Cultural politics: Black Performing Arts in Johannesburg

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented September, 1976Max Weber (1964 ed.) was perhaps the first social theorist of power to note that activity in virtually any domain can serve as a basis of power, and that once established, such power can become available for use in other domains as well (Cohen 1966). Bertrand Russell (Cohen, 1969, p. 213) has most clearly expressed the implications of this notion for the study of power: "Power, like energy, must be regarded as continually passing from any one of its forms into any other, and it should be the business of social science to seek the laws of such transformation." It is my contention that the study of Johannesburg's black performing arts within the framework of a theory of social power can contribute to the formulation of such "laws". Though he does not concern himself with the arts specifically, Richard N Adams (1970, 1975) has developed a theory which can be of considerable value in understanding the role of expressive culture in the transformation of power in complexly structured situations

Fictions that save: Migrants' performance and Basotho national culture

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented March, 1991Of all South Africa's neighbors, none has suffered more severely from expropriation and underdevelopment by white colonialism and supremacy than the Kingdom of Lesotho. In reality, Lesotho is not South Africa's neighbor but its backlot: an eroded, mountainous, Belgium-sized (11,716 sq. mi.) remnant of a once expansive semi-feudal African highveld state. The military depredations of the Free State Afrikaners, combined with successive betrayals by its erstwhile "protectors," the imperial British, transformed Basutoland from a largely self-sufficient agricultural exporter to an impoverished, dependent supplier of labor to South Africa (Murray 1980). While independence from Britain in 1966 did nothing to improve its economic position, Lesotho is one African nation whose citizens have never felt the slightest nostalgia for the colonial period. In the mid-19th century, the Basotho (sing.: Mosotho) were lauded by missionaries and resident British officials for their courtliness, ingenuous adaptibility, and eagerness for the "progress" they believed would come from the adoption of European ways. In the event, however, British and white settler colonialism deprived them of both autonomy and resources in virtually every sphere... Among the various categories of Basotho performers and performances, this paper focuses on migrant tavern singers turned recording artists, to whom some of the task of making and remaking Basotho "national culture" has fallen. Their songs, long performed in wayside bars and now widely distributed on radio and audio cassette, reveal the dynamics of genre, gender, and expressive authority in the politics of performance. Their relation to Sesotho as emergent tradition embodies the layered contradictions created by the need for social solidarity in the face of competing positions and interests, and for historical continuity (represented in collective metaphors in the face of a radically transformed and fragmented social reality (Marcus and Fischer 1986:184-5). In proposing the universality of the marginal as the defining condition and not merely the by-product of structuration, Babcock-Abrahams argues that marginality is not a structurally residual category, but "That which is socially peripheral or marginal is symbolically central and predominant" (Babcock-Abrahams 1975:155). Recognizing this, performers openly adopt "marginality" as a stance from which to address the tension between the impracticabilities of solidary structural ideals and the conflictual structure of real social practices

In a state of emergency: power, class, and nationalist discourse in Lesotho

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Democracy, Popular Precedents, Practice and Culture, 13-15 July, 1994

“Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”

« Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika ». De l’esprit indépendant à la mobilisation politique. – « Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika » (Que Dieu bénisse l’Afrique), connu comme l’hymne africain, est un signifiant puissant pour le deuil, la rédemption et la célébration. Les tonalités méthodistes et les paroles du chant puisent leurs racines dans les contacts culturels avec les missionnaires. Ce chant occupe aussi une place importante dans le répertoire cérémonial de nombreuses églises indépendantes et a été traduit en plusieurs langues. Il fut également adopté par l’African National Congress (anc) puis par l’État sud-africain sous Nelson Mandela comme hymne national. Dans ses versions religieuses, le texte met l’accent sur le deuil du passé africain et se présente comme une prière pour la rédemption par Jésus et le Saint-Esprit. Les versions séculaires éliminent toute référence à Jésus et insistent sur l’inspiration spirituelle et l’élévation morale nécessaires aux dirigeants africains. Dans la version religieuse, l’Afrique occupe alors de manière métonymique la place d’un ancêtre disparu, vivant dans l’éternité en attendant la rédemption. Le chant politique transforme cette éternité en un présent dynamique, une vision de progrès. C’est à la fois un chant funèbre, un appel à l’espoir et un cri de joie. L’analyse des différentes versions de ce chant montre comment les notions de deuil et de rédemption influencent les idéaux religieux et la mobilisation politique. Les notions millénaires de temps se mêlent aux réalités politiques dans lesquelles l’Afrique devient elle-même la victime et l’héroïne d’un nouveau récit. Nous concluons cet article par une discussion sur le deuil comme paysage de mémoire et pratique symbolique dans les religions populaires et civiles en Afrique.“Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (“God Bless Africa”), known as the African anthem, is a powerful signifier for mourning, redemption, and celebration. The Methodist hymnody patterns and the text of the song belie its roots in missionary cultural contact. The song also figures prominently in the ceremonial repertoire of many independent churches and has been translated into several languages. Adoption of the song by the African National Congress (anc and subsequently by the South African state under Nelson Mandela as a national anthem are further iterations in its trajectory. In the religious versions, the text emphasizes mourning for Africa’s past and a prayer for redemption through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The secular versions eliminate the reference to Jesus and focus on the spiritual inspiration and uplift needed by Africa’s leaders. Africa metonymically occupies the space of a departed ancestor, living in a timeless eternity while waiting for redemption in the religious version. The political song transforms this timeless eternity into an active present and an opportunity for future progress. It creates a landscape of memory that spans religious and political domains of action. Analyzing the contrasting versions of “God Bless Africa” reflects how concepts of mourning and redemption influence religious ideals and political mobilization. Millenarian notions of time interface with political realities in which Africa itself becomes both the victim and the hero of a new narrative. This paper concludes with a discussion of mourning as a landscape of memory and symbolic practice in African popular and civil religion

Early life stress and macaque annygdala hypertrophy: preliminary evidence for a role for the serotonin transporter gene

Background: Children exposed to early life stress (ELS) exhibit enlarged amygdala volume in comparison to controls. the primary goal of this study was to examine amygdala volumes in bonnet macaques subjected to maternal variable foraging demand (VFD) rearing, a well-established model of ELS. Preliminary analyses examined the interaction of ELS and the serotonin transporter gene on amygdala volume. Secondary analyses were conducted to examine the association between amygdala volume and other stress-related variables previously found to distinguish VFD and non-VFD reared animals.Methods: Twelve VFD-reared and nine normally reared monkeys completed MRI scans on a 3T system (mean age = 5.2 years).Results: Left amygdala volume was larger in VFD vs. control macaques. Larger amygdala volume was associated with: high cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of corticotropin releasing-factor (CRF) determined when the animals were in adolescence (mean age = 2.7 years); reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) of the anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC) during young adulthood (mean age = 5.2 years) and timid anxiety-like responses to an intruder during full adulthood (mean age = 8.4 years). Right amygdala volume varied inversely with left hippocampal neurogenesis assessed in late adulthood (mean age = 8.7 years). Exploratory analyses also showed a gene-by-environment effect, with VFD-reared macaques with a single short allele of the serotonin transporter gene exhibiting larger amygdala volume compared to VFD-reared subjects with only the long allele and normally reared controls.Conclusion: These data suggest that the left amygdala exhibits hypertrophy after ELS, particularly in association with the serotonin transporter gene, and that amygdala volume variation occurs in concert with other key stress-related behavioral and neurobiological parameters observed across the lifecycle. Future research is required to understand the mechanisms underlying these diverse and persistent changes associated with ELS and amygdala volume.National Institute for Mental HealthNIMHNARSAD Mid-investigator AwardSuny Downstate Med Ctr, Dept Psychiat & Behav Sci, Brooklyn, NY 11203 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psiquiatria, São Paulo, BrazilMt Sinai Sch Med, Dept Psychiat, New York, NY USAMt Sinai Sch Med, Dept Neurosci, New York, NY USAMt Sinai Sch Med, Dept Radiol, New York, NY USANew York State Psychiat Inst & Hosp, New York, NY 10032 USAMichael E Debakey VA Med Ctr, Mental Hlth Care Line, Houston, TX USABaylor Coll Med, Menninger Dept Psychiat & Behav Sci, Houston, TX 77030 USAYale Univ, Sch Med, Dept Psychiat, New Haven, CT USANatl Ctr PTSD, Clin Neurosci Div, West Haven, CT USANew York State Psychiat Inst & Hosp, Dept Mol Imaging & Neuropathol, New York, NY 10032 USAColumbia Univ, Coll Phys & Surg, Dept Psychiat, New York, NY USAColumbia Univ, Coll Phys & Surg, Dept Pathol & Cell Biol, New York, NY USAComprehensive NeuroSci Corp, Westchester, NY USAUniv Miami Hlth Sytems, Dept Psychiat & Behav Sci, Miami, FL USAEmory Univ, Sch Med, Dept Psychiat & Behav Sci, Emory, GA USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psiquiatria, São Paulo, BrazilNational Institute for Mental Health: R01MH65519-01National Institute for Mental Health: R01MH098073NIMH: R21MH066748NIMH: R01MH59990AWeb of Scienc

Mulat-estetiek: ’n Analise van Adam Small se dramas

Opsomming In hierdie artikel word die dramakonvensies van Adam Small ondersoek met besondere aandag aan perspektiewe op die mulat as ’n sosiale gegewe. Hierdie element bied ’n gepaste invalshoek omdat dit enersyds ‘n verskynsel is wat Small in sy dramas en ander skryfwerk aansny en daar andersyds ’n uitgebreide literatuur bestaan waarin oor die dramatiese, lewensbeskoulike en literêr-teoretiese inkleding daarvan besin word. Die werk van onder andere Langston Hughes en Derek Walcott word ondersoek om ’n leesstrategie te ontwikkel waarmee die Small-teks geanaliseer kan word.Web of Scienc

Unexpected Diversity of Cellular Immune Responses against Nef and Vif in HIV-1-Infected Patients Who Spontaneously Control Viral Replication

Background: HIV-1-infected individuals who spontaneously control viral replication represent an example of successful containment of the AIDS virus. Understanding the anti-viral immune responses in these individuals may help in vaccine design. However, immune responses against HIV-1 are normally analyzed using HIV-1 consensus B 15-mers that overlap by 11 amino acids. Unfortunately, this method may underestimate the real breadth of the cellular immune responses against the autologous sequence of the infecting virus. Methodology and Principal Findings: Here we compared cellular immune responses against nef and vif-encoded consensus B 15-mer peptides to responses against HLA class I-predicted minimal optimal epitopes from consensus B and autologous sequences in six patients who have controlled HIV-1 replication. Interestingly, our analysis revealed that three of our patients had broader cellular immune responses against HLA class I-predicted minimal optimal epitopes from either autologous viruses or from the HIV-1 consensus B sequence, when compared to responses against the 15-mer HIV-1 type B consensus peptides. Conclusion and Significance: This suggests that the cellular immune responses against HIV-1 in controller patients may be broader than we had previously anticipated.National Institutes of Health (NIH)[R24 RR015371]Ministry of Health[914/BRA/3014-UNESCO]Sao Paulo City Health Department[2004-0.168.922-7]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[04/15856-9]Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Ni-vel Superior (CAPES), Brazilian Ministry of Educatio