Browsing by Author "Odendaal, Petrus Johannes Loock"

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    The place where poetries meet: exploring the contribution of the InZync poetry sessions to sociocultural transformation in Stellenbosch
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Odendaal, Petrus Johannes Loock; Preiser, Rika; Swanepoel, Stefanie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Calls for transformation have permeated South African society since the end of apartheid in 1994 in fields as diverse as the economy, sport, education and culture. However, transformation remains a contested term with multiple meanings. This study employs a context-specific systems-based understanding of transformation within the orientating framework of complexity theory to explore the contribution of the InZync poetry sessions, regular multilingual performance poetry events held in Kayamandi between 2011 and 2016, to sociocultural transformation in Stellenbosch. The poetry sessions have connected intercultural communities in Kayamandi and at the University of Stellenbosch through the medium of performance poetry, and the study explores how these connections have been made and how the participants have been transformed through their experiences at InZync. This exploration takes the form of an interdisciplinary literature review, discussions on transformation and complex systems, and findings through participant observation, interviews with InZync participants and performance texts to draw conclusions about the ways in which the poetry sessions have contributed to sociocultural transformation. It is shown that sociocultural transformation is a process that can emerge through the creation of novel sociocultural systems such as InZync. Specifically, the ways in which the poetry sessions have enabled the emergence of sociocultural transformation are investigated and the intimate connections between identity negotiation, inclusivity, agonism and transformation are explored. Furthermore, the nature of the intercultural interactions at InZync and the ways in which the sessions have functioned as an alternative learning space are investigated. The study concludes by drawing links between the literature review and findings in order to present a complex understanding of the dynamics and practices that characterise the InZync system and that have enabled it to become a vehicle of sociocultural transformation.