection on the phenomena of child victims of war violence, abusive parenting, sexual predation and sexual violation. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie ondersoek voorstellings van gekwelde kinder-ervaringswêrelde in post-1990 narratiewe deur skrywers van Afrika. Gekwelde kinder-ervaringswêrelde word gedefinieer as die ondervindinge van kinders wat blootgestel is aan verskillende vorms van skending, insluitend fisiese, psigologiese, seksuele en emosionele skending. Met hierdie definisie in gedagte reflekteer die studie op gelselekteerde uitbeeldings van sulke ervarings in hedendaagse Afrika-fiksie in Engels. Die studie se sentrale tesis is dat, terwyl sekere outeurs se ontplooiïng van affektiewe skryftegnieke implisiete analise van gekwelde kinder-ervaringswêrelde bied, resoneer die kennis oor hierdie realiteit wat sulke literêre tekste oplewer en in die publieke sfeer plaas met die leespubliek omdat die struktuur van die narratiewe die verskynsel van kwellende kinder-ervarings onthul en bewustheid van die dringende aard van die verskynsel bemoontlik. Sulke kinderlewens word op hierdie manier treurbaar [grievable] gemaak. Die studie delinieer drie eienskappe van die gekose tekste wat verduidelik waarom hierdie tekste vanuit beide sosiale en estetiese perspektiewe as beduidend beskou kan word, naamlik die verstrengelde vektors van verkragting en kwesbaarheid wat hulle op die voorgrond bring, hul bekwame gebruik van veellagige narratiewe stemme en hul skepping van spesifieke posttraumatiese skade- en oorlewingstrope. Die vier middelste tesis-hoofstukke is tematies in plaas van konsepsueel of teoreties georganiseer, omdat voorstellings van gekwelde kinder-ervaringswêrelde kontekstueel- en ervaringsverstrik is. Met die gebruik van Maria Pia Lara se begrip van illocutionary force en spesifieke aspekte van trauma- en inwerkingsteorie fokus die studie hoofsaaklik op hoe die narratiewe eenhede oorhalende en oortuigende afbeeldings van gekwelde kinder-ervaringswêrelde konstrueer terwyl hulle fiksie gebruik om platforms vir refleksie op die fenomeen van kinderslagoffers van oorlogsgeweld, misbruikende ouerskap en seksuele- predasie en verkragting byeen te bring. Doctoral 2013-01-31T13:55:04Z 2013-03-15T07:24:41Z 2013-01-31T13:55:04Z 2013-03-15T07:24:41Z 2013-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/79874 en_ZA Stellenbosch University viii, 272 p. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Theses -- English
Dissertations -- English
Child abuse in literature
South African literature (English)
Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred
Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English
title Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English
title_full Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English
title_fullStr Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English
title_full_unstemmed Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English
title_short Representations of troubled childhoods in selected post-1990 African fiction in English
title_sort representations of troubled childhoods in selected post 1990 african fiction in english
topic Theses -- English
Dissertations -- English
Child abuse in literature
South African literature (English)
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/79874
work_keys_str_mv AT nabutanyiedgarfred representationsoftroubledchildhoodsinselectedpost1990africanfictioninenglish