Leila Hall - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Leila Hall

Research paper thumbnail of Book Interview: Wayward Feeling: Audio-Visual Culture and Aesthetic Activism in Post-Rainbow South Africa, by Helene Strauss

˜The œThinker, Dec 1, 2023

Hall (LH): Thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your book, Wayward Feeling: AudioVis... more Hall (LH): Thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your book, Wayward Feeling: AudioVisual Culture and Aesthetic Activism in Post-Rainbow South Africa. The book has just been awarded the University of the Free State Book Prize for Distinguished Scholarship for 2022. Congratulations on the award! Before we delve into a discussion of the book, could you tell us something about yourself, your background, and the work that you do? Helene Strauss (HS): Thank you, Leila! I am currently a professor in the Department of English at the University of the Free State. I obtained my PhD from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, in 2006, and took up my first permanent academic post in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in July of that same year. Most recently, I was a visiting research associate at Bard College, Berlin, where I completed the manuscript of this book. My current research focuses mainly on Southern African literature and audiovisual culture, feminist and queer aesthetic activisms, protest cultures, mining, and embodied pedagogy.

Research paper thumbnail of Intersectional (In)visibility in the 21st-Century South African Queer-Themed Short Story

Research in African literatures, Sep 1, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Still

This thesis is a novella in fragments set in contemporary Lesotho. It tells the story of a Mosoth... more This thesis is a novella in fragments set in contemporary Lesotho. It tells the story of a Mosotho woman in her 30s who has spent a long time living out of the country. She returns to search for a former lover who she hasn’t seen for 15 years. The nonlinear narrative follows her journey, exploring a range of themes, including sexuality, gender and class relations, memory and time, relationship to place, non-conformity and defiance in the face of societal pressure and conformism. The style of writing is inspired by a diverse range of writers, including Sonallah Ibrahim for his understated, sparse and minimalist prose, Tina May Hall for her ability to tell a story in fragmented vignettes, Noy Holland for her understanding of time as synchronous and non-linear, and Ayi Kwei Armah for his skill in evoking the feelings, textures and specificities of a place

Research paper thumbnail of Book Interview: Post-Apartheid Same-Sex Sexualities: Restless Identities in Literary and Visual Culture, by Andy Carolin

The Thinker, Jun 10, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Book Interview: Wayward Feeling: Audio-Visual Culture and Aesthetic Activism in Post-Rainbow South Africa, by Helene Strauss

˜The œThinker, Dec 1, 2023

Hall (LH): Thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your book, Wayward Feeling: AudioVis... more Hall (LH): Thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your book, Wayward Feeling: AudioVisual Culture and Aesthetic Activism in Post-Rainbow South Africa. The book has just been awarded the University of the Free State Book Prize for Distinguished Scholarship for 2022. Congratulations on the award! Before we delve into a discussion of the book, could you tell us something about yourself, your background, and the work that you do? Helene Strauss (HS): Thank you, Leila! I am currently a professor in the Department of English at the University of the Free State. I obtained my PhD from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, in 2006, and took up my first permanent academic post in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in July of that same year. Most recently, I was a visiting research associate at Bard College, Berlin, where I completed the manuscript of this book. My current research focuses mainly on Southern African literature and audiovisual culture, feminist and queer aesthetic activisms, protest cultures, mining, and embodied pedagogy.

Research paper thumbnail of Intersectional (In)visibility in the 21st-Century South African Queer-Themed Short Story

Research in African literatures, Sep 1, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Still

This thesis is a novella in fragments set in contemporary Lesotho. It tells the story of a Mosoth... more This thesis is a novella in fragments set in contemporary Lesotho. It tells the story of a Mosotho woman in her 30s who has spent a long time living out of the country. She returns to search for a former lover who she hasn’t seen for 15 years. The nonlinear narrative follows her journey, exploring a range of themes, including sexuality, gender and class relations, memory and time, relationship to place, non-conformity and defiance in the face of societal pressure and conformism. The style of writing is inspired by a diverse range of writers, including Sonallah Ibrahim for his understated, sparse and minimalist prose, Tina May Hall for her ability to tell a story in fragmented vignettes, Noy Holland for her understanding of time as synchronous and non-linear, and Ayi Kwei Armah for his skill in evoking the feelings, textures and specificities of a place

Research paper thumbnail of Book Interview: Post-Apartheid Same-Sex Sexualities: Restless Identities in Literary and Visual Culture, by Andy Carolin

The Thinker, Jun 10, 2021