Sep 06, 2023
Alexander-von-Humboldt Research Fellow Dr. Ester Mavengano work on ideologies and politics of languaging in transnational Anglophone fiction at TU Dresden
- Dr. Esther Mavengano
- Georg Forster Research Fellowship / Postdoctoral Fellow
- Chair of English Literary Studies, Prof. Dr. Stefan Horlacher
- Institute of English and American Studies
- Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies
- Duration of your stay: 2 years ( + 4 month language classes)
Dr. Esther Mavengano is a lecturer who teaches Linguistics and Literature in the Department of English and Media Studies, Faculty of Arts at Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics and Literary studies obtained from the University of North West in South Africa. Her research areas maintain a nuanced interface of areas in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, African Anglophone literature, gender, politics and religion. She has published in reputable international journals and with well-known book publishers including Cogent Arts and Humanities, African Identities, Literator, Journal of Multicultural Discourses, Palgrave, Rowman and Littlefield, Springer Nature, Routledge among others. She is a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion, College of Human Sciences, UNISA, South Africa and also a von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow at TU Dresden, Chair of English Literature (Prof. Horlacher). She has co-edited eight books published by Palgrave Macmillan, Springer Nature and Routledge. Currently, she has a total of more than 45 publications.
How do you like Dresden?
It is a breath-taking city with beautiful infrastructure. Surely, city is a place that offers a conducive scholarship environment. I trust my engagement with the university community, especially the Department of English and the entire faculty of Linguistics, literature and Cultural Studies, will be productive and have a life-time impact on my scholarship. I am expanding my network circles since I am meeting new colleagues and AVH fellows from across the world which is certainly a self-enriching experience. I count myself fortunate to be at TUD considering its reputation and ranking in Germany and at international level. I am certain that this will be a life-time memory.
Is it your first time in Germany and Dresden?
Yes, it is my first time to be here in Germany and Dresden.
What is your connection to TU Dresden?
TU Dresden is an international institution that is highly respected at the global level, hence my choice was informed by its reputation and cross-disciplinary composition. I also believe there is a lot to learn from TU Dresden because of its multicultural and multi-national outlook which is irrefutably a rich site of refreshing academic insights. I was also motivated by the fact that I will be mentored by Prof. Stefan Horlacher whose scholarship record is rarely found and certainly attractive.
What are your main interests as a researcher? Which topics do you focus on?
My research occupies an interdisciplinary terrain which brings together applied linguistics, sociolinguistics and African Anglophone literary studies. Whenever I write from any of these three related fields, I give attention to the nuances of language use and styles of languaging. In my current postdoctoral study, the focus is on linguistic ideologies in the evolving multicultural, multi-lingual postcolonial African ecologies with a conscious attention to discourses of decolonisation as well as globalisation. I seek to locate decolonisation narratives in the complex debate of language, linguistic ideologies and linguistic choices in a context that is apparently ever-changing due to constant contact and exchanges or contradictions. This poses a number of questions such as: How then can Africa and African linguists fit into decolonisation narratives? What are feasible trajectories that are more realistic and reflective of the current linguistic/cultural environments in postcolonial African and beyond? How do Anglophone African literary writers use language to communicate with the local, regional and international audiences in their creative writings? Which literary traditions are emerging and why? These questions and more are usually central in my formulations of topics and my current writings.
What was your most interesting research topic so far?
The Dialectics of Language in Zimbabwe’s Public Health Communication: Reflections on English as a Lingua Franca in the (Post) COVID-19 Era. This project came to mind as a response to the devastating effects of the pandemic and communication challenges which I witnessed within Zimbabwe. I then came up with a concept which we developed into a book published under “Routledge Studies in Health in Africa.” The title of the book is: Zimbabwe in the Post- COVID 19 Era: Reflections, Lessons, and the future of Public Health (2023). We noted that effective communication is critical during such public health threats and yet, the use of the English language as a lingua franca had both advantages and disadvantages. We then presented some recommendations on how Zimbabwe can improve its language practices for more effective communication responses during the outbreak of pandemics.
What will be the focus of your research at TU Dresden?
The title of my postdoctoral research to be undertaken at TU Dresden is “Rethinking language ideologies and politics of languaging in transnational Anglophone fiction from Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe”. It is a topic that focuses on linguistic ideologies that inform language choices and use in transnational Anglophone literature. Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe are used as case studies. The nature of this topic invites interrogation of the cultural and linguistic terrain of these countries vis-à-vis the transnational literary output under examination by writers from the three countries. The conceptual frameworks, intertextuality, decolonisation, deconstruction and translingualism, all offer rich discursive frames for analysing language complexities, entanglements and cultural and linguistic contact sites which manifest in the texts. The selected texts have this propensity towards multilingualism, translingualism, transculturalism and non – essentialism which are all examined in an attempt to generate new ways of rethinking the language conversations in the contemporary period in the ongoing context of interaction of cultures within national borders and at regional and international levels
Which item do you absolutely need at your workplace?
For my research work to be more effective, I really need a good Laptop, Tablet and USB flash drive
Do you have a favourite quote? If so, what is it and from whom?
“The dignity of difference” by Jonathan Sacks, 2009. This is the title of his book but I find it quite illuminating and insightful since it invites several semantic possibilities. For me, this phrase suits well in discussions of my research context and reconceptualisation of humanity.
Which book did you recently read? / Which movie/series did you watch recently?
The Wanderers (2020) by a South African novelist Mphuthumi Ntabeni and Glory (2020) by No Violet Bulawayo, a Zimbabwean novelist. I found Bulawayo’s novel quite fascinating because the text pays homage to George Orwell‘s classic novel Animal Farm. The same can be said about Ntabeni’s text which highlights several settings of the Sub Saharan African nations, languages and cultures. The intertextuality constructions in these two texts are profoundly intriguing. As for the movies, I watch Nollywood movies a lot, but recently I watched The Gods must be crazy film series starring the Namibian San Nxau Toma. I like its satirical effect.
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