Antjie Krog. Skinned.

Dr. Marisa Botha is the youngest appointed Research Associate at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Prior to the position, she was a SA National Research Foundation postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Language and Literature at NMMU. Her research focuses on autobiography, memory and trauma. in 2004 attended the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands as a student and in 2012 she was invited to the University of Pennsylvania as a visiting scholar. Dr. Botha has delivered papers at international conferences and published ten articles in accredited journals, six of which were based on her Masters dissertation. She reviews articles and books for academic journals, and in 2013 she was guest co-editor of an issue of the accredited South African journal, Stilet

Deur ruite van die reis.

No abstrac

Psychological sequelae of political imprisonment, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder, in 491 Days by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

This article analyses well-known anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s prison memoir 491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69 (2013) for depictions of suffering. This memoir reveals aspects of politically inflicted trauma, particularly the suffering sustained in prolonged solitary confinement and the resulting psychological sequelae for the prisoner. To move beyond a vague understanding of her traumatic experiences, this article draws on the field of psychiatry, specifically the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to gain greater insight as this tool may also be regarded as a type of narrative that could aid in the comprehension of traumatic events. References will be made to the three main cluster symptoms of PTSD: involuntary re-experiencing of the traumatic event, avoidance of reminders and an ongoing sense of threat. An interdisciplinary literary-psychological approach will probably lead to a deeper understanding of the mental consequences of political imprisonment, as PTSD was not an acknowledged disorder during Madikizela-Mandela’s detainment

Die enigmatiese aard van die trieksterfiguur in Ingrid Winterbach se Niggie

This article explores the enigmatic nature of tricksters in Ingrid Winterbach’s Niggie (Cousin, 2002), as manifested in everyday life through the supernatural and the unconscious (for instance in dreams). In this way some of the puzzling aspects of this magisterial novel are clarified. Early in Niggie the reader is confronted with a trickster figure in the form of a dream figure, the red haired woman with the little feather hat, who appears in the farmer’s epiphanic dream. After tricking him, she leaves him with an intense sense of loss. This type of trickster figure is variously embodied and manifested throughout the novel in several other mysterious characters, adding to the jouissance or playfulness and ambiguity in the novel. It would appear that Winterbach as a South African author was inspired not only by tricksters from European mythology, but also by indigenous African, Khoi and San mythology. In this regard trickster figures from the Khoi and San as well as Nguni cultures are also discussed. These figures are, amongst others, the Mantis (/Kaggen), Heitsi-Eibeb, Uthlakanyana and Tokoloshe

“Taal moet weerstand bied”: ’n Verkenning van Niggie

A literary analysis is done of Ingrid Winterbach’s novel Niggie [“Cousin”], with specific focus on the nature and function of Anglo-Boer War material in Winterbach’s text. This novel has a profound effect on the reader a century after the war, because it addresses postcolonial issues and predicaments such as a defragmenting identity, as well as the possible demise of the Afrikaans language and culture, faced by the descendants of those involved in the war a century ago. This article focuses on the use of language, the plot, characters and their well-chosen names, motifs and themes, crossing of taboo borders and the juxtaposition of the past and the present

Site characterisation : astronomical seeing from a turbulence-resolving model

A Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) system is to form part of geodetic instrumentation to be located at a new fundamental space geodetic observatory for South Africa. For optimal efficiency, LLR requires optical resolution or so-called astronomical seeing conditions of ~1 arc-second in order to deliver usable ranging data. Site characterisation should include a description of astronomical seeing for various locations on-site and overall atmospheric conditions. Atmospheric turbulence degrades astronomical seeing. In-situ methods of determining astronomical seeing are difficult, time-consuming and costly. We propose the use of a turbulence-resolving model to determine and predict astronomical seeing at a site. Large Eddy Simulation NERSC (Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre) Improved Code (LESNIC) is a turbulence-resolving simulation code which models atmospheric turbulence. It has been used to compile a database of turbulence-resolving simulations, referred to as DATABASE64. This database consists of a collection of LESNIC runs for a stably stratified planetary boundary layer (SBL) over a homogeneous aerodynamically rough surface. Results from DATABASE64 for the nocturnal boundary layer are employed to render profiles of the vertical distribution of optical turbulence (CN 2 profiles). Seeing parameter values are also obtained by making use of DATABASE64 results. The CN 2 profiles and seeing parameter values obtained from DATABASE64 results are compared with general observational results that have been published in the literature. The values obtained are consistent with results from field campaigns as reported. Turbulence-resolving models, such as LESNIC, show potential for delivering and predicting profiles and parameters to characterise astronomical seeing, which are essential prerequisites for establishing an LLR system at the most suitable site and most suitable on-site location. A two-pronged approach is envisaged – in addition to modelling, quantitative seeing measurements obtained with an on-site seeing monitor will be used to verify and calibrate results produced by the LESNIC model.http://www.gssa.org.za/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=5nf201

Living donor liver transplant from an HIV-positive mother to her HIV-negative child : opening up new therapeutic options

OBJECTIVE : Transplant a liver from an HIV-positive mother to her HIV-negative child to save the child’s life. DESIGN : A unique case of living donor liver transplantation from an HIV-positive mother to her HIV-negative child in South Africa. Two aspects of this case are ground-breaking. First, it involves living donation by someone who is HIVpositive and second it involves controlled transplant of an organ from an HIV-positive donor into an HIV-negative recipient, with the potential to prevent infection in the recipient. METHODS : Standard surgical procedure for living donor liver transplantation at our centre was followed. HIV-prophylaxis was administered preoperatively. Extensive, ultrasensitive HIV testing, over and above standard diagnostic assays, was undertaken to investigate recipient serostatus and is ongoing. RESULTS : Both mother and child are well, over 1 year posttransplantation. HIV seroconversion in our recipient was detected with serological testing at day 43 posttransplant. However, a decline in HIV antibody titres approaching undetectable levels is now being observed. No plasma, or cell-associated HIV-1 DNA has been detected in the recipient at any time-point since transplant. CONCLUSION : This case potentially opens up a new living liver donor pool which might have clinical relevance in countries where there is a high burden of HIV and a limited number of deceased donor organs or limited access to transplantation. However, our recipient’s HIV status is equivocal at present and additional investigation regarding seroconversion events in this unique profile is ongoing.The South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa.http://journals.lww.com/aidsonlineam2019Medical Virolog

Magrita Prinslo (1896), Magdalena Retief (1938) and Mies Julie (2012): from historical Afrikaner Mothers of the Nation to a modern Afrikanermeisie (girl): a postcolonial reading of Farber’s Mies Julie

Afrikaans and Theory of Literatur

Athol Fugard's Exits and Entrances: the playwright the actor and the poet

Afrikaans and Theory of Literatur