School of Arts

Mbongeni Zikhethele Malaba

Mbongeni Zikhethele Malaba

Professor

Cluster/DisciplineEnglish

Emailmalabamz@ukzn.ac.za

Contact Number033-260-5718

CampusPietermaritzburg Campus

Office AddressRoom OMB 133

Bio

  • Mbongeni Malaba lectured at the University of Zimbabwe for eighteen and a
    half years and at the University of Namibia for five and a half years
    before joining UKZN, in 2009. He obtained an Honours degree in English
    literature from the University of Rhodesia, and was awarded a D.Phil.
    from the University of York, England. He served as the Acting Director
    of the Centre for African Literary Studies, July – December 2010.

Academic Interests

  • His current research and teaching interests are Namibian poetry
    written in English, Charles Mungoshi’s poetry, short stories and novel;
    Shakan literature; Alan Paton’s and Thomas Mofolo’s works, and
    Zimbabwean literature.

Professional Experience

  • 1981 Teaching Assistant, English Language Unit, University of Zimbabwe.
  • 1986 – 1989 Lecturer in English, University of Zimbabwe.
  • 1990 – 2004 Senior Lecturer in English, University of Zimbabwe.
  • 2004 – 2009 Associate Professor, University of Namibia.
  • 2005 – 2007 Head, Department of English, University of Namibia.
  • 2008 – 2009 Head, English Section, Department of Language and Literature Studies,University of Namibia.
  • 2009 – 2011 Professor & Academic Co-ordinator of English Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus, South Africa.
  • 2011 – 2012 Academic Leader: Languages and Literature Thematic Area, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus, South Africa.
  • 2013 – present Professor, English Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritz-burg Campus.
Selected

Publications

  • 2013. “‘A Series of Seemings’: Inclusion and Exclusion in the Religious Environment Explored in Stanlake Samkange’s The Mourned One and Charles Mungoshi’s ‘Sacrifice’”, Current Writing, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 177 – 185.
  • 2013. “Exile and return in Kavevangua Kahengua’s Dreams”, in G. Collier, M. Delrez, A. Fuchs and B. Ledent, eds., Engaging with Literature of Commitment, Vol. 1, Africa and the World, Amsterdam & New York, Rodopi, pp. 141 – 151.
  • 2010. “A Survey of the Themes and Techniques in Keamogetsi Joseph Molapong’s Poetry”, Research in African Literatures, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 62 – 74.
  • 2010. “The Role of English in the Zimbabwean Education System”, M.Z. Malaba, ed., Policy and Practice in English language Education in Namibia, Windhoek, Macmillan, pp. 62 – 74.
  • “The Legacy of Thomas Mofolo’s Chaka”, English in Africa, Vol. 13, No. 1, May, 1986, pp. 61 – 71.
  • “Review Article : J. Mapanje and L. White, eds., Oral Poetry from Africa”, English in Africa, Vol. 15, No. 2, October, 1988, pp. 101 – 111.
  • “Super-Shaka : Mazisi Kunene’s Emperor Shaka the Great”, Research in African Literatures, Vol. 19, No. 4, 1988, pp. 477 – 488.
  • “Annual Bibliography for Southern Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe”, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Vol. XXIII, No. 2, 1988, pp. 144 – 161. (Introduced by M.Z. Malaba and compiled with O-lan Style).
  • “Women Writers in Zimbabwe”, Tsotso A Magazine of New Writing in Zimbabwe, Vol. 1, No. 1, July 1989, pp. 22 – 24.
  • “Annual Bibliography for Southern Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe”, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Vol. XXV, No. 2, 1990, pp. 1 – 8 , (Introduced by M.Z. Malaba and compiled with C. Rooney).
  • “Reconstructions of History : The Case of Shaka”, G.V. Davis, ed., Crisis and Conflict. Essays in Southern African Literature, Essen, Die Blaue Eule, 1990, pp. 27 – 43.
  • “Shaka in Francophone Literature”, Palaver, 2 – 3, 1991, pp. 63 – 71.
  • “Buchan’s Lucifer : An Analysis of Prester John”, Palaver, 2 – 3, 1991, pp. 29 – 37.
  • “‘ In a Mirror Dimly’ : An Analysis of Peter Becker’s Biographies of Mzilikazi, Moshesh and Dingane”, E. Lehmann and E. Reckwitz, eds., Mfecane to Boer War : Versions of South African History, Essen, Die Blaue Eule, 1992, pp. 155 – 166.
  • “The Tension Between ‘Traditional’ Demands and ‘Modern’ Practices in Mungoshi’s Waiting for the Rain and Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions”, E. Reckwitz, L. Vennarini, C. Wegener, eds., The African Past and Contemporary Culture, Essen, Die Blaue Eule, 1993, pp. 119 – 128.
  • “Going to Heaven : An Analysis of the Quest for Higher Education in Katiyo, Braithwaite and Emecheta’s Fiction”, Palaver, 4 – 5, 1992, pp. 57 – 66.
  • “Shaka and Sexual Fantasy : The Pampata Theme in White South African Literature”, Salutes : Selected Writings, M. Idehen, ed., Evanston, Troubadour Press / Whirl Wind Press, 1994, pp. 71 – 81.
  • “Traditional Religion or Christianity? Spiritual Tension in the African Stories of Charles Mungoshi”, Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Vol. XVII, No. 3, 1997, pp. 301 – 307.
  • “The Portrayal of Missionaries in African Literature”, Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, 1998, pp. 194 – 199.
  • “In Conversation with Mbongeni Zikhethele Malaba”, Multi-Cultural Voices : Interviews with writers and critics from Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Zimbabwe, B.J. Worsfold, ed., Lleida, Edicions i Publicacions de la Universitat de Lleida, 1998, pp. 83 – 97.
  • “Zimbabwean Literature”, Welcome to Zimbabwe : World Council of Churches : 8th Assembly, Geneva, World Council of Churches, 1998, pp. 48 – 49.
  • “Social Fragmentation in Charles Mungoshi’s Works”, B. Harlech-Jones, I. Mbise, H.. Vale, eds., Guardian of the Word : Literature, Language and Politics in SADC Countries, Windhoek, Gamsberg Macmillan, 2001, pp. 57 – 66.
  • “Charles Mungoshi’s Poetry”, Research in African Literatures, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2003, pp. 85 – 95.
  • M.Z. Malaba and J. Olsa Jr, eds., Privolavac Deste : Moderni Zimbabwske Povidky, Praha, Kontinenty a DharmaGaia, 2003, [ An Anthology of Modern Zimbabwean Short Stories],
  • pp. 127(+9).
  • “Liberal Perpectives on Post-Apartheid South Africa : A Critique of J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians and Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People”, Englishes: Contemporary Literatures in English, No. 27, Anno 9, 2005, pp. 81 – 97.
  • “Multiculturalism and Ethnicity in Alan Paton’s Fiction”, G.V. Davis, B. Ledent & M. Delrez, eds., Towards a Transcultural Future. Literature and Society in a “Post”-Colonial World, Amsterdam / New York, Rodopi, 2005, pp. 273 – 284.
  • Business Communication Toolkit, compiled by M.Z. Malaba & D. Strauss, Windhoek, SMEs Compete, 2005, pp. 130.
  • “Literature and Humanistic Values”, A.E.Arua, M. Bagwasi, T. Sebina & B. Seboni, eds., The Study and Use of English in Africa, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006, pp. 2 – 14.
  • “Kavevangua Kahengua’s Dreams”, Englishes: Contemporary Literatures in English, No. 29, Anno 10, 2006, pp. 83 – 95.
  • “Namibia in the Poetry of Kavevangua Kahengua”, The African Journal of New Poetry, NP4, Morrisville, NC, International Research Confederacy on African Literature and Culture, 2007, pp. 175 – 184.
  • Charles Mungoshi : Collected Essays, M.Z. Malaba, Windhoek, Orumbonde Press, 2007.
  • “The Impact of a Lack of a Reading Culture in the SADC Region”, Namibian English Teachers Association News, 2007, No. , pp. 2 – 3.
  • “The Portrayal of Women in Stanley Nyampfukudza’s Works”, Zimbabwean Transitions : Essays on Zimbabwean Literature in English, Ndebele and Shona, M.Z. Malaba and G.V. Davis, eds., (Matatu 34) Amsterdam & New York, Rodopi, 2008, pp. 107 – 123.
  • “A Survey of the Themes and Techniques in Keamogetsi Joseph Molapong’s Poetry”, Research in African Literatures, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2010, Special Issue : Southern African Literature, pp. 62 – 74.
  • “The Role of English in the Zimbabwean Education System”, M.Z. Malaba, ed., Policy and Practice in English Language Education in Namibia, Windhoek, Macmillan, 2010, pp. 62 – 71.
  • “Exile and Return in Kavevangua Kahengua’s Dreams”, in G. Collier, M. Delrez, A. Fuchs and B. Ledent, eds., Engaging with Literature of Commitment, Vol. 1 Africa and the World, Amsterdam & New York, Rodopi, 2013, pp. 141-151.
  • “‘A Series of Seemings’: Inclusion and Exclusion in the Religious Environment Explored in Stanlake Samkange’s The Mourned One and Charles Mungoshi’s ‘Sacrifice’”, Current Writing, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2013, pp. 177 – 185.

Forthcoming

  • “Wealth and Dispossession: Reflections on Selected Namibian Poetry”, Bulletin of the National Library of South Africa, December, 2014
Additional

Professional Activities

Conference Papers/Guest Lectures

  • “The Limitations of Alan Paton’s Liberal Perspective on South Africa’s Problems”, The University of Hull, June ,1989.
  • “Introduction to African Literature in English”, Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of New Literatures in English, Mannheim, 1990.
  • “Introduction to Zimbabwean Drama”, June, 1991, University of Dusseldorf.
  • “African Literature and the Language Problem : The Case of Mazisi Kunene”, UNESCO Symposium on the Main Issues in African Fiction and Poetry on the Threshold of the Twenty-first Century, February, 1992, Harare, Zimbabwe.
  • “Black Consciousness in South Africa and the Deep South : A Comparative Study”, The Black Diaspora : The African Experience in the Americas, November, 1992, Ohio State University.
  • “Shaka : ‘A Man More Sinned Against Than Sinning’”, African Studies Centre, Boston University, January, 1993.
  • “The Portrayal of Women in Black Zimbabwean Fiction”, The University of Mississippi : Centre for Women’s Studies, February, 1993.
  • “Contrasting Images of Africa”, Washington State University, Pullman, April,1993.
  • “The Quest for Fulfilment in Andre Brink’s A Chain of Voices”, African Studies Centre, University of Florida, Gainesville, June, 1995.
  • “‘Mother is Supreme’? : Charles Mungoshi’s Depiction of the Roles of Women in Zimbabwean Society”, University of Leon, Spain, April, 1997.
  • “Charles Mungoshi’s Delineation of the Spiritual Dilemmas Faced by Black Zimbabweans”, University of Oviedo, Spain, April, 1997.
  • “Literature and Humanistic Values”, Plenary Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference on Language and Literature, University of Botswana, Gaberone, 13 June, 2005.
  • “Keamogetsi Joseph Molapong’s Poetry”, The English Academy of Southern Africa Conference, University of Pretoria, 22 – 25 June, 2008.
  • “The Role of English in the Zimbabwean Educational System”, Paper presented at the Conference on “English as an Official Language: Policy and Practice in Language Education”, University of Namibia, The British Council and UNESCO, Windhoek, 29 – 30 May 2009.
  • “Love in The Hero of Currie Road”, Alan Paton Centre’s 20th Anniversary Conference, 15 – 17 July, 2009, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
  • “Charles Mungoshi’s ‘Shadows on the Wall’”, Keynote Address, Namibian English Teacher’s Association Workshops on Teaching English, Windhoek and Oshakati, April 2010.
  • “The Challenges Facing English Studies in the SADC Region”, Hilton College English Teachers Conference, 4 June 2010.
  • “How to Write a Research Proposal”, Postgraduate Studies Workshops, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 5 & 6 August 2010.
  • “King Henry V”, Address to the Independent Examinations Board KwaZulu-Natal English Teachers Regional Conference, Thomas More College, Kloof, 19 February 2011.
  • “Coriolanus and Africa”, Address to the Hilton English Language Teachers Conference, 11 March 2011.
  • “English Studies: A Regional Perspective”, AUETSA Conference, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, July 2011.
  • “‘Could You Not Write Otherwise?’ The Political Dimension of Alan Paton’s Poetry”, 19th Alan Paton Lecture, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 20 March, 2012.
  • “Wealth and Dispossession: Reflections on Selected Namibian Poetry”, 15th EACLALS Triennial Conference, Innsbruck, 14 – 18 April, 2014, Innsbruck.
  • “Literature and Social Justice: Poetic Voices and the Quest for a Just Society in Namibia”, The English Academy of Southern Africa International Conference, 25 – 27 September 2014, Durban.

Awards Held

  • 1978 – 1980 Government Scholarship
  • 1981 – 1985 Beit Trust Postgraduate Fellowship
  • 1983 – 1984 University of York Scholarship for Overseas Student
  • 1992 – 1993 Fulbright African Senior Research Fellowship, Centre for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi
  • 1994 Fellow, Salzburg Seminar on Films

Administrative Experience

  • 2014 Member, Advisory Committee, Alan Paton Centre; Member, Editorial Boards of Marang Journal of Language and Literature, The English Academy Review, Romanus Egudu Journal of English Studies, Bulletin of the National Library of South Africa.
  • 2013 Member, Advisory Committee, Alan Paton Centre; Member, Editorial Boards of Marang Journal of Language and Literature, The EnglishAcademy Review and the Romanus Egudu Journal of English Studies.
  • 2012 Academic Leader, Languages and Literature Thematic Area (including English Studies, French Studies, isiZulu, Afrikaans and Academic Communication Studies); Member, School of Arts Academic Promotions Committee; Member, Advisory Committee, Alan Paton Centre; Member, Centre for African Literary Studies Board; Member, Editorial Boards of Current Writing, Marang Journal of Language and Literature, The English Academy Review and the Romanus Egudu Journal of English Studies.
  • 2011 Academic Co-ordinator, English Studies, University of KwaZulu- Natal, Acting Director, Centre for African Literary Studies, January – March; Member, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Develoment Academic Promotions Committee; Member, Advisory Committee, Alan Paton Centre; Member, Centre for African Literary Studies Board; Member, School of Literary Studies, Media and Creative Arts, Higher Degrees Committee and School Executive Committee.
  • 2010 Academic Co-ordinator, English Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal [UKZN]; July –December, Acting Director, Centre for African Literary Studies, UKZN; Member, University Senate; Co-ordiantor, British Council’s Pan-African WorldWords Project; External Examiner, English Department, University of Swaziland; External Examiner, Polytechnic of Namibia.; Member, Interview Staff Selection Committees, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Development; Member, Advisory Committee, Alan Paton Centre; Member, Centre for African Literary Studies Board; Member, School of Literary Studies, Media and Creative Arts Higher Degrees Committee and School Executive Committee.
  • 2009 October, Academic Co-ordinator, English Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus; Head, English Section, Department of Language and Literature Studies, University of Namibia: January – July; External Examiner, English Department, University of Swaziland; External Examiner, Polytechnic of Namibia; Member, 1st Language English National Curriculum Committee; Member, Editorial Boards, English Academy Review: Southern African Journal of English Studies; LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research and Marang Journal of Language and Literature.
  • 2008 July – December, Head, English Section, Department of Language and Literature Studies, University of Namibia; External Examiner, English Department, University of Swaziland; Member, 1st Language English National Curriculum Committee; Member, Editorial Boards, English Academy Review: Southern African Journal of English Studies; LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research and Marang Journal of Language and Literature.
  • 2007 Chairman, Committee to Investigate the Issue of a Two Language Curriculum Policy, National Institute for Educational Development. Member, 1st Language English National Curriculum Committee. Member, Editorial Board, English Academy Review: Southern African Journal of English Studies, External Examiner, English Department, University of Swaziland.
  • 2005- 2007 Head, Department of English, Member: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) Management Committee, Senate, Editorial Advisory Boards : LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research and Marang Journal of Language and Literature.
  • 2004 Chairman, FHSS Research and Publications Committee.