Critical Arts articles from January 2004

Critical Arts archives from January 2004

Transformation of the South African Media.
January 1, 2004... International Seminars on the Political Economy of the Southern African Media held in 1996, 2000 and 2002 marked significant moments in the trajectory of (Southern) African media scholarship. The first was "Identities, Democracy, Culture and...

Transforming state owned enterprises in the Global Age: lessons from broadcasting and telecommunications in South Africa.
January 1, 2004... Abstract The study documents and analyzes the restructuring and transformation of South African broadcasting and telecommunications sector, in the light of two parallel trends: * The globally-apparent challenges to the sector; and ...

More media for Southern Africa? The place of politics, economics and convergence in developing media density.
January 1, 2004... Abstract In line with global trends, media in Southern Africa in the past decade has been moving slowly towards mergers, partnerships and multi-platform publishing. Driven by politics and facilitated by technology, the process has had to...

Balancing acts: vocational training versus academic education in the context of Media and Communication Studies.
January 1, 2004... Abstract This article reflects on curriculum change in SA Higher Education Institutions, arguing that the transformation of SA Higher Education involves far more than restructuring the institutional landscape in terms of its "size and...

Transforming the media: a cultural approach.
January 1, 2004... Abstract The change from an Apartheid state to a liberal democratic one has wrought many changes at all levels of South African society: the economic, social, political, cultural. This paper explores the impacts of these changes on the...

The righteousness of self-centred royals: the world according to Disney animation.(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2004... Abstract The startling success of Disney animation prompts the perspective for this essay, which explores both a political-economic and cultural studies approach. Understanding Disney animation helps clarify the intimate relationship...

Unifying and dividing processes in national media: the Janus face of South Africa.
January 1, 2004... Abstract The article aims to open up a theoretical space where the nation building project's inherent contradictions can thrive, making it possible to see the construction of a new South Africa as a dialectical area of both converging and...

Intellectuals under fire.
January 1, 2004... The nation is awash in 'ten years of democracy' celebrations and, perhaps predictably in an election year, the ruling party has ensured that the enormous accomplishments of 'the rainbow people of God' cover all fronts and are attributed to this...

Participation and Power.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Participation and Power, Civic Education Network, Harare, African Community Publishing and Development Trust, 1998 Most governments neglect civic education, especially in developing countries. In contrast, non-governmental pressure groups...

Cinema and Culture: Independent Film in the United States, 1980-2001.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Cinema and Culture: Independent Film in the United States, 1980-2001. E. Deidre Pribran, New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2002, pp. 305. Contemporary independent American and non American films in the United States have emerged as a...

Literature as Communication: the foundation of mediating criticism.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Literature as Communication: The foundation of mediating criticism. Roger D. Sell, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2000, pp. 348 This book offers foundations for literary criticism which mediate between writers and readers...

On the Postcolony.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... On the Postcolony. Achille Mbembe, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001, pp. 274 Achille Mbembe is one of the most brilliant theorists of postcolonial studies writing today. In On the Postcolony, he profoundly renews our...

End of Story: Toward an Annihilation of Language and History.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... End of Story: Toward an Annihilation of Language and History. Crispin Sartwell, New York: State University of New York Press, 2000, pp. 138 Crispin Sartwell maintains that the academy is obsessed with language, and with narrative in...

Young People and New Media: Childhood and the changing media environment.
January 1, 2004... Young People and New Media: Childhood and the changing media environment. Sonia Livingstone, London: Sage Publications, 2002, pp. 277. We can no longer imagine our daily lives without media and communication technologies. Nor would we want...

Semiotics: the Basics.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Semiotics: The Basics. Daniel Chandler, London: Routeledge, 2002, pp. 273 Following the successful Basics format, this is the book for anyone coming to semiotics for the first time. Using jargon-free language and lively, up-to-date...

Why Docudrama?: Fact-Fiction on Film and TV.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Why Docudrama?: Fact-Fiction on Film and TV. Alan Rosenthal (ed.), Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1999, pp. 387 When the 1990 English docudrama Who Bombed Birmingham? cast serious doubt on the guilt of six men convicted...

Contemporary Jewish Writing in South Africa.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Contemporary Jewish Writing in South Africa, Claudia Bathsheba Braude, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2001, pp. 169 With the release of Nelson Mandela, the advent of non-racial democracy, and the Truth and Reconciliation...

Translating Nations.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Translating Nations. Prem Poddar (ed.), Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 2000, pp. 269 Recent developments in postcolonial theory have upset existing disciplinary boundaries and shown the need for their reinterpretation. Translating...

Seeing Sense on Film Analysis.
January 1, 2004... Seeing Sense on Film Analysis. Lon Van Nierop, Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik Publishers, 1998, pp. 217 Six sensible reasons for reading Seeing Sense: 1. Understanding: Understanding the film director's role, style and intentions. What is...

The Handbook of New Media.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Handbook of New Media. Leah Lievrouw and Sonia Livingstone (eds.), London: Sage Publications, 2002, pp. 564 The past 20 years have seen remarkable growth in research and scholarship addressing new information and communication...

White women in Racialized Spaces: Imaginative Transformation and Ethical Action in Literature.
January 1, 2004... White women in Racialized Spaces: Imaginative Transformation and Ethical Action in Literature. Samina Najmi (ed.), Albany: University of New York Press, 2002, pp. 272 At once racially privileged and sexually marginalised, white women have...

African Cinemas: Decolonizing the Gaze.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... African Cinemas: Decolonizing the Gaze. Olivier Barlet, London: Zed Books, 1996, pp. 315 Focusing on the attempts to decolonize the imagination, this book is both a personal journey and an introduction to the cinema cultures of Africa. A...

Sensuality and Power in visual culture.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Sensuality and Power in visual culture. Raoul J. Granqvist (ed.), Umea Universitet, 2002, pp. 250 The present collection of essays sits in a broad 'cultural studies' cum 'visual studies' field of topical interest connecting the visual with...

Colonialist Photography: Imag(in)ing race and place.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Colonialist Photography: Imag(in)ing race and place. Eleanor M. Hight & Gary D. Sampson (eds.), London: Routeledge, 2002, pp. 328. A collection of essays and photographs exploring the relationship between photography and European and...

Researching ICTs in Context: a research report from InterMedia University of Oslo.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Researching ICTs in Context: A research report from InterMedia University of Oslo. Andrew Morrison (ed), University of Oslo, 2002, pp. 279 This book is the result of a conference hosted by the SKIKT programme at InterMedia, the University...