New Writers Imprint of The Natal Society Foundation. PIETERMARITZBURG
“As someone who works with words I found the book stimulating, provocative, and enlightening.” ~ Stephen Coan, The Witness, p. 9 “Inside Story” review, 19 September 2011
The author’s interest in the philosophy of communication started while he was still at school. He had become increasingly aware that many problems in society stem from poor communication. During several years of intensive investigation, made possible by the vast resources of digitized academic books and research papers available through the internet, he began formulating his own ideas and conclusions. They resulted in the present book which he began writing shortly after turning 18. Analytic Aesthetics discusses the philosophy of communication, in particular the theory of context, using poetry and a word picture to illustrate aspects of how communication works.
“Whatever we conceptualise is philosophy and however it is expressed is an art. The purpose of this book is to introduce a familiar subject in a different light; primarily to show that all is of philosophy, and that no part of our lives can be divorced from it. It is for this reason that part of my life is also found here. But the book is not about my life, it is about philosophy; in particular, the underlying principles of communication.” ~ Phila Mfundo Msimang
Phila Mfundo Msimang
The author, Phila Mfundo Msimang, 19, is the first author in our New Writers imprint for young, previously unpublished, non-fiction researchers and writers. He insists that he is a disquisitionist (one who inquires) rather than a philosopher.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal Academic freedom, corporatisation and transformation.
Occasional Publications imprint of The Natal Society Foundation. PIETERMARITZBURG
The Struggle for the Soul of a South African University is a book about governance in higher education. After the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), an amalgamation of the old universities of Natal and Durban-Westville, was established in 2004 it embraced policies of managerialism, corporate behaviour, centralisation and racial quotas. Custodianship for the greater good and collegiality gave way to line management, legalism and industrial relations. Academic rule collapsed, illustrated most spectacularly by the sidelining of Senate.
Collective identity was valued more highly than intellectual achievement. Written as part-polemic by two university insiders, this book charts institutional decline and dysfunctionality, considers the troubled term ‘transformation’ and analyses the phenomenon of serial crisis. It addresses in depth a string of commissions of inquiry and disciplinary proceedings and explains why these constituted such a major threat to academic freedom that the international academic community expressed extreme alarm. This was well warranted: the institutional and constitutional rights of academics proved illusory. While post-apartheid rights flourished, in one South African university they contracted.
Peter Vale, chair of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg describes this book as a ‘riveting read’ and commends its ‘highly original critical frame’. UKZN continues to function amidst crisis. Its first decade forms a salutary part of the history of higher education in the province and speaks to upheavals at other South African universities.
The AuthorsNithaya Chetty holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois and undertook post-doctoral research in Denmark and the United States. At the time of his dramatic exit from University of KwaZulu-Natal in December 2008 he was associate professor of and head of the Computational Physics programme. From 2007 to 2009 he was president of the South African Institute of Physics during which time he moved to the University of Pretoria where he was promoted to full professor. He is now deputy CEO at the National Research Foundation responsible for implementing and co-ordinating South Africa’s astronomy programme. Christopher Merrett has a doctorate in History from the University of Cape Town. After a career in copyright and academic libraries he became University Librarian and then Director of Administration (1996−2002 and 2002−2007) on the Pietermaritzburg campus of University of Natal/UKZN. After his departure from the university he worked as a journalist for The Witness for seven years. He is now a freelancer working on various aspects of book publication and chairperson of the Natal Society Foundation Trust.
Copies of The Struggle for the Soul of a South African University are available at R200 each including postage within South Africa. Contact Nithaya Chetty at nithaya.chetty@up.ac.za or Christopher Merrett at kitteddyhall@gmail.com to order and for further information.
