BC-School of Humanities and Social Science

Permanent URI for this community

https://repository.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/3158

Browse

Browsing BC-School of Humanities and Social Science by Issue Date

Filter results by year or month
Now showing 1 - 20 of 98
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Lugha, Mwandishi na Kuvumiliana
    (Writers’ Association of Kenya, 1997) Wafula, R. M.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Book Review: Joseph M. Nyasani "The African Psyche"
    (Kenyatta University Faculty of Arts, 1999) Makokha, K.
    Philosophy like any other discipline has its branches, each of which is the concern of specific philosophical problems. The main branches of Philosophy are: logic, which deals with correct reasoning; epistemology, which inquires into the nature and claims about knowledge; axiology, which deals with values in general, including ethical and aesthetic values and metaphysics which is the main focus of this essay. This is because The African Psyche is a treatise in this field. Etymologically, metaphysics is derived from two Greek words, meta and physika meaning that which comes after or beyond physics. Thus, metaphysics by applying the basic principles that underlie the workings of human mind such as the principle of contradiction, the principle of sufficient reason etc., endeavours to come to terms with questions of ultimate concern such as the beginning and destiny of the universe. Indeed, metaphysics, like philosophy in general, tries to account for the why of things.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Book Review: Sitwala Imenda "Unmarried Wife" East African Educational Publishers Ltd., 1996. pp.141
    (Kenyatta University Faculty of Arts, 1999) Kabaji, E.
    It is common to hear people talk ill of polygamy. Feminists talk of it as a demonstration of male greed and irresponsibility. Some perceive it as an outdated c-ustom that has no place in modem society. Inspiration writers look at it as a pre-occupation of those courting marital chaos. Either way, it has to be acknowledged that the destruction of African traditional structures has affected this aspect of the African family life. Our society is at crossroads. There seems to exist a desire in most African societies to adopt the christian philosophy of marriage but a close look at the actions of men reveal otherwise. It is, in a more immediate sense, a question of culture clash. The book under review attempts to explore the physiological, psychological and sociological factors that lead to infidelity or second marriages. This novel is set in South Africajust at the dawn of a new era as the country is shedding off apartheid policies and a wave of democratic changes set in.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Book Review: Wanjiku Mukabi-Kabira, Masheti Masinjila and Wanjiku Mbugua (eds.) "Delusions: Essays on Social Construction of Gender" Nairobi, Femnet, 1994
    (Kenyatta University Faculty of Arts, 1999) Ochwada, H.
    Gender relations constitute the social, political and economic interaction of both men and women. As a result, gender contract is interpreted as an unwritten and invisible social contract defining the actions of men and women in the belief that this is what society expects of them. Viewed within this framework, gender research is about relationships between men and women. But in single studies the focus can be on only women or men, given that their-situation is analyzed within a structural gender relationship. Where does the book under review fit within this framework? Thrust of Text The text's focus is on the relationship between men and women, but with a bias for women. Indeed, this isunderstandable, considering that the social construction of gender preponderantly invisibilizes and marginalizes women in the general social contract. This explains why in the historiography of gender relations worldwide, the emphasis is on women, making the subject of gender synonymous with women's studies. Consequently, women researchers tend to monopolize the production of knowledge on gender. In some instances, they jealously guard their small 'academic empires' acquired in the field. However, in this regard, the African Women's development and Communication (Fernnet) Organization transcends this parochialism by incorporating male researchers in its projects. Delusions: Essays on Social Construction of Gender is one such endeavour. It consists of seven chapters, all of them discussing the social construction of gender
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Maisha: Kitendawili na Johari” in Daisaku Ikeda and Africa
    (Nairobi University Press,, 2001) Osore, Miriam; Ngugi, Pamela
    This chapter examines Daisaku Ikeda's Maisha: Kitendawili na Johari translated into Kiswahili from Life: An Enigma, A Precious Jewel. It focuses on the contribution of the translated text on the subject of life and death. Our main objective is to highlight the.relevance of Ikeda's work to the Kiswahili audience in East and Central Africa. But first we look at the meaning of translation. _"oc According to th~ Internatil!nal Encyclopaedia of Linguistics Vol. 4 (1992), the word translation refers to the transfer of a written message from a source language to a target language. We can therefore say that translation is a process of substituting a text in one language for a text,in another language. At another level, translation could be regarded as communication; thus, it is intended to communicate some information to a given audience. This 97 Maisha Kitendawili na Joha,; implies, therefore, that in order for a translation to be done, there must be a need for doing it. It is in this regard that Maisha: Kitendawili na Johari is timely. Translation is an activity of enormous importance in the modem world. A lot has been translated into the various languages of the world. Research findings, in different fields have been disseminated through translation in different languages of the world. In the nineteenth century, Christian missionaries translated very many books including the Bible into Kiswahili and other languages in Kenya and East Africa. During the colonial period, a lot of literary works from Europe and Asia were translated into Kiswahili. After independence, the Africans, themselves were at the forefront in translating some of the great-literary works of the world into Kiswahili. For example, two of Shakespeare's plays, The Merchant of Venice as Mabepari wa Venisi and Julius Caesar as Julias Kaizari, were translated by Julius Nyerere.Maisha: Kitendawili na Johari by Daisaku Ikeda is an important addition to the 'other, translations that we have in the Kiswahili language. In Maisha: Kitendawili na Johari, Daisaku Ikeda has addressed very salient issues which are relevant to the human race all over the world.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Post-colonialism and the politics of Kenya (review)
    (Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern, 2002) Wekesa, Peter Wafula
    Post-colonialism as a framework of analysis remains subject to debate and controversy. Although post-colonialism has been around for close to two decades, it has in recent times been a fiercely contested and debated paradigm. Given its newness and elegance in the world of academic discourse, it is not surprising that its reception has been characterized by a great deal of excitement, confusion and in many cases scepticism. Debates surrounding the study have laid claims to questions of the legitimacy of post-colonialism as a separate analytical entity in the academic discourse, its validity as a theoretical formulation as well as its disciplinary boundaries and political implications. Also, the prefix 'post' has complicated matters as it implies an 'aftermath' in two senses - temporal, as in coming after, and ideological, as in supplanting. It is the second implication that the critics of the study have found contestable. The contestation has been on the dividing line between what is colonial and its link to what counts as post-colonial. The argument has been that if the inequities of colonial rule have not been erased, it is perhaps premature to proclaim the demise of colonialism. The intervention being couched by ardent post-colonial theorists is that there is a co-existence of both post-colonial and neo-colonial conditions in many Third World countries and one has not erased the other. In this sense, whereas such countries are formally considered independent, they remain economically and culturally entrapped and dependent on their former colonial powers at the same time. Whereas the importance of formal decolonisation cannot be gainsaid, the fact that unequal relations of colonial rule are re-inscribed into the contemporary imbalances between the 'First' and 'Third' World nations cannot be dismissed as well. Post-colonialism and the Politics of Kenya gives us asuccinct entryintothis unique approach to the study of Kenyan politics. Contrary to many studies of post-colonialism that usually tend to become amorphous and sometimes rob themselves of historical specificity, the author ably locates this text within a defined disciplinary and geographical space. It is on this strength that the book emerges as a lucid, judicious and representative text whose influence in Kenyan historiography could be decisive. Rather than post-colonialism being merely treated as "the latest catchall term to dazzle the academic mind" as observed by Russell Jacoby 1, Ahluwalia Pal underscores and discounts the sources of misreading associated with the study of post-colonialism in general.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The New Ideology of Imperialism.
    (Kenyatta University, 2002) Murunga, G. R.
    Two particular and interrelated "isms" are central to these challenges. These are postmodernism and postcoloniality. The two represent an age of intellectual curiosity but also disorder given their attempts to redefine history and especially the place of the Third World. While one would have expected reversals in the initial compartmentalization of the globe into Euro- America as opposed to the 'rest of us', the contemporary state of knowledge has not helped subvert this Eurocentric image. Postmodernism and postcolonialism are intellectual movements celebrating the latest ideology of imperialism.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Governance and the Electoral Process: Nigeria and the United States of America
    (Kenyatta University, 2002) Wanyonyi, P.W.
    Nigeria, African's most populous country, went back to a democratically elected government after the February 27th, 1999 elections. This democratisation has corne in the wake of many struggles some of which resulted in certain leading figures being killed. The climax of those dark days was during the reign of Sani Abacha. Indeed it was in his bloody period of rule that Nigeria was ostracised from the Commonwealth. In reviewing this text which was published in his reign, I will be reflecting on how his regime brazenly banned scholars not only from Nigeria but also Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana and USA from holding a conference whose theme was "Governance and the electoral process"
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Power of Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience
    (Kenyatta University, 2002) King'ei, G. K.
    The debate on the language question in Africa has been on for decades now. Normall y, this discussion is characterised by concerns to do with such aspects as the ideal national, regional and continental language policies, the rivalry between the national and official languages, the choice of the language medium of the African creative writer and other similar issues. The need for the modernization of the African lingua franca including Swahili, Hausa or Amharic has also featured prominently in recent times. However, perhaps, the study under review by well-known African scholars is the first to establish a direct link between the language question and the issue of governance in the African situation. Issued simultaneously in five different countries in Africa, U.S.A and Britain and divided into three major parts, the book, Power of Babel contains thirteen chapters. The chapters attempt to relate language to such societal facets and contemporary concerns as history, race, nationalism, identity, colonialism and liberation, religion, cultural pluralism and individualism, democracy, gender and law. The concluding chapter looks at the role of language in a post-modern world order. In the African context, this perspective dissects the realities, opportunities and challenges of the post-cold war, postapartheid and post-structural adjustment programmes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Improvement of Grain Legume Production in Semi-Arid Kenya Through Biological Nitrogen Fixation: the Experience With Tepary Bean (Phaseolus Acutifolius A. Gray Var. Latifolius)
    (Springer Netherlands, 2004) Shisanya, C.A.
    This chapter highlighted the food security concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, their contributing factors and possible ways of ameliorating the situation. It is recognised that Africa must embrace agricultural biotechnology to help counter famine, environmental degradation and poverty. Biotechnology does offer tremendous opportunities for increasing crop yields, reducing pest damage, protecting the environment and improving nutritional value of crops. An example of how tepary bean legume yield has been increased in semi-arid Kenya through biological nitrogen fixation has been illustrated. It has been demonstrated that higher yields of tepary bean are achieved by inoculation with a commercially available infective and effective Rhizobium strain R3254. This strain is able to increase yield over and above nitrogen fertiliser application. It therefore offers a cheaper alternative to the resource poor farmers of semi-arid Kenya who cannot afford the expensive artificial N fertiliser.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Kenya: The Struggle for Democracy
    (Zed Books, 2007) Murunga, G. R.; Nasong'o, S. W.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Evaluation of Nitrogen Fixation using 15N Dilution Methods and Economy of a Maize-tepary Bean Intercrop Farming System in Semi-arid SE-Kenya
    (Springer Netherlands, 2007) Shisanya, C.A.; Gitonga, Nkanata Mburugu
    Tepary bean has become popular among poor small-scale farmers in semi-arid Kenya, where it is intercropped with maize. This study aimed at i) evaluating the N-economy of maize/tepary bean intercrop versus sole crop using natural abundance and 15N enriched fertilizer methods, and ii) assessing the contribution of fixed N2 by tepary bean to the total N balance in the intercrops and sole cropping systems assessed from harvested seed and residues. Experiments were carried out during the short rains of 2001/2002 and long rains of 2003 at Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) Kiboko, Kenya. Randomised block design was used with one block devoted to the 15N natural abundance (–N), the other 15N labelled fertilizer (+N), replicated 4 times. Above ground biomass and total N were determined in sole crops or intercrops (–N or +N). Tepary bean received 53–69% of its N supply from N2-fixation with N2-fixation slightly affected by intercropping or N fertilizer application. N2-fixation of tepary in greenhouse experiment was lower (36–66%) than in the field study and more affected by N supply. Budgets for N were estimated for field intercrops based on above-ground seed yields, return of crop residues, input of fixed N and fertilizer N. N2-fixation was 59 kg N ha-1 in plots receiving no N fertilizer, and 73 kg N ha-1 in plots receiving N as urea. Corresponding fixation by sole tepary was high (87 and 82 kg N ha-1, respectively), but this advantage was outweighed by greater land use efficiency in intercrop than sole crop
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Performing Identity in Kiswahili Literature
    (Twaweza Communications, 2008) Wafula, R. M.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Jesus Christ and the Philosophy of Peaceful Co-existence” in Daisaku Ikeda and Voices for Peace from Africa
    (Kenya Literature Bureau, 2008) Osore, Miriam
    This paper recognizes that the quest for peace in the world today is one of the foremost concerns. This is more so for the African continent, which for a long time now has been a troubled region. It identifies some of the root causes of conflict on the continent and tries to come up with some recommendations in addressing this issue. It proposes the development of an ethos founded of the principles of Jesus on peace. But first the concepts of conflict, violence and peace are defined
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item