“What is it that We Call the Nation”: Cecilia Lillian Tshabalala’s definition,diagnosis, and prognosis of the nation in a segregated South Africa

Abstract

This paper examines the ideology of Cecilia Lillian Tshabalala who spent 18 years in the United States from 1912 to 1930. Within two years of returning to South Africa, she founded the self-help group, the Daughters of Africa in 1932. Tshabalala used the Daughters and the widely read newspapers—Bantu World and Ilanga laseNatal—to define, construct, and diagnose the African nation she found materially and socially wanting upon her return. Tshabalala’s experience abroad and her exposure to African-American women’s clubs and her participation at the annual Chautauqua conferences in upstate New York provided the platform for her to conduct her own social service gospel in segregated South Africa. This essay, which argues that religion served as Tshabalala’s antidote to all the social ills plaguing the African nation, traces the evolution of her ideology by discussing how she was in conversation with African-American and South African male movements, and also women on the African continent.     

Building new selves: identity, “Passing,” and intertextuality in Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light

This article examines Zoë Wicomb’s wide-ranging use of intertextuality in the novel Playing in the Light to explore the links between identity construction and postcolonial authorship. Focusing on the characters as intertextual agents, I argue that the three coloured women on whom the novel focuses – Helen, Marion, and Brenda – use texts in distinctive ways that illuminate their struggles to position themselves in South Africa’s complex and changing racial landscape. Racial “passing” is one form of a larger pattern in the novel of the use of citation and imitation to achieve specific ends. By embedding the citations of Helen and Marion within the citation-rich narrative of Brenda, Wicomb lays bare the mechanisms of identity construction within a work that stages and highlights its own intertextual practices.     

"为和平而来"——解析中国参与非洲维和行动

中国是联合国维和行动的坚定支持者和参与者。目前,中国为联合国第十二大出兵国,在五大常任理事国中名列第一。近几年,中国参与维和行动的积极姿态已引起全世界的高度关注。特别是,非洲已经成为中国参与维和的重点区域,这也引发了外界对中国意图的警惕与忧虑。因此,在新时期如何正确解读中国在非洲的维和行动,并对其进行客观分析,具有十分重要的理论与现实意义。     

Gender Based Violence: Correlates of Physical and Sexual Wife Abuse in Kenya

This study explored factors associated with physical and sexual wife abuse on a sample of 4,876 married women aged 15–49 years in the 2003 Kenya Demographic Health Survey. Results indicate that 40% of married women reported at least one type of violence; 36% were physical and 13% were sexual. Multivariate analysis showed that living in poorer households, being Christian, being in a polygamous marriage, having a husband who drinks alcohol, and being in sales, agricultural, or unskilled jobs significantly increased the wife’s risk of physical and sexual abuse. Wife’s education had significant effect on both physical and sexual abuse, but the relationships were not linear. Wife’s age and number of children were significantly associated only with physical abuse; husband’s education had a marginal but significant effect only on sexual abuse. Research implications are discussed.     

Fragile states

Since the 1990s, states that lack the capacity to discharge their normal functions and drive forward development have been referred to as ‘fragile states’. This article focuses on Africa, which not only has the largest concentration of prototypical fragile states, but has been the focus of attention for scholars, international development agencies, and practitioners. The author reviews competing analyses of the post-colonial African state and concludes that its characteristics of weak institutions, poverty, social inequalities, corruption, civil strife, armed conflicts, and civil war are not original conditions, but are rooted in specific historical contexts. It is essential to understand both the external and internal factors of fragility if such states are to get the assistance and empowerment that they need – not only for the benefit of their impoverished citizens, but also for the sake of global peace, prosperity, and security. Ultimately, it is the citizens of the countries concerned who are responsible for determining when states are no longer fragile – not ‘benevolent’ donors and the international community, whose prime motivation for interventions supposedly to strengthen the state is to ensure that fragile states find their ‘rightful’ places in the hegemonic global order.     

论社会权的可裁判性

社会权是否可以交由司法判断,这在各国理论界都存在种种争议。大体上,反对司法裁判社会权主要出自于分权考量、民主考量、公共政策考量以及社会权的不确定性等。尽管如此,在以南非为代表的很多国家开始了司法裁判社会权的积极尝试。这些初步经验,可以为我国社会权的保障提供若干借鉴意义。     

Generosity undermined: the Cotonou Agreement and the African Growth and Opportunity Act

This article argues that Africa's developmental efforts can be greatly enhanced by an improvement in its bargaining power and by a more genuine demonstration of generosity by its trading partners, in particular the developed countries. This generosity entails putting no conditions or restrictions on Africa's products, particularly agricultural exports, and eliminating farm subsidies in developed states. Unless this is done, concessions made to African countries will remain merely symbolic.     

机遇与挑战并存：世纪之交的南非华人

南非现有华人20万人左右,主要来自中国大陆、台湾和香港,大多集中居住在商业中心约翰内斯堡市、首都比勒托利亚、伊丽莎白港等沿海城市。南非华人以经商为主,从事零售、批发、进出口贸易和开餐馆等。近年来,华人在南非的投资日益增多,涉及纺织、制造、房地产等行业。华文教育虽不易推广,但在华人社团和华人报刊推动下,加之中国国际影响力日益增强,前景看好。华人参政刚刚起步,但步伐很快,而且能代表和维护华人权益。2003年以来,南非华人屡遭劫难,安全处境堪忧,其中主要是南非社会治安的原因,也有华人社会内部的原因。随着中国在非洲的投资速度加快,南非华人移民的数量还会继续增加,不会因安全问题而止步。     

Evaluating HIV/AIDS education programmes in Ugandan secondary schools

Although not part of the national curriculum until 2004, HIV/AIDS education has been taught for some time in Ugandan secondary schools through a variety of extracurricular means, including the media, youth groups, drama, music, and Parent–Teacher Associations. This article identifies and evaluates the integration of HIV/AIDS information into the national curriculum in Ugandan secondary schools between 2002 and 2004, based on the viewpoints of administrators, teachers, and students from 76 schools. While most schools did not include HIV/AIDS as part of the formal national curriculum at this time, the information was disseminated through a range of alternative means. The authors identify the most effective of these, discuss the perceived reactions of various stakeholders regarding HIV/AIDS being taught in secondary schools, and make recommendations for curricular reform.     

全球化与非洲

过去几十年来,在日益加速的全球化过程中,非洲是受益最少的大陆,尤其是撒哈拉以南地区。非洲的历史与其现状有着内在的关联,并值得密切关注。由于非洲各国遭受过长期殖民统治,因此独立后的非洲国家不可能在短期内拥有完善的民主和繁荣的经济。在日益全球化的今天,只有西方跨国公司从中获利,而非洲国家却身处难以扭转的劣势。在这种情况下,南南合作是非常必要的,其最终目标就是要尽力摆脱工业富国的掌控。