MST-Department of Literature
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Item Threats to Masculinities and their Implications on Characters in Meja Mwangi’s Selected Urban Fiction(Kenyatta University, 2023-12) Lpariyan, LengerdedThe study has investigated threats to masculinities and has examined the impact of declining masculinities on characters in Meja Mwangi’s selected urban fiction, with specific reference to The Cockroach Dance (1979) and Rafiki Man Guitar (2013). These texts are set in postcolonial Kenyan cities and largely deal with the challenges that came with modernization. The study focuses on how these challenges affect characters in the selected texts and how they respond to them. The study further examines the setting of the two texts in order to understand the impact it has on characters and how it has contributed to the declining masculinities in the modern, Kenyan man. It has employed the theories of masculinity and postcolonial hybridity. The two theories have been used in the examination of the impact of city’s slum setting on characters in the text under study. The research is qualitative and has used textual analysis as its methodology in collecting and interpreting data on characters from the selected texts. Primary data was analysed and interpreted in line with the study’s objectives, taking into consideration the insightful information obtained from secondary data. The study concludes that, the postcolonial urban setting in Mwangi’s selected texts has compromised masculinity by creating weak men who cannot perform their roles efficiently and gives recommendations for further studies related to Mwangi’s fiction especially on the identity of urban children and postcolonial urban decadenceItem War Trauma and Character Mutation of Child Characters in Majok Tulba’s Beneath the Darkening Sky and Emmanuel Dongala’s Johnny Mad Dog(Kenyatta University, 2024-03) Korir, Millicent JemutaiThis study examines war trauma and character mutation of child characters in Majok Tulba’s Beneath the Darkening Sky and Emmanuel Dongala’s Johnny Mad Dog. By acknowledging the interrelation between literature and trauma, this study investigates how writers create child characters that offer a glimpse into the world of trauma and the psychological burden it imposes on children who participate in civil wars. This study has three objectives: assess how the child characters in the two texts portray civil war. Secondly, interrogate the use of intrusive recollections to depict war trauma as a thematic concern. Lastly, examine how character mutation leads to fragmented subjectivity in child characters in the selected texts. This study adopts a theoretical perspective of trauma and psychoanalytic literary theories. This research uses qualitative research methodology whereby purposive sampling was used to choose the primary texts and characters. The texts were examined in line with the research objectives. This study contributes to the existing literary corpus of knowledge on trauma by bringing to the fore the voices of child characters in the selected texts and how they represent children affected by civil wars, especially in the African continent. The study established that child characters in the texts chosen occupy a triple place of victim-witness-perpetrator. It also found that the child characters experience nightmares and flashbacks, which are responses to trauma that occur when they attempt to work through traumatic memories. This study also found that character mutation led to fragmented subjectivities. It concluded that civil war compels the child characters to behave barbarically, adapt to their new environment, and automatically understand their roles while coping with a warring situation.Item Absence-Presence Motif and Transgenerational Trauma in Selected West Indian Novels: A Panoramic Female Perspective(Kenyatta University, 2024-03) Odhiambo JobThis study advances the position that parental absences result in trauma. It sought to establish the impact that these experiences and memories have on the psyche of the child character. It contended that these traumas were transferred unconsciously across generations. These transferrals are aggravated by the history of the West Indies – with one of the most significant events being the translocation of human beings from other continents into the archipelagos, and within the Americas. In both cases, this study maintains that these translocations resulted in the disintegration of the family unit for the slaves and their descendants. The ramification of this break down was the rise of the mother figure, or the matriarch; an idea that this region’s Literature captures as one of its recurrent motifs. This is also a study that sought to examine the presentation of trauma by studying literary works written and set in different time periods. The novels under study are Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, Merle Hodge’s Crick Crack, Monkey and Marcia Douglas’ The Marvellous Equation of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim. There was purposive sampling of these texts. Additionally, this study used Psychoanalytic Theory, Trauma Theory and aspects of Formalism to understand the psyche of the child character. This is a qualitative research based on close reading of the aforementioned novels. It is expected that this study will help in the understanding of the impact that the abdication of the parental duties had on the psyche of the child character as she is growing up. This study established that trauma affects how traumatised characters perceive the passage of time. It recommends that further research be done on trauma and the perception of the flow of time, especially in texts where there is the recurrent use of the ‘returnee motif.’Item Gikuyu Tone Shift: An Optimal Domains Theory(Kenyatta University, 2023-02) Magondu, Sandra Nyambura; Gerry Ayieko; Kenneth NgureAbstractItem Femme Fatale Poetics in Elechi Amadi's the Concubine and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood(Kenyatta University, 2023-06) Sakwa, Mediatrix M.; Oluoch OburaAbstractItem Diasporic Identity and Portrayal of Home in Buchi Emecheta's the New Tribe and Kehinde(Kenyatta University, 2023-06) Millicent Omwoa; Oscar Macharia; J.K.S MakokhaAbstractItem A Socio-Pragmatic Approach to Satirical Comedy: A Study of Dr King’ori’s NTV Show the Wicked Edition(Kenyatta University, 2023-06) Mugo, Rose Kendi; Loise W. MwaiAbstractItem Kisukuma Clause within the Functional Grammar Perspective(Kenyatta University, 2023-09) Matondo, Simon Sitta Mabula; Gatitu KiguruAbstractItem Analysing the literacy representation of women in South Korean films :The case of jewel in the palace and the heirs(Kenyatta University, 2023-08) Ayuko, Amuti Mornicah; Oluoch Obura; John MugubiItem The Dilemma of Lesbian Characters in Settings of Heterosexual Hegemony in Selected African Literary Works(kenyatta university, 2023) Gitahi, Beth Wairimu; Murimi Gaita; Kariuki BandaThis study investigates the dilemma of lesbian characters in settings of heterosexual hegemony in selected African prose works. The study is grounded on the premise that literature by African writers is a mouthpiece to communicate the pain and struggles of homosexuals in trying to escape from the jaws of living in a closet in highly homophobic countries. The objectives guiding the research will examine how lesbian voices have been represented in selected African prose works, interrogate the socio-cultural rejoinders to lesbianism in African fiction and investigate possible social visions of lesbianism in the selected African prose works. The research employs queer theory to analyze the selected African prose works. Queer theory is as postulated by Judith Butler, Gloria Anzaldua, and Michel Foucault among others. The theoretical framework aims at redefining the concept of sexuality. This study employs textual analysis as the methodology for collecting, organizing, interpreting and analyzing data on the dilemma of lesbian characters in settings of heterosexual hegemony in selected African prose works. The research has brought to the fore repressed and empowered voices of the lesbians in the selected works aiming at voicing struggles of lesbians in a heteronormative society. However, the society in the selected African texts imposes marriage, religion and structural violence as a means of ‘curing’ and silencing lesbians. Nonetheless, a possible social vision is alluded to in the texts under study as stringent heteronormative adherents accept lesbian family members and their sexuality. The analysis has thus articulated how heterosexual hegemony hinders lesbianism from expression. It is recommended that there is need for further studies in assessing the nexus between the representation of lesbian voices in Western and African societies in prose works.Item Representation of Gender in Contemporary Pop Songs of the Akamba of Kenya(kenyatta university, 2023) Kiio, Emmanuel Mutiso; Mugo Muhia; Stephen MutieThe Akamba people’s way of life is reflected in their folklore, both traditional and contemporary popular songs. This research delves into a detailed analysis of selected Akamba contemporary pop songs, especially on their representation of gender. The study analyses the images of women in selected contemporary Akamba pop songs. Secondly, it examines the stylistic choices Akamba contemporary pop artists use to depict the female figure. Thirdly, it analyses the intersecting areas of women’s oppression depicted in the selected Akamba pop songs. The theoretical framework leans on feminist theory precisely on intersectionality, a feminist strand propounded by Kimberlé Crenshaw. It also borrows ideas from Luce Irigaray’s feminist thoughts on gendered language. The study employs a qualitative research methodology. Purposive sampling was employed in selecting data, whereby eighteen songs were selected to represent Makueni, Machakos, Kitui, and Nairobi counties. The songs were sourced from the internet (YouTube). Transcription and translation were done thereafter. Using the theoretical lens of feminism and secondary texts, data was interpreted in line with the study objectives. The study establishes that most songs use imagery to express their views and perpetuate negative female stereotypes. Consequently, the study reveals how the stylistic choices in contextual usage contribute to the marginalization of women in society. It also reveals areas where the female figure is discriminated against by the dual oppression of gendered marginalization and colonialism, which overwrote the African idea of beauty and identity. Additionally, the study reveals that media narratives and beauty trends push African women to use bleaching agents like Mikorogo, which harms their health. This research recommends further studies on similar topics addressed in Akamba pop songs, such as politics, history, and colonialism, to illustrate how setting and characterization depict women are celebrated as heroic trailblazers who contribute to the betterment of society.Item Analysing the Literary Representation of Women in South Korean Films: The Case of Jewel in the Palace and the Heirs.(Kenyatta University, 2023) Amuti, Mornica Ayuko; John Mugubi; Oluoch OburaABSTRACT The study examines the roles assigned to female characters in Korean films and whether or not such roles are patriarchal. Specifically, the study analyzes the assigned roles of female characters and examines the images of female characters in Korean films. In addition, it sought to establish the connection between the roles of women as represented in Korean films and the social traditions of Korea. The study is limited to the films, “Jewel in the Palace,” directed by Lee Byung-Hoon and “The Heirs,” directed by Kang Shin-Hyo and Boo Sung-Chul. These two films were selected through purposive sampling since they share thematic boundaries. The study adopted a qualitative research design and used observation and examination of episodes drawn from the films to generate data. The study is based on the assumption that the images given to the female characters are stereotypical and that there are specific roles assigned to women in the films. The data was then analyzed in line with the specific objectives of the study. The tenets of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem’s radical feminism aided in the analysis and interpretation of the selected films. The findings add to the debate revolving about the images portrayed of women in patriarchal societies. The findings establish that women have continuously been emasculated, and the roles assigned to them are always stereotypical to resonate with the underpinnings of a patriarchal society. In cases where women seemed to rise above patriarchal ideologies, women were portrayed as a power-hungry gender that uses evil means to acquire power. However, despite acquiring power, the study established that the complexities of patriarchy still transferred real power to men. Nevertheless, the study established that despite the supposed evil means that women use to acquire power, they are conscious of the oppressive nature of patriarchy, and they strive to challenge it.Item Forum Theatre as a Medium of Social Conscientisation against Gender-Based Violence by Selected Theatre Troupes in Meru County, Kenya(Kenyatta University, 2022) Kananu, Jerusha; Oluoch Obura; Shikuku Emmanuel TsikhunguKenya as country is confronted with myriad social challenges. Some of these challenges can be alleviated using interventions such as Forum Theatre. Forum Theatre entertains as it intervenes. Hence, the audience, therefore, is not aware that they are being asked to change. Despite various efforts by the NGO’s, the County Government through the women representatives, the church, CBO’s and other parties that fight against Gender-based violence, Meru County remains a hotbed of Gender-based violence. It is with this background that this study explored the use of Forum Theatre as an agent of sensitisation against Gender-based violence by selected theatre troupes in Meru County. The study specifically explored the use of characterisation, plot, structure and local language for consientisation purposes. Qualitative research design was employed to achieve the study objectives while purposive sampling design was used to select the theatre troupes. Data was collected through close reading of the plays by the theatre groups. The plays were analysed thematically and presented as analytical discourse. The findings show a consistent use of the joker system of characterisation although the joker in Kirema by Kangaroo Actors fails to embrace Boal’s system while the one in Murega by MYAP did elicit audience participation. In regards to the structure and plot of the plays, each of the two plays addresses GBV. Murega by was more effective in involving audience. By altering the original plot, Murega employs applicable solutions that benefit the victims. Lastly, language use in Forum Theatre was found to influence and motivate audience participation. The use of local language was found to be particuallry useful in engaging the local audiences, especially where the play adopts local phrases, idioms and euphisims that the target community undertstands and relates to. While Murega meets Boal`s expectations of Forum Theatre, Kirema needed some changes to ensure it met the criteria for Forum Theatre. This study was important in highliting Gender-based violence in Meru County, using Theatre Forum. It enabled the researcher to establish the cause, challenges and possible solutions to GBV through Forum Theatre. The likely beneficiaries from the study include students of Literature, community members, advocacy groups and policy makers.Item Use of Cohesive Devices in Speech by Students of Ichuni Girls and Moi Gesusu Boys in Kisii County(Kenyatta University, 2022) Gisesa, James Michael; Eunice A. Nyamasyo; Purity M. NthigaThis study presents an analysis of the use of cohesive devices in English speeches delivered by Form Four Students in select Extra-County Secondary Schools in Kenya. The objectives of the study were to identify and discuss indicators of cohesion and attainment of objectives of English teaching in Secondary School. This study adopted the Halliday and Hassan (1976) Model of Cohesion which was considered appropriate since it elaborately categorizes cohesive devices making it easy to identify and analyze them in texts. The Halliday and Hassan (1976) Model of Cohesion was used to identify indicators of cohesion (cohesive devices), analyzing their frequency and effect in the speeches in order to evaluate competency of the learners and suitability of English language curriculum and applied pedagogy in the classroom. A descriptive research design was applied to investigate use of cohesive devices by the learners in their speeches as supported by (Kombo and Tromp, 2006) who posit that the method can be applied in the study of selected issues, cases or events in depth and detail. A total of ten speeches were analyzed for this study. The sample population was arrived at through purposive sampling. The data was collected through content analysis of recorded English speeches. The collected data was analyzed using a descriptive research design. A summary of major findings indicated that the learners employed various categories of cohesive devices in their speeches in varying frequencies with a notable observation being that ellipsis and substitution were the least employed of all the categories. It is recommended that the findings be applied by teachers of English in Kenya Secondary Schools in teaching cohesion in spoken text and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in designing a language curriculum that brings out the most effective mastery of various language skills. The findings can also be applied in classroom practice for control of cohesive texts and development.Item Stuttering among Children in Nairobi: A Case Study of the Linguistic Symptoms and Intervention Strategies(Kenyatta University, 2022) Mwangi, Ruth Naisiae; Henry S. NandelengaStuttering is a speech or language disfluency that affects 5% of the population during the childhood years. This percentage reduces to 1% in adulthood. Stuttering can be managed better if discovered early in childhood if intervention strategies are applied just as soon as a diagnosis is given. This study sought to investigate the different types of stuttering in children based on linguistic symptoms, describe the intervention techniques employed by both parents and speech language therapists (SLT) and assess the effectiveness of these intervening methods against internationally recognized standards. The study aimed at demonstrating that there are children who stutter (CWS) in Kenya and how to identify the type of stutter using linguistic analysis. The research also investigated the intervention strategies that were carried out by speech language therapists and parents or guardians and how effective they are. The Covert Repair Hypothesis was used to explain the moments of stutter and the EXPLAN theory to analyse the effectiveness of intervention techniques employed by speech language therapists and parents. A descriptive research design was employed after the recorded data was transcribed and the data was translated using graphical schemes. The researcher first identified two SLT who then connected the researcher to the three CWS currently receiving consistent therapy for developmental stuttering as well as the primary caregiver who is involved in the intervention strategies. The data was collected from i) the CWS by use of a recorder in the form of guided narratives and picture naming exercises; ii) observation lists to capture secondary stuttering behaviours; iii) questionnaires were filled by the parents to facilitate the demographics of the CWS and their therapy histories and iv) semi-structured interviews were also held with the SLTs to discover the intervention strategies and diagnostic tactics used. The recorded data was transcribed for the data analysis, the observation checklists were tabulated, the questionnaires were cast onto pie charts to capture the CWS demographics and the interviews were transcribed. The findings are as follows: There are different types of stuttering in children that vary in different degrees in each child. Phonetic elements like alveolar sounds, fricatives, bilabial plosives and approximants played a key role in the manifestation of these types of stutter. The SLTs adopted The Lidcombe Program as the intervention strategy to treat the stutter in which the parents were involved. This strategy proved effective and age appropriate for the CWS. The recommendations are that there is a need for assessment and diagnostic test to identify the stutter in children for early intervention as well as the need to create awareness in Nairobi, Kenya. Parents, speech language therapists and education planners are expected to benefit from the research findings in dealing with CWS especially in alleviating the stutter.Item Verbal Extensions in Lulogooli Morphosyntax: A Minimalist Perspective(Kenyatta University, 2022) Abaya, Karen Vudembu; Gerry Ayieko; Hilda KebeyaThe current study was based on Lulogooli which is one of the dialects of Luyia, a Bantu language spoken in the Western part of Kenya. Lulogooli has a rich verbal morphology comprising verbal extensions which include the causative, the applicative, the reciprocal and the passive, among others; and whose combination is subject to different kinds of sequential constraints. The current study was guided by three objectives: to identify verbal extensions licensed in Lulogooli; describe their order when they co-occur in the same verbal structure; and account for the patterns using selected tenets of the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995). Data for the study was collected using an eclectic approach namely; the 1967 edition of ‘The Bible in Luragooli,’ the Bouquiaux & Thomas (1992) word list, questionnaires and introspection since the researcher is a native speaker of the language. Purposive sampling was used to sample respondents, Bible verses and words from the word list. Qualitative data analysis approaches were employed. Research findings reveal that the verbal extensions in Lulogooli include the Causative, the Applicative, the Passive and the Reciprocal. The Minimalist Program which can account for the syntactic operations of all world languages was the incentive for the study. Selected tenets of the Program such as Phase Theory, Feature Checking Theory, Extended Projection Principle and Minimal Link Condition were adequate in accounting for the occurrence and co-occurrence of verbal extensions in the same Lulogooli verbal structure. The findings of this study will hopefully be of significance to curriculum developers (now that Kenya has rolled out a new curriculum known as the CBC since 2017) in the improvement of existing Lulogooli curriculum material. It will also benefit linguists and scholars who have interest in particularly Lulogooli linguistics, and Bantu linguistics in general.Item The Style and Performance of Kenyan Somali Oral Poetry(Kenyatta University, 1994) Barre, Aden Muktar Haji; Austin BukenyaThis thesis investigates the style and modes of performance of Kenyan Somali oral poetry. Several aspects of the oral poetry of this community are discussed, including both verbal and non-verbal elements. In addition, the study identifies the relationship between poetic •• performance and social life. Some of the activities linked to oral performance which are discussed in the thesis are: pastoral duties, co rting, wedding and marriage ceremonies, child care and clan feuding.The main proposition of the study is that there is a close link between oral poetic composition and performance and a community's way of life. In the Kenyan Somali context, the performance of ral poetry derives 9irectly from the people's way of life, their everyday experiences in the vast arid environment of the North Eastern Province, their nomadic, pastoral actiVities and their Islamic faith. Conversely, the performance of the poetry and the community's response to it contribute significantly to the sustenance, enhancement and promotion of the community's activities and experiences.Based on field material collected in the North Eastern Pro vince of Kenya in 1991 and 1992, the study endeavours to interpret the oral poetry from the point of view of the people who perform it and among whom it is performed. Apart from locating the poetry ;within the geographical and socio-historical context of Kenyan Somali society, attempts are made• to identify its main categories,,' j ts recurren t topics and themes and t e major occasions of its performance.The study uses a composite stylistic and socio psycho!ogical theoretical framework to analyse the language, structure and techniques of performance of the poetry. It suggests that the community's response to the poetry is closely related to the stylistic and performing devices.Item Ekegusii Verbal Extensions: A Minimalist Approach(Kenyatta University, 2021) Magoma, Luka, Sylvia; Gerry AyiekoThe study uses the Minimalist approach to analyse different types of Ekegusii verbal extensions. Three objectives guided the study viz: to explain the Ekegusii verbal extension markers with the Minimalist Program, to describe the individual occurrence of Ekegusii verbal extensions, to account for the individual co-occurrences of Ekegusii verbal extensions within the Minimalist Program. Although, there are many types of verbal extensions, this study set to investigate three types of Ekegusii verbal extensions namely: applicative which is an argument increasing affix, reversive which is a neutral affix and passive considered as an argument decreasing affix. The incentive for this study is derived from the supposition that the Minimalist Program can account for all world languages syntactic operations thus also referred to as a universal theory. Content analysis research design was used. Ekegusii already existing written sources supplemented by introspection were the main sources of the data used in the study. Purposive sampling was used while choosing four Ekegusii competent speakers believed to be reliable to verify the data. Purposive sampling was also used when selecting the Ekegusii written sources. The data obtained was analysed using the Minimalist Program. The findings showed that Ekegusii has a number of verbal extensions though the study could not exhaustively deal with all. The Ekegusii verbal extensions were accounted for in the Minimalist Program. As a source of reference it is anticipated that this study will be resourceful for scholars interested in Bantu linguistics.Item Images of Women in Selected Songs of Contemporary Gikuyu Secular Popular Artists(Kenyatta University, 2021) Wanjohi, Dianah W.; Peter Muhoro Mwangi; Oscar Macharia MainaThe study focuses on popular songs that were composed and performed by contemporary Gikuyu secular popular artists. The study examines aspects of style and themes that reveal popular artists’ positions as regards the images of women in popular music in Kenya. The study involves the analysis of song-texts selected from popular performing artists who engage the audience on politics of gender and the effects they had on the Kenyan contemporary situation in voicing their concerns on the relationship between men and women in society. This was done through listening to CDs and watching recorded clips video/DVDs produced by four selected Gikuyu popular music artists. The study applies stylistics, feminism and performance theories. Various tenets of feminist and cultural theories were used as interpretive lenses. Transcription, translation and transliteration were done as a means to create poetic data for analysis. This was conceived in fifteen song-texts. The study identified structure and style adopted by the Gikuyu language composers earmarked for this study. Time and space did not allow the researcher to indulge in the analysis of songs by contemporary Gikuyu secular popular artists who performed in the post-independence era. Conclusions were drawn from the analysis and interpretation of data. The work will contribute in the field of cultural studies and literary studies especially on the use of the use of oral literature relay societal sensitive issues in given communities of the world. It will create a road map to the understanding of the paucity of the place of woman in the global arena as conceives through songs composed by male popular secular artists.Item The Portrayal of Masculinities in Selected Works of Henry Ole Kulet Literature Department(Kenyatta University, 2021) Kiiya, Muyundo John; Wangari Mwai; Yuvenalis MwairumbaThe study interrogates the indicators of masculinity and investigates the challenges to masculinity in selected works of Henry Ole Kulet. Further, it explores how the selected texts endorse or subvert notions of manhood. The population of the study comprises Ole Kulet‟s eight texts, out of which, the study sampled Is it Possible?, To Become a Man and Moran no More. The masculinity literary theory and the post-colonial literary theory were applied to the study. The masculinity literary theory as posited by Connell, Lee and Carrygan is applied to the study of the three selected novels. The masculinity literary theory is based on the attributes of men, the dos and don‟ts and their relationship with one another in line with their positions and roles in society. The post-colonial literary theory accounts for the influence of European colonial rule on the indigenous people. The theory deals with literature of both the colonized, or formerly colonized and that of colonizers or former colonizers. The qualitative research design method is applied to the study. The study finds that the Maasai boys subscribe to a variety of masculinities either individually or according to the society they hail from. There are challenges to masculinity in Henry Ole Kulet‟s texts. These challenges hamper the spread of masculinity or cause diversity in masculinity. It is recommended that a study be conducted on patriarchy, the idea that men should provide adequate economic support for one‟s family and the role of education in the transformation of masculinity in selected works of Ole Kulet.