The Ghost of the Neo-Slave Narrative : Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing and the Evolution of the Black Gothic

Beloved by Toni Morrison, while clearly a neo-slave narrative, functions as a transition between the neo-slave narrative and the Black Gothic genre. Jesmyn Ward expands upon the Gothic elements in Beloved in her novel Sing, Unburied, Sing. When examined together, the two novels demonstrate how the Black Gothic was influenced by the neo-slave narrative. Where Beloved examines the effects of slavery on those who were directly victimized by it, Sing, Unburied, Sing shows how the lingering effects of slavery still exist in modern times. Ultimately, Ward offers possible courses of action to make the future more inclusive and diverse without leaving the memories of the past behind

The Case for Road Transport in Rhodesia

A RJE article on the need for developing transport networks in the then Rhodesia.The term “road transport” is very wide and includes not only both passenger and freight traffic, but a very wide range of organisations and an equaly wide range of traffic under both headings. It will however, I think, be your wish that I should confine my remarks on this occasion to dealing in the main with the transport of general goods and with some aspects of the relative position of rail and road carriers. In the first place, perhaps I should remind you of a basic fact which is sometimes overlooked when transport matters are under consideration; namely that Transport is a service to the rest of the economy and is not an end in itself. In order to be able to consider some of today’s problems in their proper perspective, it will perhaps be useful to review briefly the various stages in the development of transport. The earliest vehicle was probably a form of wheelbarrow, closely followed by the cart and wagon. Over the centuries these primitive units were not subject to any material change other than in relation to the carriage of passengers, eventually giving rise to a highly developed system of stage coaches supplemented, in the private sector, by many elegant equipages in the form of barouches, phaetons, post chaises and the like. All this development whether on the passenger or on freight side was however restricted by the motive unit, namely the horse

Key factors influencing the outcome of Energy Projects procured using Public Private Partnerships in South Africa

Processes required for the procurement of construction projects by the public and private sectors must comply with many requirements and incentives, not least of which is usually the requirement to provide value for money. However, large capital works construction projects, particularly those undertaken by the public sector, have a tendency to over-run both their construction schedules and their budgets. This is amply demonstrated in South Africa by the construction of the Medupi and Kusile coal fired power stations by Eskom, the South African national power utility, which are both running over schedule and are projected to be over budget by 52% and 48% respectively. In contrast, Public Private Partnership contracts between the private sector and the South African government were recently used to construct large, utility scale renewable energy facilities in South Africa, with a total capacity equivalent to that of Medupi power station, on time and on budget. This research study considers the various procurement options in use globally for the construction of capital projects, before looking in detail at the Public Private Partnerships approach for infrastructure procurement, both globally and in the South African context for energy projects. The research study and aims to answer the questions, “What are the key factors that influence the outcome of energy projects procured using public private partnerships in South Africa?” and “What interventions could improve the success rates of projects procured using public private partnership contracts in South Africa?”. A social constructionist epistemology was adopted to guide the research, as the context of the research questions is complex requiring flexible research approaches, able to consider matters such as the perceptions of stakeholders involved in energy projects. The research study makes use of a systematic literature review of international publications, and a survey of individuals working in the South African renewable energy industry. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify themes, and further coded to identify the factors. The research study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on the use of the effectiveness of the Public Private Partnerships approach used for the procurement of energy projects in South Africa as there appears to have been little research undertaken in this area to date

No Modern Joshua : Nationalization, Scriptures, and Race

With the United States as primary context and point of reference, this essay aims to show how inextricably the modern world phenomena of nationalization, scriptures, and race have been inextricably woven together in the United States. The rhetorics and ideological and political orientation of Frederick Douglass offer an analytical wedge. A speech Douglass delivered in Washington, D.C., in 1883 was part of the celebration of the twentieth year of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, an event seen as an appropriate and meaning-charged occasion to take stock of the plight of black peoples in the country. His assessment that in the aftermath of the Civil War, black peoples, especially in the South, faced even more challenges with the establishment of new forms and styles of social, economic, and political slavery led Douglass to rail against the nation\u27s conspiracy of silence around the race question

Asceticism

Origen could not be a more profoundly influential--if not sometimes enigmatic--figure when considered in conjunction with the controversial and puzzling historical phenomenon that is now called asceticism, the English term that is the usual (all too flat) translation of the astonishingly multivalent Greek term askesis

African Americans and the Bible: Outline of An Interpretive History

Since every reading of important texts, especially mythic or religious texts, reflects a reading or assessment of one\u27s world, and since the Bible has from the founding of the nation served as an icon, a history of African Americans\u27 historical readings of the Bible is likely to reflect their historical self-understandings—as Africans in America

Historical Study As Cultural Critique: A Proposal for the Role of Biblical Scholarship in Theological Education

Some things are a bit clearer to me today than they were a decade or so ago. For example, I can now better understand and articulate the reasons for my initial and continuing interest in biblical studies. It was the recognition of the pervasive influence of the Bible in the historical experiences of African Americans that first inspired the interest. The importance of the Bible among African Americans is not of significance to me because it is assumed to be unique in the history of the United States. I am quite aware of the historical importance of the Bible among the great majority of Americans, since the European settling of what has become the United States.1 But the importance of the Bible among virtually all Americans has only added impetus to my interest in its functions among African Americans. The extent to which the Bible provided Americans a language with which to articulate different interests and concerns and negotiate social and political existence, to this extent African American reading of the Bible—and self-understanding—is different from the majority culture and needs to be studied carefully

Book Review: Ed. Musa W. Dube, Other Ways of Reading: African Women and the Bible

I take great delight in having the opportunity to review this collection ofthirteen essays having to do with contemporary African women and their engagements of the Bible. Ably edited and introduced by Musa W. Dube, Senior Lecturer in the New Testament in the Department ofTheology and Religious Studies at the University ofBotswana, the essays have been long awaited. They fill a tremendous need--among and beyond the women of Africa. They inform and challenge and inspire communities far beyond the circle ofthe discussants in the book. They make a dramatic statement about the powerful voices and sentiments and creative impulses of African women and their potential to enliven thinking about and approaches to the Bible in particular and the sacred in general. The volume is also a fine contribution to the growing phenomenon of the heightened consciousness and re-awakening among non-dominants throughout the world--different racial-ethnic minority groups, women, the poor-about the social power to be realized in the interpretation of texts and other objects and phenomena widely regarded as canonical

Book Review: Columba Stewart, Cassian the Monk

This is a book review