Browsing by Author "Van der Walt, Charlene"

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    Close encounters : creating a safe space for intercultural Bible reading (part I)
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2012) Van der Walt, Charlene
    Theoretically the process of intercultural Bible reading should create a safe space where the voice of the individual can be heard in community with others. It should be a space where the individual is not only free to speak but also to have the innate experience of truly being heard. In this respect the intercultural Bible reading experience becomes a space that promotes human dignity and has the inherent capacity to facilitate social transformation. Although these Bible study groups can ideally be a safe space with the potential for social transformation, the practical reality shows a more complicated dynamic. Two important factors that contribute to the complexity are the ideological framework of individual participants and the underlying power dynamic in the social interaction. To bring the concepts of power and ideology in intercultural Bible reading into focus, an empirical study was conducted. My two part paper will discuss this qualitative research project that took place in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In the culturally diverse study, groups of women engaged with one another in a discussion of the biblical text in 2 Samuel 13:1-22 which describes the rape of Tamar. Part I of my contribution functions as the theoretical backbone to the empirical exploration that will be discussed in Part II.
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    Close encounters : creating a safe space for intercultural Bible reading (part II)
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2012) Van der Walt, Charlene
    Theoretically the process of intercultural Bible reading should create a safe space where the voice of the individual can be heard in community with others. It should be a space where the individual is not only free to speak but also to have the innate experience of truly being heard. In this respect the intercultural Bible reading experience becomes a space that promotes human dignity and has the inherent capacity to facilitate social transformation. Although these Bible study groups can ideally be a safe space with the potential for social transformation, the practical reality shows a more complicated dynamic. Two important factors that contribute to the complexity are the ideological framework of individual participants and the underlying power dynamic in the social interaction. To bring the concepts of power and ideology in intercultural Bible reading into focus, an empirical study was conducted. Building on the theoretical discussion in Part I, this contribution will turn to the empirical study. An overview will be provided of the carefully constructed research process which allowed participants time for personal reflection, intimate dialogue as well as group discussion in order to create a free and safe space for creative interaction. In order to critically engage with the data collected, a unique set of qualitative data analysis tools was developed to deal with the issues of power and ideology as mentioned above. The final part of the article will discuss this process of qualitative data analysis and give a brief summary of the research results.
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    Danger Ingozi Gevaar : why reading alone can be bad for you
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2016) Van der Walt, Charlene
    A discussion of the 1974 film, ‘The Conversation’, by Francis Ford Coppola serves as an introductory illustration of the dangers of interpretation in isolation. The film, starring Gene Hackman, highlights the contextual nature of communication, where the viewer becomes increasingly aware of the development of a skewed inter-pretation of an overheard conversation. Utterances and events are interpreted in isolation and perceived as ultimate truths. The social commentary offered by Coppola serves as an analogy for the dangers of exclusivist approaches to biblical interpretation. This article critiques these approaches and offers contextual inter-cultural Bible reading as a life giving, alternative approach that draws from the combined hermeneutical framework of Feminism and African hermeneutics. In this article I will explore the creative possibilities of the intercultural Bible reading process as a space with communal meaning-making possibilities.
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    Ideologie en mag in Bybelinterpretasie : op weg na 'n kommunale lees van 2 Samuel 13
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-03) Van der Walt, Charlene; Jonker, Louis C.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die rol wat mag en ideologie speel in die konkrete interkulturele gespreksruimte wat tot stand kom as individue vanuit diverse kontekste mekaar ontmoet rondom Bybeltekste. Die interkulturele gespreksruimte word teoreties gefundeer vanuit die gesamentlike uitgangspunte van die Feminisme en 'n Afrika-hermeneutiek. Die kommunale ruimte bied hiervolgens teoreties die ruimte waarbinne individue vanuit diverse kontekste tot hulle reg kan kom in die kollektief. In Hoofstuk 2 van hierdie studie word die hermeneutiese raamwerk waaruit die studie sy vertrekpunte vind, omskryf wanneer die uitgangspunte van beide die Feminisme en 'n Afrika-hermeneutiek bespreek word. Die Feminisme beklemtoon die belang van die kontekstuele stem van die individu en Afrika-hermeneutiek stel die kommunale ruimte voor waarin die stemme tot hulle reg kan kom. Die interkulturele gesprek wat in hierdie studie ondersoek word, vind plaas met 2 Samuel 13:1-22 as gespreksdokument. In Hoofstuk 3 word 'n multidimensionele eksegetiese raamwerk beskryf wat gebruik word ten einde ‘n deurdagte interpretasie van 2 Samuel 13:1-22 te bied. ‘n In-diepte lesing van die teks word gedoen, sowel as ideologies(retories)-kritiese en leserrespons-kritiese analises. Ten slotte word in dié hoofstuk verwys na die interpretasiegeskiedenis van die teks vanuit ‘n dominant Westerse perspektief asook vanuit die Feminisme en ‘n Afrika-hermeneutiese konteks. Met die tweeledige hermeneutiese raamwerk as uitganspunt, en 2 Samuel 13:1-22 as gespreksdokument, word die empiriese komponent van die studie dan in die volgende hoofstukke beskryf. In die empiriese studie word die teoreties-geformuleerde interkulturele ruimte dan ‘n konkrete realiteit as kultureel-diverse vroue mekaar ontmoet in gesprek rondom die Tamar-verhaal van 2 Samuel 13. Die ontwerp van die empiriese studie wat in Hoofstuk 5 bespreek word, word in die vorige hoofstuk, Hoofstuk 4, gefundeer deur aandag te gee aan, onder andere, die omskrywing van sleutelterme soos kultuur, ideologie en mag. Die kwalitatiewe data wat ingewin is tydens die konkrete interkulturele gesprekke, word daarna geanaliseer en bespreek in Hoofstuk 6. Al die data wat ingewin is tydens die studie word as Bylae tot die proefskrif beskikbaar gestel in ‘n aparte meegaande bundel ten einde die lees-envergelyk- proses te vergemaklik. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie, in Hoofstuk 7, bring al die diverse besprekings soos dit in die argument hanteer is, bymekaar en poog om ‘n sinvolle interpretasie te bied van hoe mag en ideologie funksioneer in die interkulturele Bybelleesproses. Die teoretiese interkulturele ruimte wat deur die Feminisme en 'n Afrikahermeneutiek as oogmerk gestel word, word dus in die studie geproblematiseer deur te vra na die funksionering van mag en ideologie in daardie ruimte. Vanuit 'n kwalitatiewe analise van die data wat ingewin is tydens die empiriese komponent van die studie, word dit duidelik dat die interkulturele ruimte ‘n besondere spasie bied waarin individue tot hulle reg kom en waarin verandering gefasiliteer kan word. Dit wil egter verder blyk dat hierdie ruimte nie sonder uitdaging is nie aangesien die interkulturele ruimte nie die invloed van die magsdinamika vryspring nie. Daar is bevind dat die interkulturele gespreksruimte ‘n besondere instrument is wat ingespan kan word ten einde sosiale transformasie te fasiliteer, maar dit moet met groot omsigtigheid hanteer word.
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    In the greater scheme of things : creation and the human condition in Terrence Malick’s tree of life (2011)
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2017) Van der Walt, Charlene
    The oeuvre of the American film writer, director and producer, Terrence Malick has consistently traced themes related to creation and natural phenomena. Nowhere is it quite as spectacularly clear as in the critically acclaimed and 2011 Palme d’Or winner The Tree of Life. The film explores human pain and suffering in the microcosm as it is set against the grand notions of the meaning of life and the creation of the world. This article traces the reception of Biblical creation themes and the movement of the Job narrative within the film, as it sets the stage for a complex coming-of-age story and a dramatic negotiation of masculinity construction. Malick sets up a grand canvas in order to engage with the beauty of human fragility and natural wonder. The article aims to explore alternative imaginings of what it means to be a man when the ‘way of nature’ is delicately juxtaposed ‘with the way of grace’.
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    Power games : using Foucault to shed light on the inherent power dynamics of intercultural Bible study groups : discussion of a qualitative research project
    (Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2014) Van der Walt, Charlene
    In theory the process of intercultural Bible reading should create a safe space where the voice of the individual can be heard in community with others. It should be a space where the individual is not only free to speak, but also to have the innate experience of truly being heard. In this respect the intercultural Bible reading experience becomes a space that promotes human dignity and has the inherent capacity to facilitate social transformation. Although these Bible study groups can ideally be a safe space with the potential for social transformation, the practical reality shows a more complicated dynamic. An important factor that contributes to the complexity is the underlying power dynamic in the social interaction. To bring the concept of power in intercultural Bible reading into focus, an empirical study was conducted. Aft er briefly discussing the scope of the empirical research project, the main focus of the paper will shift to Michel Foucault’s seminal theory on power. Conversation analysis was used in the research project as a qualitative data analysis tool to identify the main trends functioning in the observable power dynamic. Foucault’s theory will be used to shed light on the inherent power dynamic that functions in the intercultural Bible reading space. Th e paper will show that the intercultural Bible reading space cannot escape the functioning of an inherent power dynamic, but by using Foucault’s theory, a greater understanding can be obtained and observed trends and patterns can be better understood, predicted and managed.
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    Reimagining a solitary landscape : tracing communities of care in Exodus 1-2 and the film Shirley Adams
    (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2016) Van der Walt, Charlene; Terblanche, Judith
    The 2009 film, Shirley Adams, directed by the South African director, Oliver Hermanus, depicts Shirley as the lone caregiver to her son, a victim of gang violence on the Cape Flats (South Africa) which rendered him physically disabled and emotionally scared. The film is used as a lens to explore the inter sectionality of poverty, violence, gender, class, race, and disability within the South African society. The film's intimate portrayal of Shirley in her efforts to care for her son leaves the viewer without any illusion of the problems facing caregivers. Shirley's solitary effort to embody hope in a stark situation of despair is contrasted with the life giving possibilities contained within so called "communities of care. " The community in Exod 1-3 that forms around Moses as identified by Feminist Biblical Scholars is used as an illuminating example. This paper explores the intertextual dialogue between two seemingly distant texts as Shirley Adams enters into creative conversation with a imaginative group of women creating a community of care around one who is helpless and vulnerable. The essay facilitates this interaction between film and Bible text by dynamically shifting in focus between the two distant story landscapes and in the process ultimately imagines an alternative reality for the seemingly isolated Shirley Adams.
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    When faith does violence : reimagining engagement between churches and LGBTI groups on homophobia in Africa
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2016) West, Gerald; Van der Walt, Charlene; Kaoma, Kapya John
    ‘Homophobia’ is shorthand for stigmatising attitudes and practices towards people who demonstrate sexual diversity. In this article, we reflect on how African Christian faith may become redemptive rather than violent in the context of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex forms of sexuality.