Namibia – Revolutionary Papers https://revolutionarypapers.org Just another WordPress site Mon, 14 Aug 2023 12:15:37 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 The Namibian Review https://revolutionarypapers.org/journal/the-namibian-review/ Thu, 06 Jan 2022 12:49:41 +0000 http://revolutionarypapers.localhost/journal/the-namibian-review/ The Namibian Review: A Journal of Contemporary South West African was first published in 1976 and came out over a decade of intensities of armed struggle and fierce debates about forms of the postcolonial future. Initially it was produced by the Namibian Review Group (known as the Swedish Namibian Association) and 14 editions were printed by the end of 1978. In 1979 it was translocated from Stockholm to Windhoek and it later changed its name to The Namibian Review: A Journal of Contemporary Namibian Affairs.  Each edition had articles from a broad a political, economic, cultural, social and literary spectrum. The goal was to provide a forum for the discussion of all aspects of life in Namibia with particular emphasis on the problems of the long hard struggle towards independence. How did the work of the Namibian Review change over time to meet its goals?  What was in and excluded, and how was the review and its writers/organizers read vis a vis other strands of Namibian anti-colonial movements and their allies? In gathering editions from across Africa and Europe, we engage in conversations about who holds these records of the past, and their various meanings.  We first came across the journal/newsletter in conversations with the late Ottilie Abrahams, feminist, teacher, radical educator, who was part of the editorial team both in exile in Sweden and then in Windhoek. We aim to put the writings of the Namibian Review as well as its spin off/related publications, such as the Namibian Review Publications series into the context of the political life journey of this revolutionary and into broader contexts, strategies, and movement dynamics she lived with/through.  This work has been part of a creative approach to African history education that builds community across the colonial imposed borders of the region. Reading together, we question what we as contemporary activists, historians and educators learn from these various intentional spaces/forms of debate, strategy, and knowledge production as we gather towards tomorrow, together.

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The Combatant https://revolutionarypapers.org/journal/the-combatant/ Thu, 06 Jan 2022 12:49:41 +0000 http://revolutionarypapers.localhost/journal/the-combatant/ A Literary and Rhetorical Analysis of Selected Anti-Apartheid Discourses: Plan’s The Combatant, SWAPO’s Pre-independence Revolutionary Magazine

The Combatant, was the official voice of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), the military wing of South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO). As a communication organ that served to disseminate information, educating PLAN fighters, motivating those that were in combat, and exposing the cruelty of the then apartheid regime. The Combatant was a monthly production whose circulation was during the early 80s. It was published and printed in Lubango, Angola by the PLAN commissariat and the language of publication was English. The University of Namibia’s Archives section has not more than 20 of the publications that are available in print form. As a revolutionary paper, The Combatant sought to explore through various means inclusive of the literary, stylistic, and rhetorical as cultural and aesthetic tools to shape, define and project a collective ‘identity’ as well as an indefatigable stance against oppression. This paper therefore argues that as an anti-colonial tool The Combatant utilised these various forms to enhance, sharpen and deepen the appeal of publication by using literary and stylistic means, as well as rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos and logos, especially through visual rhetoric. The paper focuses specifically on one volume (Vol 4, no. 3 of 1982) to allow for closer and in-depth scrutiny. The specific volume was purposively selected because of how it features the iconic name Namibian anti-apartheid struggles (Hendrik Witbooi), as well as and international icon, Che Guevara.

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