UWCScholar :: Browsing by Author "Peck, Amiena"

Browsing by Author "Peck, Amiena"

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A phenomenological discourse analysis of harassed female 'skinscapes' in select public spaces in Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2018) Harry, Janine; Banda, Felix; Peck, Amiena
Street harassment refers to the unsolicited verbal remarks and nonverbal gestures that women are subjected to by men when moving through (public) spaces. The dominant discourse sees this phenomenon as firstly a gendered interaction. In this sense, men are construed as initiators and women as recipients, although this is not always the case. Secondly, the remarks are often viewed as solely sexualized in nature. Lastly, public spaces are seen as male realms in which the actions of males are context specific, whereby the public nature of space sees it as conducive for inevitable street harassing events. This study seeks to understand how street harassment unfolds in the South African (post-apartheid) context. Drawing on Phenomenological Discourse Analysis approach, the study focuses on interview accounts of six participants from across the demographics whose experiences represent a microcosm of harassed female skinscapes in and around Cape Town. Phenomenology is a useful entry point to understanding emotive recounts of traumatic events in the lives of the participants, specifically street harassment. Public space is approached through the lens of Linguistic Landscapes (LL) which focuses on language and linguistic artefacts as they are arranged or located in space. For this study, the perception of and bodies in space comes to the fore. Hence, it is the interplay between space, body and the phenomenological account of the body as a corporeal 'site' of harassment which is a focal point.
The commodification of women’s empowerment: The case of Vagina Varsity
(Elsivier, 2019) Peck, Amiena; Roux, Shanleigh
Vagina Varsity is a South African online campaign aimed at selling Libresse sanitary products to ostensibly young women in South Africa, primarily through the medium of YouTube. In this paper, we investigate the privileging of white women’s bodies over those of women of colour in the campaign. In so doing, we tease out how patriarchy is multi-layered and experienced differently by women depending on their race and class. Moreover, we see that black South African women’s issues are being served by the campaign only to the extent which they coincide with those of the dominant group, i.e. white women in South Africa. To critically investigate this phenomenon, we use an intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1989) to discern latent differences in the treatment of black and white women’s bodies in the campaign. Multimodality (Kress, 2010; Iedema, 2003) allows us to analyse texts, sounds and images used in the campaign. Importantly, however, we also adopt Kulick’s (2003) notion of ‘dual indexicality’ to explore what is absent or silent in the campaign. We argue that the model of capitalism which commodifies women’s empowerment serves to multimodally exclude black women’s lived experience of patriarchy and pain.
dalawhatyoumust: Kaaps, translingualism and linguistic citizenship in Cape Town, South Africa
(Discourse, Context & Media, 2023) Toyer, Zaib; Peck, Amiena
In 2016 Wayde Van Niekerk, a South African athlete of mixed-race heritage won an Olympic gold medal. In South Africa, his win caused hashtags such as #proudlysouthafrican, #blackexcellence and #colouredexcellence to trend online. By and large, these hashtags index the ongoing competitive discourses regarding nationalism, race and culture in Cape Town (cf. Author, 2018). Amongst these hashtags, however, was #dalawhatyoumust, a Kaaps hashtag generally meaning to �do what needs to be done�. Unlike the aforementioned hashtags, this one seems to cross the linguistic and racial divide despite its strong associations with Coloured1 people on the Cape Flats. The seemingly effortless uptake of this hashtag by diverse South Africans suggest that it has somehow become unmoored of its ethnic and linguistic inception. We explore the use of this Kaaps hashtag as a form of translingual practice which is affect-laden and trans portable across and between diverse users online and which promotes a particular �cool Capetonian� culture. Analyzing select posts from the #dalawhatyoumust thread on Facebook, we provide a nuanced look at #dala whatyoumust as an uplifting genre which proleptically advises nameless viewers of the importance of selfactualization, determination and aspiration. Additionally, we include Goffman�s (1974) framing foundation to investigate how positivistic discourse has been rhizomatically taken up by a �realm� of implicit collective users online. This research interrogates long-held ideological boundaries between Kaaps and legitimized Standard Afrikaans and standard English. We conclude with a focus on Kaaps hashtags as semiotic acts of Linguistic Citizenship (cf. Williams and Stroud, 2013) which allows for the conjoining of Kaaps with diverse audiences, complex trajectories, and an assortment of accompanying semiotics. Following Stroud (2018:3) we argue that this Kaaps hashtag has become a form of languaging that facilitates ��the building of broad affinities of speakers that cut across�divisions and borders, and that negotiate co-existence/co-habitation outside of common ground in recognition of equivocation�. In South Africa, division was the order of the day and when we explore contemporary ordinary moments posted by heterogenous users using #dalawhatyoumust (henceforth #dwym) we aim to explore the ordinariness of languaging which brings people together despite their race, linguistic background, and ethnicity, that is to say an affinity of �cool Capetonian� style.
Dialogicality and imaginings of two 'community' notice boards in post-apartheid Observatory, Cape Town
(Taylor & Francis, 2014) Peck, Amiena; Banda, Felix
This article undertakes a poststructuralist multisemiotic analysis of posters and notices found on two 'community' notice boards in the trendy, multicultural neighbourhood of Observatory in Cape Town, South Africa. An analysis of the two notice boards endeavours to reveal different strategic uses of English as well as varying constructions of (transnational) place-making and community in Observatory. The two notice boards reveal voices of transient and permanent groups alike and index new imaginative constructions of this changing neighbourhood. Furthermore, this paper explores the implications of strategic linguistic processes in self-marketisation of transnational and 'local' community members in Observatory. We conclude by expounding on the new perspective of transcultural capital and what it means to the sociolinguistics of a super-diverse neighbourhood in the post-apartheid neighbourhood of Observatory in Cape Town, South Africa.
A discourse analysis of narratives of identities and integration at the University of the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2009) Peck, Amiena; Banda, Felix; NULL; Faculty of Arts
In the thesis, I endeavour to create a platform on which to construct an understanding of 'integration' in a multilingual and multicultural setting, post-apartheid. I have selected UWC as the research site as it is an institution of higher education and an inherently South African one which houses a large number of diverse ethnicities, cultures and languages. I appeal to the poststructuralist approach as it is one that explores the possible sociopolitical, economic and historical influences on which I argue and which forms the backdrop to understanding integration amongst the various groups. I am especially drawn to the topic of integration as there is to date no well-defined definition of what that means in the 'new' South Africa. Different identities are explored in relation to how students identify themselves within their social networks, across various cultures and through language choices. In particular, I look at the three dominant 'South African' groups, namely: Indians, Blacks and Coloureds and also two international student groups, the Batswanas and Chinese. use a qualitative approach and undertake focus groups and one-to-one interviews as well as participant observations and analyzing documentation. Data analysis is achieved through Discourse Analysis of transcribed interviews. One of the conclusions is that integration will not occur overnight. However, the broadening and exercising of linguistic options could be seen as a step in right direction to integration across the various ethnic groups. The study ends with recommendations and gives an overall view of integration at UWC. One of the recommendations is that UWC needs to give students more opportunities to practice their multilinguality and thereby broaden their linguistic repertoire which could in turn facilitate integration.
Discourse analysis of narratives of Malay heritage in gentrified Bo-Kaap, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2020) Albghil, Samera; Peck, Amiena
Bo-Kaap (BK) is a neighbourhood in Cape Town which has long been home to a predominantly Muslim community with deep ties to the area�s colonial and slave history. In recent years, BK has become a hotbed for developers investing in property in Cape Town. Due to its sought-after location (close to Cape Town�s CBD), a flurry of interest in property development has ushered in an important turn in BK�s history and has begun changing the landscape of the neighbourhood. Important for this study is how BK residents grapple with the influx of rapid gentrification whilst trying to maintain their �Malay� heritage. Historically, BK was known as a �Malay Quarter� and had a distinctive �Malay� identity1 constructed under apartheid legislation. It is this identity and concomitant Malay heritage which is of particular interest in this study. Under the continued threat of wholesale gentrification and arguably a loss of the rich history of early Muslims of the Cape this study hopes to investigate how community members who self-identify as �Malay� signal their legitimacy to the area when discussing the fast pace of gentrification in the area. Notably, variations of BK�s Malay heritage have been documented over time. These works nonetheless point to the complex relationship between the documented/historicized construction of Malay heritage and the lived experience of having a Malay identity. Casting aside the notion of any homogenous Malay identity, this study opts to explore the manner in which a Malay identity is claimed and constructed discursively as legitimate discourse strategies against gentrification. This study adopts an ethnographic approach to studying narratives of Malay heritage in BK obtained through purposive sampling. A Discourse Analysis of narratives of heritage in BK is undertaken to draw attention to the discursive strategies employed by self-identified �Malay� community members in the area.
Diversity and contested social identities in multilingual and multicultural contexts of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa
(Taylor & Francis, 2015) Banda, Felix; Peck, Amiena
We draw on Rampton's Crossing: Language and Ethnicity Among Adolescents (2014. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge) notion of 'crossing' to explore contestations in ethnolinguistic, cultural and racial affiliations at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), a university built for 'Coloureds' in apartheid South Africa, but which rebelled by admitting students of all races and ethnic backgrounds. Using interviews and observation data, we show contestations around Xhosa and Afrikaans as languages for black and coloured solidarity, respectively. We argue that the multilingual and multicultural contexts in place entail that social legitimacy is not achieved through fixed linguistics forms, bounded ethnolinguistic categories and predetermined racial characteristics but in negotiated in-group and out-group codes all of which are part of the students' repertoire. We conclude that diversity is a function of discourses of convergence and divergence as social practice, which give the institution its unique character. The contestations and contradictions thus reflect the democratic conditions on which discourses of diversity are produced and consumed by the multiple socio-cultural range of student populace.
(Em)bodying the linguistic landscape: affect, language and space
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Kapa, Koketso; Peck, Amiena
This dissertation is an exploration of the contemporary discussion of the body in Sociolinguistics. This discussion is undergirded by two important texts: Peck and Stroud’s (2015) Skinscapes and Bucholtz and Hall’s (2016) Embodied Sociolinguistics. In these two papers, the authors argue for an analytical focus in contemporary sociolinguistics, which focuses more squarely on the body. Thus, this dissertation is an exploratory effort at contributing to this discussion. This dissertation suggests that based on previous research, it is an analytical strength to incorporate affect into analysis, when focusing on the body. In a moderate response to the theoretical questions offered in preceding studies, the dissertation utilises affect in analysis to highlight that when we focus on the body in research, our understanding of its role [the body] is enhanced by incorporating affect. The dissertation highlights how the detailed understanding of how communication unfolds is dependent on an analytical focus on the body, in combination with affect. In order to do this, the study focuses on three unique ‘bodily’ case studies which occurred on the South African media landscape during 2016 – 2018. In all three case studies, embodiment is present, though to varying degrees. The study relies on a qualitative research design to investigate these three cases, utilising Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis as the core analytical toolkit. The overall argument of the dissertation is that the focus on bodies and embodiment is best paired with a focus on affect, as affect is shown to be a guiding principle in communication in these studies. A moderate argument for affect is advanced, as previous studies do indicate that a sole focus on the body is productive on its own. Engaging affect when studying embodiment then, is a suggested method for providing a more nuanced, detailed explanation of how communication unfolds.
A hashtag analysis of racial discourses within #ColouredExcellence: Case of Wayde van Niekerk
(University of the Western Cape, 2019) Toyer, Zaib; Peck, Amiena
The research study takes into account the apartheid legacy of racial hierarchization and �separate development� (cf Raynard, 2012) which penetrated all aspects of social life. Particularly, it is the sporting domain and the categorization of race and identity which is investigated. In this regard, it is the re-entry of South African athletes of colour at the Olympic Games which are of keen interest. At the 2016 Rio Olympics South African Wayde Van Niekerk (WVN) became a household name when he broke the world record in the 400 meter men�s division. His win however, was represented in different ways online and it is through investigating trending hashtags on Facebook & Twitter that new and well-worn discourses of identity emerge. A critical analysis of the online representations of WVN is undertaken so as to speak to normalized discourses of race within a South African context. A particularly contentious and provocative hashtag i.e. #ColouredExcellence is investigated in its ability to speak to an online debate on race and identity which took hold at the time of his win. This study therefore investigates the online representations which locate WVN within an arguably racially divided post-apartheid setting where vestiges of apartheid are still present. By drawing on Ahmed�s (2004) work on �affective economy� this study investigates how emotions emerge online in the form of memes, Twitter hashtags and Facebook posts, and which indexes larger discourses on race and identity. The main aims of this research is to: a). investigate normalized discourses of race online, and their relation to the on-going issues of race and identity in a post- apartheid South Africa and b) To examine the emotions emergent in varying representations of WVN online.
Multilingual playground: An ethnographic early childhood development study of diverse learners at Philippi children�s centre, Cape Town
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Snell, Melanie; Peck, Amiena
Early Childhood Development (ECD) prioritizes the foundation for children aged 0-9 years old. This program focuses on the cognitive, physical, emotional, or holistic development of a child for the child to thrive and be a functioning member of society. Recently, this initiative has been prioritized by both the national government and UNICEF (Shapley, 2014; September 2014). In the Cape Town context one finds that large population of children are frequently exposed to extreme poverty and gang violence. They also lack the communication and literacy skills they require; this includes grasping basic ideas related to reading and writing and have little to no community support system.
A multimodal discourse analysis of Bodies-in- Protest on Twitter: Case of Sans Souci Girls High School
(University of the Western Cape, 2019) Hiss, Amy Bronwyn; Peck, Amiena
The legacy of apartheid is one that has left traces of racial oppression and inequitable distribution of state resources across the landscape of the country. Cape Town in particular is a city of many contrasts with grand residential estates often tucked far away from decaying townships and forgotten slums outside of the CBD. One particular domain that epitomizes the continuing inequality between racial groups is that of education. Even though South Africa officially achieved independence in 1994, little is known about changes in the status quo at many formerly white schools. The all-girls high school of Sans Souci Girls High School (SSGHS) in Cape Town recently came to light as a site of conflict and tension with learners taking to Twitter to voice their anger towards what they deemed as unfair and racialized practices at the school. This thesis investigates the protest of young black learners at SSGHS, with particular focus on the languages used, videos and images uploaded as well as the complementary and contradictory online press releases. The study further explores the ways in which racialized and gendered practices are resemiotized and (re)contextualised through the protest. The use of online platforms such as Twitter and the emergence of protests at institutions across South Africa has become a regular feature of South African media reports. Under the banner of decolonizing education, many of these anti-establishment movements have become quite effective in getting their voices heard, both locally and internationally. Of interest to this study is whether and how the protest at Sans Souci fits into a larger paradigm of decolonizing education and furthermore, what these protests contribute to a larger conversation regarding gender, racial tensions and naturalised racialized discourses and practices at formerly white schools. It is hoped that a multimodal discourse analysis of images, videos and comments online will provide much-needed information about the semiotics of protest and transformation at the school as they emerge on the internet.
Observatory's linguistic landscape: semiotic appropriation and the reinvention of space
(Taylor & Francis, 2014) Peck, Amiena; Banda, Felix
Using a longitudinal ethnographic study of the linguistic landscape (LL) in Observatory's business corridor of Lower Main Road, the paper explores changes brought about by the influx of immigrant Africans, their artefacts and language practices. The paper uses the changes in the LL over time and the development of an "African Corner" within Lower Main Road, to illustrate the appropriation of space and the unpredictability, which comes along with highly mobile, technological and multicultural citizens. It is argued that changes in the LL are part of the act of claiming and appropriating space wherein space becomes summarily recontexualized and hence reinvented and "owned" by new actors. It is also argued that space ownership can be concealed through what we have called "brand anonymity" strategies in which the identity of the owner is deliberately concealed behind global brands. We conclude that space is pliable and mobile, and that, it is the people within space who carve out new social practices in their appropriated space.
Reimagining diversity in post-apartheid Observatory, Cape Town: a discourse analysis
(University of the Western Cape, 2012) Peck, Amiena; Banda, Felix
The focus of the thesis is conceptually-based and problematizes the notion of a transformed society while addressing and evaluating its meaning in the multicultural post-apartheid neighbourhood of Observatory, Cape Town. Confluent concepts such as �multilingualism�, �hybridity� and �community� are discussed within the historical and contemporary context of a newly established democratic South Africa. Through a poststructuralist discourse analysis, the study endeavours to explore discourses of language and identity in the previously predominantly English-speaking community of Observatory. It is hoped that this research will build upon knowledge of inter alia social interaction, translocations and community membership, identity, language and integration in Observatory. Focus therefore rest on issues such as hybridity, identity options, translocal and transnational cultural flows, localization and globalization. All these issues fall under the broader theme of discourse of transformation and integration in multilingual spaces. The study strictly works within the framework of a qualitative approach with the focus resting on a discourse analysis of generated narratives supplied by informants during interviews and temporal and spatial descriptions of research sites. Arising from this study it is hoped that a deeper understanding of migration, transnational and transcultural flows, hybridity and identity will be reached. Critically, this study delves into two �new� areas which subsume sociolinguistics, specifically semiotic landscape and place branding. Exploration into the appropriation of space by �newcomers� and the subsequent reimaginings of space into place are of keen interest here. In this respect, this study aims at shedding light on recurrent, contesting and and new imaginings of diversity in post-apartheid living.
A social semiotic approach to multimodality in the Vagina Varsity YouTube campaign series
(University of the Western Cape, 2019) Roux, Shanleigh Dannica; Peck, Amiena; Banda, Felix; Williams, Quentin
This study investigated the semiotic resources used by Vagina Varsity, a campaign by sanitary towel brand Libresse on the social media platform YouTube to construct meanings around the female body. Vagina Varsity is a South African online advertising campaign on YouTube which marketed their sanitary products, whilst educating, as well as breaking the social stigma, around the black female body. In this study, YouTube was utilized as a space in which to analyze online identities and communication. The study was located within the field of linguistic landscape (LL) studies, including the sub-field virtual linguistic landscapes (VLL), later reformulated as virtual semioscapes. The conceptual framework was undergirded by multimodality/multisemioticity and feminist theory. The study used a mixed methods approach to data collection, and used a virtual linguistic ethnography (VLE) framework to collect the data sources, which included YouTube videos, YouTube comments, and emails. A focus group interview was also conducted, where the Vagina Varsity videos were shown to a group of diverse youth at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. The embodied discourses which emerged, as well as the discourse strategies of the commentators, were multimodally analysed. The study found that the Vagina Varsity course makes use of multiple modes, including embodied semiotics such as gestures and stylizations of voice, visual modes such as cartoon figures, as well as the strategic use of sound. In addition, the study found that educational content and marketing strategies are both embedded in this campaign, with the educational content overshadowing the advertising aspect. It is for this reason that the YouTube comments and focus group interview were centered on the program itself and not the advertisement. Furthermore, when looking at the medium this campaign used, one sees that the virtual space allows for the teaching of taboo topics, which would not be allowed in traditional educational domains. The virtual space is not only bridging the knowledge gap in the topic of sex education, it also bridges the gap between different communities, as the YouTube comment section allows for people to interact across regional, national and even cultural boundaries. This study also found that Vagina Varsity not only recontextualized the educational genre, but they have also recontextualized the production and consumption of a topic which would otherwise be considered taboo. In terms of the implications for the study, one finds that the stigma that is attached to this subject is removed from this content. Although one cannot say for certain that this type of education will take over the African traditional initiation ceremonies for girls, for example, it can be used to complement some of the content that traditional counselors and social workers use to teach young African women. The fact that the program is formalized in a curriculum that can be found online opens up possibilities for open dialogue across cultures and nations in terms of feminine hygiene. This study contributes to the field of Linguistic Landscapes studies, with specific focus on virtual linguistic landscapes. The study also illustrates that the affordances of the online space allows for a hybrid edutainment space where people can learn about topics which are considered taboo in the domain of formal education. This study also extends the concept of multimodality, by including notions such as semiotic remediation and resemiotization, as well as immediacy and hypermediacy, as tools of multimodal analysis. This study also contributes to studies on gender and sexuality.
The emergence and role of the Influencer in online marketing campaigns: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Gunkel ,Sian Theresa; Peck, Amiena
Since the advancement of social media came the birth of influencer marketing. Within this digital setting, this paper explores the emergence and evolution of the influencer within social media marketing, i.e1, the rise of individual users with the power to influence consumer buying behaviour, create vast brand awareness, and increase distribution rates for businesses due to their online presence. This type of marketing is known worldwide today as influencer marketing, an individual or group of individuals who leverage their online presence to influence consumer markets. Investigating the impact of influencers on commercial companies and potential buyer behaviour is increasingly required to better understand the correlation between influencer(s) (whether authentic or not) and consumers and the direct impact on consumer markets and buying behaviour. This research paper investigates two distinct case studies that use influencer marketing to appeal to the greater public to gain sales and grow their businesses. The first case study focuses on the international e-commerce retail giant Revolve Clothing and a particularly controversial incident regarding its chosen influencers for marketing campaigns in 2018. The second case study centres on the failed luxury music event known as the Fyre Festival. These two case studies are used as a backdrop to solicit responses from online users concerning their perception of the events and the influencers. This solicitation was conducted through an online questionnaire from approximately 30-50 individuals around the world through the means of snowball sampling. The questionnaire covers consumer behaviour on Twitter and Instagram, investigating its impact on commercial companies. The study employs a multisemiotic discourse analysis as the chief analytical framework for this study to explore participants’ responses to the influencer culture of these two case studies.

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