Dr. Thabo Tšhehloane

Overview

Dr Thabo Tšehloane is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Johannesburg. His research investigates the intersections of narrative form, ideology, and the socio-political textures of post-apartheid South Africa, with a particular focus on the black novel and representations of township space. His scholarly work is informed by Marxist literary theory, postcolonial studies, critical theory, and masculinities studies, allowing him to engage questions of identity, cultural memory, and the politics of representation across African and global literary traditions. He teaches widely in African and diasporic literatures, Shakespeare and Renaissance studies, Romantic and Victorian literatures, critical theory, and South African literary and cultural studies. Before joining UJ, Dr Tšehloane lectured at Vista University (Welkom Campus) and the Central University of Technology (Free State). Qualifications MA, African Literature (University of Witwatersrand) PhD, English (University of Johannesburg) Teaching and Research Interests Primary Research Areas: Post-apartheid South African black novel Township space and spatial imaginaries Ideology of form and the politics of narrative Additional Interests and Expertise: African Literature; South African literary and cultural studies African American and Caribbean literatures Postcolonial studies and racial representation Marxist literary theory and critical theory Masculinities studies Shakespearean studies; Renaissance literature Romanticism; the Victorian novel Current Research Dr Tšehloane is currently working on: A study of the South African black campus novel through Thando Mgqolozana’s Unimportance and Niq Mhlongo’s Dog Eat Dog . A book chapter marking the centenary of Thomas Mofolo’s Chaka , focusing on narrative strategy, ideological contradiction, and mythic imagination. A forthcoming article in Social Dynamics on masculinity and township representation in Mhlongo’s Dog Eat Dog and After Tears. Selected Publications Journal Articles “Aesthetics and Politics.” Textures 1 (2009): 40–74. “Globalisation and South African Black Political Thought: John Langalibalele Dube and Anton Muziwakhwe Lembede.” Alternation 15.2 (2008): 91–105. “The Tragic and the Comic: Sello Duiker’s and Niq Mhlongo’s Contrasting Visions of Post-Apartheid Society.” English Studies in Africa (2010): 79–90. “Tragic Optimism: Utopia and the Apocalyptic Demise of the World in Duiker’s Thirteen Cents and The Quiet Violence of Dreams .” Research in African Literatures . “Masculinity in Crisis: Ethical Abdication and Duplicity in Niq Mhlongo’s Dog Eat Dog and After Tears .” Social Dynamics . “Youthful Fantasy and the Wisdom of Experience in Mzobe’s Young Blood and Duiker’s Thirteen Cents .” Alternation (2024). Book Reviews Review of Peter McDonald’s The Literature Police . Scrutiny . Review of Jacob Dlamini’s Native Nostalgia . Review of Chris Marnewick’s Shepherds and Butchers . Supervision Honours Research Essays Ameerah Mookdam (2020) – Re-imagining Feminist Works: “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Jane Eyre” . Kgothatso Madibana (2020) – Transcultural Identity and Nostalgia in Bulawayo’s We Need New Names . Sibusiso Nkambule (2020) – Radical Feminism in Makholwa’s Black Widow Society . Bongiwe Buthelezi (2021) – Suicide in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra and Othello . Tshegofatso Phage (2022) – Violence as Reactionary Response in Magona’s Mother to Mother . Jabulile Mdlalose (2024) Religious Syncretism and Anti-Syncretism in Ngugi’ s The River Between and A Grain of Wheat . Lerato Lechesa (2025) Interrogating the Representation of African Masculinities: Failed Initiation and Manhood in Thando Mgqolozana's A Man Who is not a Man (2009) and Jeffrey Rakabe’s Led By Shepherds (2025). Vusumuzi Mhlongo (2025) The moral and ethical ambiguity of football as popular culture: A Jamesonian and Machereyan Analysis of Don Lepati’s The Legend of Zola Mahobe and Mamelodi Sundowns story . Master’s Dissertation Bayanda Yende (2022) – Student Voice and Experience in the Post-Apartheid Campus Novel .