Browsing by Author "Moahi, Donlisha"

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    Crafting anti-stereotypes : creating space for critical engagement through art
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Moahi, Donlisha; Costandius, Elmarie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Art and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Xenophobia and Afrophobia attacks in South Africa and the corresponding reactions of African countries to these discriminatory and stereotypical perceptions of foreigners remain in the news. This study provides a timely contribution to the discourse on these phobias by highlighting the impact of discrimination in the school environment. The Botswana Government, as many other African governments, values multiculturalism in schools and officially supports an educational system that encourages a tolerance for diversity among people. However, the results from this study point towards learners’ and teachers’ intolerance for diversity and the other. Within this context, the aim of this study was to explore visual arts in a school in Botswana’s South East Region as a tool for learners to negotiate social and cultural meanings and to inform understandings of the self. Accordingly, the main research question was to explore the extent to which art processes can facilitate safe spaces for learners to openly engage in dialogue about stereotypes and discrimination. A qualitative approach to research was used for this study and a case study design was conducted through a process of using various methods of data collection that obtained a holistic and meaningful understanding of 75 learners’ real-life circumstances. Interpretive analysis was used to gain insight into the nature of the impact of social, political and historical contexts at school on the ways in which learners navigate their spaces of learning in a world of difference. The data revealed that learners were exposed to various forms of discrimination, or were themselves discriminating against others. These behaviour types manifested mainly as acts of bullying, which were mostly aimed at stereotypical views of tribal features that included both physical features such as skin colour and cultural features such as language. In this regard, tribal discrimination is similar to racial discrimination and reflects the ingrained mindsets left behind by colonialism. Discrimination furthermore occurred in terms of social class and income as well as sexual orientation. Accordingly, stereotyping was outlined as a technique used to discriminate against the other. Through carefully chosen art projects that encouraged reflection and collaboration, the art classroom accommodated victimised learners and the art processes facilitated engagement to express visually and/or verbally what has been unsaid or hidden. Art practices enabled a safe space for marginalised voices by creating a meeting place for two opposing processes: between rigid judgements associated with stereotypes on the one hand and ongoing, non-judging engagement on the other hand. The anticolonial and postcolonial perspectives that were introduced helped all learners to uncover social and institutional injustices. To this end, social justice education with specific reference to the role that art pedagogies can play is shown as a necessary stepping stone towards multicultural education and towards change that will dismantle the discriminatory hierarchical structures in schools in order to enable more equal opportunities for all learners.
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    When art informs : a case study to negotiate social stereotypes and stigmas through art at Taung Junior Secondary School
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-03) Moahi, Donlisha; Costandius, Elmarie; Perold, Karolien; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: While every Botswana national can claim to be a citizen legally within the framework of the modern nation-state, some (minority groups in the main) are perceived by others (among the majority Tswana groups especially), as less authentic nationals or citizens. There is a hierarchy of citizenship fostered by political, economic, social and cultural inequalities, such that it makes some individuals and groups much more able to claim and articulate their rights than others. Ethnic identities seem stronger than ‘national identities’ as they work at the very macro level and on an immediate and daily basis. Thus the multicultural and linguistic diversity of Taung compels us to view every group as heterogeneously unique and important in its own ways, since students become marginalised as a result of individual circumstances, by being members of historically oppressed social groups. The main aim of this study was to explore visual art as a learning platform to negotiate social and cultural meanings and inform understandings of self. A qualitative approach towards the study was considered the most suitable way for conducting the research. An interpretive analysis was used to gain insight into how students made sense of their experiences and the significance of art as a platform to negotiate stigmas and stereotypes in class and school. Using the case study drawn from Taung Junior Secondary School comprising of twelve students from different ethnic groups, two major themes of difference and discrimination were identified. The sub-theme discussed under difference includes sub themes race, ethnicity and nationality, and language; while stereotyping and stigma, feelings of discomfort and feeling outcast, and Othering and marginalisation were discussed under the theme discrimination. My study revealed that art can be an especially effective catalyst for developing a critical awareness of issues of race, immigration, difference, and privilege. Art practices can become a platform for the negotiation and construction of meaning and lobby for removing the historic inequalities and injustices created by a stratified society. For this reason, it is important to understand culture and cultural diversity because culture provides beliefs, values, and the patterns that give meaning and structure to life. It enables individuals within the multiple social groups of which they are a part to function effectively in their social and cultural environments, which are constantly changing. Groups try to maintain social hierarchies and individuals maintain their position within such hierarchies by excluding others, to deny difference and try and enforce homogeneity and reproduce current social relations. As such if forces such as, differences in race, culture, gender, language, and religion are well understood, the students will engage in the process of identifying ways to manage them to shape their own educational practices.