| Transformation Committee’s walkabout helps participants experience the world through others’ eyes | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=6183 | | Transformation Committee’s walkabout helps participants experience the world through others’ eyes | Lynne Rippenaar-Moses | <p style="text-align:justify;">A walkabout by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' Transformation Committee is just one way that this committee plans to foster transformation in their environment by understanding how others experience the world. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">According to the Chair of the committee, Dr Ubanesia Adams-Jack, the idea of a walkabout was raised by a colleague with a disability who wanted to illustrate how hard it still was to access various spaces on campus. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Following the suggestion, Adams-Jack approached Facilities Management, who sent a number of key staff members to accompany the committee members, including the Dean of the faculty, Prof Anthony Leysens, and the Chair of the Ancient Studies Department, Prof AnnemaréKotze.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">“I was actually shocked to discover that most of our disabled students and colleagues are not able to access the bathroom on the ground floor of the BA building due to the way the card access and the entrance to the bathroom itself was set up. It actually hinders the easy movement of persons in a wheelchair for example," said Adams-Jack. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">The committee also learnt that many of the safety doors in the faculty did not open properly to allow easy access for those in wheelchairs and that shallow gutters that facilitated the flow of rainwater to prevent it from accumulating in one space, were also a challenge to cross for those who are wheelchair bound. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">“Transformation is about people, places and spaces and looking at the accessibility of spaces, in particular for those with disabilities, is part of transforming our university space." </p><p style="text-align:justify;">The group also discovered that the tiled surfaces on the second floor of the faculty building was quite slippery and made it hard to move for those with physical disabilities. Thanks to Facilities Management, the surface was sprayed with an adhesive that prevents slippage making it more user friendly for those in wheelchairs too. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">“It was also obvious that many physically disabled individuals have to cover longer distances to get to the same places that able bodied persons needed to get to," she added. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">This is because many shortcuts on campus were not accessible to the physically disabled. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">“It was important for us to participate in this walkabout because it made us more aware of how other people experience the world and transformation is after all about understanding how others experience the world. My vision for the transformation committee is to build amicable relationships between students, staff and their students, and between different staff. At the end of the day, when are at peace with each other, it changes how we interact and treat each other too. I think the most powerful thing about transformation, is the ability to truly see each other." </p><p style="text-align:justify;"><em>Photo: The following persons participated in the walkabout of the Transformation Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' recently. In the front from the left are Mr Dan Prata, Mr Malan Oosthuizen and Mr Trevor Hoeben, all from Facilities Management; and Mr</em><em> </em><em>Bongani Mapumulo (in the wheelchair), a Stellenbosch University student and Chair of Dis-Maties. At the back from the left are</em><em> </em><em>Mr Phumlani Mathebula and Mr Louis Fincham, both from Facilities Management;</em><em> </em><em>Prof Annemaré Kotze</em><em>, Chair of the Ancient Studies Department; Ms</em><em> </em><em>Lizelle Ferus of the Office for Students with Disabilities, Dr Ubanesia Adams-Jack, the Chair of the faculty's Transformation Committee, and the</em><em> </em><em>Dean of the faculty, Prof Anthony Leysens.</em></p> |
| International exhibition traces eugenics movement to Nazi regime’s “science of race” | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=5636 | | International exhibition traces eugenics movement to Nazi regime’s “science of race” | Lynne Rippenaar-Moses | <p style="text-align:justify;">An international traveling exhibition produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and which explores the Nazi regime's “science of race" and its implications for medical ethics and social responsibility today is currently being hosted at the Stellenbosch University Museum until 28 May 2018.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The <em>Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race </em>exhibition is presented by the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation in South Africa (www.holocaust.org.za). After Stellenbosch it will travel to Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Namibia where it will be exhibited at the Holocaust Centres in South Africa, as well as other universities and museums. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Through reproductions of photographs and documents, historical films, and survivor testimony, the exhibition traces how the persecution of groups deemed biologically inferior led to the near annihilation of European Jews. It also challenges viewers to reflect on the present-day interest in genetic manipulation that promotes the possibility of human perfection and the legacy of racism.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As part of the exhibition a number of public lectures, film screenings, book launches and panel discussions have been presented by a range of South African academics including those from the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University (SU). </p><p style="text-align:justify;">In a country like South Africa, where issues around medical ethics continue to this day, and where there is an ongoing need to remind the country of the dignity of the individual, the exhibition has particular relevance. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">On Wednesday, 25 April, Prof Steven Robins from the Sociology and Social Anthropology Department, and Dr Handri Walters, a researcher for the South African section of the exhibition, presented a talk on <em>Spectres of Racial Science: Understanding eugenics as a 'travelling science'</em>. It explored how eugenics became a global science in the early 20<sup>th</sup>century and how German eugenics, which had roots in German South West Africa (now Namibia), travelled to many parts of the world, including SU. Robins is also the author of <em>Letters of Stone, from Nazi Germany to South Africa</em><em> </em>a deeply personal and painful reflection of the true horror and extent of the Nazis' racial policies against Jews, which made the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award for Non-Fiction shortlist in 2017. <a href="/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=4138">Read the full story here</a>.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The exhibition examines how the Nazi leadership, in collaboration with individuals in professions traditionally charged with healing and the public good, used science to legitimise persecution and ultimately, genocide. The history of the Holocaust provides an invaluable context through which to view and reflect on contemporary issues </p><p style="text-align:justify;">“Deadly Medicine shows how the Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler aimed to change the genetic makeup of the population through measures known as “racial hygiene" or “eugenics". It also highlights the role that scientists in the biomedical fields, especially anthropologists, psychiatrists, and geneticists, who were all medically trained experts played in legitimising these policies by helping to put them into practice," according to the pamphlet shared on the exhibition. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Medical experimentation however started as far back as Eugen Fischer's and other scientists' study of African prisoners of war in Namibia during the Herero and Namaqua Genocide that led to the deaths of tens of thousands of individuals. These studies influenced German legislation on race, including the Nuremberg laws, from the early 20<sup>th</sup>century onwards. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">“When Nazi racial hygiene was implemented, the categories of persons and groups regarded as biologically threatening to the health of the nation were greatly expanded to include Jews, Roma (Gypsies), the mentally and physically disabled and other minorities."</p><p style="text-align:justify;">“Under cover of World War II, and using the war as a pretext, Nazi racial hygiene was radicalised and there was a shift from controlling reproduction and marriage to simply eliminating persons regarded as biological threats."</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As part of the exhibition a two-seminar series was planned on <em>Taking stock: Disability & Human Rights in contemporary South Africa.</em><em> </em>The first<em>was Deadly Practices: Esidimeni and beyond which took place on April 16.</em><em> </em>The second<em> </em><em>Beyond the right to life: Disability, Personhood & Participation</em><em> </em>will be chaired by Prof Leslie Swartz from the Psychology Department on Monday, 7 May. Swartz is a distinguished professor who has trained as a clinical psychologist and is a leading expert on disability rights issues, particularly in low-income contexts. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">On Tuesday, 15 May, the film <em>Skin,</em><em> </em>will be introduced by Ms Bonita Bennett, Director of the District Six Museum.This film depicts Sandra Laing's life. Laing was classified as 'coloured' because of her skin colour and hair texture, although having 'white' parents. The screening will be followed by a Q and A session. </p><p>The Stellenbosch University Museum is situated at 52 Ryneveld Street in Stellenbosch and can be contacted at at 021 808 3695.</p><p><em>Photo</em><em>:</em><em> </em><em>Head shots showing various racial types: Most Western anthropologists classified people into “races" based on physical traits such as head size and eye, hair and skin colour. This classification was developed by Eugen Fischer and published in the 1921 and 1923 editions of Foundations of Human Genetics and Racial Hygiene. (Supplied by </em><em>US Holocaust Memorial Museum)</em></p> |
| Crime levels, alcohol and COVID-19 lockdowns | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=8017 | | Crime levels, alcohol and COVID-19 lockdowns | Guy Lamb | <p></p><p>Before a link is made between reduced alcohol consumption and a drop in crime in certain areas, it is important to determine where violent crime is concentrated and to consider other possible factors that may have contributed to such variations in crime in these areas. This is the view of Dr Guy Lamb (Department of Political Science) in an article for <em>News24 </em>(23 February).</p><ul><li>Read the article below or click <a href="/english/Documents/newsclips/GUY%20LAMB%20SCREENSHOT.pdf"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style="">here</strong></a><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style=""> </strong>for the piece as published.</li></ul><p><strong>Guy Lamb*</strong><br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">In July 2020, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele released the quarterly crime statistics for the period 1 April – 30 June 2020, which corresponded with much of the 'hard' COVID-19 lockdown phase in South Africa. The Minister celebrated “a never-seen-before rosy picture of a peaceful South Africa experiencing a crime holiday" Indeed, the SAPS crime data for the period 1 April – 30 June 2020 showed an overall 37% reduction in violent interpersonal crime compared to the same period in 2018/19. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">The lockdown effect on violent interpersonal crime was not surprising as criminological theories hold that violent crime occurs in places where perpetrators meet victims, with such interactions being influenced by the nature of the place, crime facilitators (such as guns and alcohol) and the presence of police. The 'hard' lockdown severely restricted the movement of South African across the country, and hence the likelihood of victim/perpetrator interactions were significantly reduced. Alcohol was in short supply and there was a dramatic increase in patrols by police and soldiers especially in high crime areas. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Minister of Police has subsequently released the quarterly crime data for July to September 2020, as well as October to December 2020. Both quarterly data sets have shown a significant increase in violent crime since the lifting of the 'hard' lockdown in May 2020. The most recent quarterly crime data (October to December 2020) indicates that violent crime levels actually increased compared to the same period in 2019, with murder having risen by 6.6% and attempted murder by 8.7%. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Much of the public discourse about the fall and rise of reported violent interpersonal crime in 2020 has centred around access to and consumption of alcohol, with various commentators suggesting that the banning of alcohol sales during hard lockdown was the key determinant of the crime drop. Indeed, there have been numerous studies, both locally and internationally that have robustly demonstrated the link between excessive alcohol consumption and violence perpetration. Alcohol consumption and arguments are a particularly lethal combination. SAPS has consistently reported that most murders and attempted murders are the outcome of arguments and misunderstandings, which often take place in the context of drinking. However, there is more to violent crime variances in South Africa than alcohol consumption.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">A careful review of the most recent quarterly crime data indicates that the perpetration of violent crime is concentrated in less than 20% of the more than 1,100 police precincts in South Africa. Furthermore, most murders, for example, take place in around 100 such precincts. An analysis of violent crime dynamics in these areas proves insightful with respect to understanding changes in crime patterns. That is, there were 389 more murders between 1 October and 31 December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Interestingly, close to half of all of these 'excess' murders took place in only eight policing precincts, namely: Kraaifontein (42); Harare, Khayelitsha (30); Manenberg (28); Plessislaer (25); Lenasia (20); Samora Michel (16); Dutywa (15); and Mfuleni (14). Kraaifontein, Manenberg, Mfuleni and Plessislaer also account for a 17% all 'excess' attempted murder cases.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Kraaifontein and Manenberg have become epicentres of the resurgent gang war in Cape Town, with gangster-on-gangster assassinations being a frequent occurrence in late-2020. Similarly, gang violence and retaliations have continued to plague Lenasia. There have been a number of mass shootings in Harare and Mfuleni related to local-level organised crime. There has also been an increase in the dumping of murder victims in the dune areas close to the ocean in the Harare precinct. There has been ongoing lawlessness in Samora Machel, and Plessislaer has been consistently characterised by political assassinations, taxi violence and murders linked to robberies. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">This is not to say that excessive alcohol consumption has not contributed to murders in these eight precincts. Undeniably, there have been various cases of murders associated with intoxicated arguments, and killings brought on by drunken rage. Nonetheless, an important point to be emphasised is that multiple factors influence the variability of violent crime levels in South Africa.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The next SAPS quarterly crime statistics (January to March 2021) will be particularly revealing as they will include the period in which alcohol sales were banned by government for a month. If violent crime levels decline significantly over this quarter, then it may be tempting to link the reduced alcohol consumption exclusively to the crime drop. However, before doing this it is essential to first determine where violent crime is concentrated, as well as consider other possible factors that may have contributed to such variations in crime in these precincts. If studies reveal alcohol to be a key driver of violence in such areas, then it would be prudent for government to consider measures to effectively restrict access to alcohol in these precincts.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><em><strong>*</strong><strong>Dr Guy Lamb is a Criminologist in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch Univers</strong><strong>ity</strong><strong>.</strong></em></p><p> </p><p><br></p> |
| Eco-estates ‘failed to contribute to just sustainabilities’ | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=8966 | | Eco-estates ‘failed to contribute to just sustainabilities’ | Corporate Communication & Marketing / Korporatiewe Kommunikasie & Bemarking [Alec Basson] | <p>Do eco-estates or “green" gated communities in South Africa enhance economic and social sustainability or is the focus solely on environmental sustainability? Are they simply islands of sustainability or do they actually contribute to the broader sustainability of urban areas?<br></p><p>These are just some of the questions Anjali Mistry and Dr Manfred Spocter from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Stellenbosch University tried to answer in a study published recently in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549839.2022.2027352"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0">Local Environment</strong></a>. Mistry and Spocter investigated eco-estates in South Africa to establish whether they really contribute to just sustainabilities.</p><p>The researchers say it has been posited that eco-estates or “green" lifestyle estates contribute to the greening of the built environment through various design features; that they play a role in the conservation of scarce natural resources; and that they promote greater sustainability through living in harmony with nature.<br></p><p>“What we found, however, is that although eco-estates have been touted as the answer to the negative social, economic, and environmental impacts of gated communities, they have failed to contribute to just sustainabilities, that is, sustainable development that also focuses on social and economic equity.<br></p><p>“Benefits such as security, exclusivity, and open space accrue only to those inside the eco-estates, certainly not to broader society or the environment as a whole. In doing so, eco-estates do very little toward addressing human inequalities and real societal needs. There are no just sustainabilities.<br></p><p>“The inherent exclusionary social, economic and environmental nature of eco-estates does not equate with a just sustainability which advocates a state in which environmental quality is linked to human equality. Environmental quality and human equity cannot be separated nor seen as two individual components."<br></p><p>According to researchers, just sustainabilities in eco-estates will remain a pipedream unless interventions to widen the access to nature and sustainable living are implemented. “Until then, eco-estates will remain islands of exclusion of nature and 'green' living."<br></p><p>They point out that in 2018 there were 68 operational private eco-estates, consisting<br></p><p>of purposely-named “eco-estates" and estates marketed as environmentally friendly, with another 46 such estates on the cards nationally. The 114 eco-estates are (or will be) concentrated and clustered in and around Cape Town and Johannesburg. Four of the nine provinces (Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo) account for 72% of all built and proposed eco-estates.</p><p>The researchers argue that these eco-estates may be able to respond to and mitigate some of the environmental impacts of development by protecting “natural" land, but they have commodified nature through preserving this land and this is in no way sustainable.<br></p><p>“The quality of life that eco-estates offer, along with the nature they claim is being 'conserved', are assigned a market value. Property developers misuse the terms 'eco' and 'sustainable' for marketing purposes, thus engaging in greenwashing to create false impressions of engaging in sustainable development.<br></p><p>“Also, agricultural activities are prohibited in the eco-estates. This alludes to a very 'selective sustainability' produced by these estates. This also compounds the issue that these estates do not conform to the notion of 'just sustainabilities'.<br></p><p>“If food is produced in these estates, it should be made available to others outside the estate. This seems to be a promising way for eco-estates to become inclusive and to contribute to a just sustainability."<br></p><p>Although having mechanisms to reduce reliance on municipal services, eco-states also contribute to urban sprawl, which brings its own environmental challenges and headaches for city planners, add the researchers.<br></p><p>“The upgrading of infrastructure to accommodate these developments, such as the widening of roads, increased levels of pollution and changes to the microclimate when trees and other vegetation are removed, results in further loss of natural capital."<br></p><p>Natural capital refers to the natural resources and services provided by the ecosystem that contribute toward climate regulation and the carbon cycle, which ultimately enable life cycles to continue in a sustainable way.<br></p><p>According to the researchers, the social, economic, and environmental influences of gated communities could drastically affect the sustainability and ethical credibility of any type of gated community in South Africa.<br></p><p>They add that the lack of clarity on what constitutes an eco-estate will continue to have far-reaching influences on the way eco-estates are developed and marketed.<br></p><ul><li><strong>SOURCE</strong>: Anjali Mistry & Manfred Spocter (2022): Just sustainabilities: the case of eco-estates in South Africa, <em>Local Environment</em>. DOI: <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549839.2022.2027352">1<strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style="text-decoration-style:solid;text-decoration-color:#0072c6;">0.1080/13549839.2022.2027352</strong></a></li></ul><p></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p> |
| SU improves its position on QS subject rankings | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=9814 | | SU improves its position on QS subject rankings | Corporate Communication & Marketing / Korporatiewe Kommunikasie & Bemarking [Alec Basson] | <p>Stellenbosch University (SU) can count itself among the leading higher education institutions globally in the broad subject areas of Life Science and Medicine, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Management, Engineering & Technology, and Natural Sciences. This is according to the <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings/2023"><span class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0"><strong>2023 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subjec</strong></span><span class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0"><strong>t</strong></span></a><span class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0"> </span>released on Wednesday (22 March 2023). </p><p>For the 2023 edition, 1 597 institutions were ranked across 54 subjects in the abovementioned five broad subject areas. More than 16,4 million unique papers published between 2016-2020, producing close to 117,8 million citations in 2016–2021, were analysed.<br></p><p>SU improved its standing in four of these subject areas. It achieved a top 250 spot in Life Science and Medicine and is now ranked in the top 350 in Arts and Humanities, top 450 in Engineering & Technology, top 400 in Social Sciences and Management, and top 500 in Natural Sciences.</p><p><strong>Leading in SA</strong></p><p>As far as specific subject categories are concerned, SU improved its global position in Environmental Sciences and Medicine having moved into the top 250. It is the leading university in South Africa in Agriculture & Forestry (74th in the world) and Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies, and Development Studies (both in the top 100), Chemical Engineering (top 300) and Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering (top 350). For a second year in a row, SU is ranked number one in South Africa in Agriculture & Forestry and Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies, and second in Education (top 350), Pharmacy & Pharmacology (top 300), Business & Management Studies (top 500), Psychology (top 330), Biological Sciences (top
350), and Electrical and Electronic Engineering (top 450). SU also moved into second position in English
Language & Literature (top 250) after having finished third in 2022. In Accounting & Finance, SU is among the top 330 institutions globally.<br></p><p>“In line with our vision to be Africa's leading research-intensive university, we also want to discern ourselves in higher education globally, so we are pleased that our reputation in Agriculture & Forestry and Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies has been ranked number one. As the only university in South Africa that offers viticulture and oenology due to our unique wine region, we are especially proud that Agriculture received such recognition," says Prof Hester Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Strategy, Global and Corporate Affairs.</p><p><strong>Indicators</strong></p><p>The QS subject tables use academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, H-index and International Research Network (IRN) as indicators to rank universities. The first two of these are based on global surveys of academics and employers that are used to assess an institution's international reputation in each subject. Research citations per paper measures the average number of citations obtained per publication, and is an estimate of the impact and quality of the scientific work done by universities. The H-index assesses the stability of impact and quality of the work published by an institution's academics. The IRN is a measure of a university's efficiency in establishing stable research collaborations in each of the five broad subject areas.</p><p>Over the last few years, SU has been consistently ranked among the best tertiary institutions globally on the <a href="/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=9049"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0">QS World University Rankings by Subject</strong></a>, the <a href="/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=8646"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0">Times Higher Education World University Subject Rankings</strong></a>, and the<a href="/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=9329"> <strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0">ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects</strong></a>. These rankings all use different methodologies and indicators to determine universities' position on their ranking.<br></p><p><br></p> |
| Women’s Day: Women’s interests must be taken seriously | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=9356 | | Women’s Day: Women’s interests must be taken seriously | Corporate Communication & Marketing / Korporatiewe Kommunikasie & Bemarking | <p>Women's Day was celebrated on Tuesday 9 August. In opinion pieces for the media, experts at Stellenbosch University write that the interests of South Africa's women must be taken seriously if we want to build an equal and just society for all. Click on the links below to read the articles. These pieces were facilitated by the Corporate Communication and Marketing Division.<br></p><ul><li>Prof Amanda Gouws (<a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2022-08-07-womens-day-2022-just-another-day-on-the-island-of-lord-of-the-flies/"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style="">Daily Maverick</strong></a>)</li><li>Prof Juliana Claassens (<a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/columnists/guestcolumn/opinion-womens-day-time-for-leisure-is-not-a-luxury-its-a-basic-human-right-20220809"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style="">News24</strong></a>)</li><li>Drs Karen Garner & Chantelle van Staden (<a href="https://mg.co.za/opinion/2022-08-08-women-bright-sparks-needed-in-electrical-and-electronic-engineering/"><span class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style=""><strong style="">Mail & Guardia</strong><strong style="">n</strong></span></a>)</li><li>Drs Cyrill Walters & Armand Bam, and Prof Patrizio Piraino (<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-have-always-trailed-men-in-research-output-how-covid-made-the-situation-worse-188241"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style="">The Conversation</strong></a>)</li><li>Prof Louise du Toit (<a href="/english/Documents/newsclips/LouiseduToit_Women%27sDay2022.pdf"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style="">Netwerk24</strong></a>)<strong>*</strong></li><li>Drs Ilze Slabbert & Tasneemah Cornelissen-Nordien (<a href="/english/Documents/newsclips/CT_NOW_E1_100822_P06_Ilze%26%20Tasneemah.pdf"><strong class="ms-rteThemeForeColor-5-0" style="">Cape Times</strong></a>) </li></ul><p><strong>*</strong>This article has been translated because it was originally published in Afrikaans.<br></p><p><br></p> |
| SU alumnus wows audiences | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=3419 | | SU alumnus wows audiences | Wayne Muller | <p>An alumnus of Stellenbosch University (SU), the actor Marlo Minnaar, will perform in the acclaimed one-man show, <em>Santa Gamka</em>, in the Baxter Theater in Rondebosch, Cape Town, from Monday, 1 February.</p><p>The piece is based on Eben Venter's novel by the same name, and Minnaar reworked it into a theatre play himself. He is also the producer.</p><p><em>Santa Gamka</em> received the Kanna Awards for Best Debut Work, the Herrie Prize for Best Ground-breaking Work and for Best Director (Jaco Bouwer) at the 2015 Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK). </p><p>Marlo Minnaar was also nominated for Best Actor for his performance as Lucky Marais. The production also received three KykNET Fiësta nominations – for Best Solo Performance, Best Newly-created Afrikaans Production, and Best Director. (Winners will be announced in February.)</p><p>In recent years Minnaar was seen in productions such as <em>Blood Brothers</em>, <em>Balbesit</em> and <em>Die Kortstondige Raklewe van Anastasia W.</em> </p><p><em>Santa Gamka</em> tells the story of a young coloured man from the Karoo, who navigates his way through life in a rather unusual way. Driven by his fear not to fall back into poverty, he becomes a rent boy.</p><p>Lucky tells the audience about his seven greatest adventures – better known as his seven customers: a woman who lost her son in a car accident, the mistress of the local hotel owner and olive farmer, his high school English teacher, the municipal manager, the farmer and his father's employer who continues to oppress Lucky's parents, his aunt, as well as a young German man.</p><p>However, his white lies start catching up with him and he finds himself in a furnace of hell. Suddenly the Karoo has become too hot for him. His time is up. He only has seven minutes left to live and he is now faced with the dilemma of having to review his short life.</p><ul><li><em>Santa Gamka</em> is performed in Afrikaans in the Baxter Theatre's Golden Arrow Studio from 1 to 19 February at 20:15 daily.</li></ul> |
| Language implementation in the 2nd term | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=3730 | | Language implementation in the 2nd term | Prof Johan Hattingh | <p>Dear Student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences</p><p>I am thoroughly aware of the uncertainty created by the language interdict of Afriforum, which requires us to strictly apply the language specifications of the 2016 Yearbook from 29 March. What happens now to the principle that no student should be excluded on the basis of language? To address this uncertainty I would like to convey the following to you about the language practice that you can expect from 29 March in your classes. </p><p>There are two main points of departure that the Faculty will follow from 29 March, the first of which is demanded by the interdict: </p><ul><li>As of 29 March 2016 we have to strictly adhere to the language specifications of the 2016 Yearbook (Afriforum court interdict, and the SU Council requirement not to reduce the Afrikaans offering).</li><li><span style="line-height:1.6;">SU wants to be 100% accessible to st</span><span style="line-height:1.6;">udents that are not academically literate in Afrikaans and therefore all module content covered in lectures will also be available in English (SU Council resolution supporting an increase of the English offering to 100%).</span></li></ul><p><strong>In practice this will entail the following:</strong></p><ul><li><span style="line-height:1.6;"></span><span style="line-height:1.6;"></span><span style="line-height:1.6;">Most Departments will return to the conventional T-modules, with the proviso that this will be implemented with the utmost circumspection to ensure that no student is excluded on the basis of language of tuition. You will be informed at the beginning of the term and at the beginning of lectures about this intention and the two points of departure mentioned above, and also about what exactly will be done in each module in order to implement these points of departure.</span></li><li><span style="line-height:1.6;"></span><span style="line-height:1.6;">In order to ensure that all lectures are at least available in English, and that Afrikaans is available as specified in the 2016 Yearbook (50% or more), some Departments will provide extra lectures in Afrikaans and/or English.</span></li><li><span style="line-height:1.6;"></span><span style="line-height:1.6;">In cases where lecturers are only proficient in English, Departments will provide interpretation in Afrikaans, and/or extra lectures in Afrikaans.</span></li></ul><p></p><p>Until such time as the Language Policy and Plan of the University is officially changed, we will have to live with these arrangements. I will depend on your understanding and cooperation to help implement the abovementioned arrangements with dignity and respect. </p><p>I hope this letter will help allay any uncertainty, but if you have any further questions, please send an e-mail to Tanja Malan (tanja@sun.ac.za), who will convey it to me.<br><br>Kind regards</p><p>Johan Hattingh<br> Dean, 24 March 2016</p> |
| SICMF presents exquisite music | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=3945 | | SICMF presents exquisite music | Wayne Muller | <p>The music programmes of the 13<sup>th</sup> Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival's (SICMF) ten evening concerts have been announced. Music lovers will have the opportunity to hear exquisite music – from 18<sup>th</sup>-century works to contemporary pieces.</p><p>The festival – the biggest of its kind in Africa – is presented from 1 to 10 July at the Stellenbosch University Konservatorium. It boasts a unique concert series including music that has never been performed in South Africa. Besides chamber music, the SICMF will also present three symphony concerts.</p><p>About 300 music students will attend the 2016 festival where they will receive master classes, lectures and coaching sessions from the 30 faculty members, which include internationally acclaimed musicians.</p><p>The programme has six South African premieres, as well as the world premiere of local composer Matthijs van Dijk's commissioned work, <em>Moments in a Life</em>. It is based on the life of anti-apartheid activist Denis Goldberg, who will appear on stage as the narrator.</p><p>In <em>Moments in a Life</em>, Goldberg relates various pivotal moments in his life – from childhood, his time in Umkhonto we Sizwe, the Rivonia Trial, experiences in prison up until the inauguration of former president Nelson Mandela.</p><p>Among the other interesting premiere works is <em>Techno Parade</em> by French composer Guillaume Connesson (born 1970), in which Paolo Barros (flute), Ferdinand Steiner (clarinet) and Pieter Grobler (piano) will perform. </p><p>Also on the programme is <em>Distant Light</em>, a concerto for violin and string orchestra, a work by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, who was born in 1946. Violinist Daniel Rowland will be the soloist, accompanied by, among others, Suzanne Martens and Farida Bacharova (violins), Tobias Breider (viola) and Alexander Buzlov (cello). </p><p>Other works include the String Sextet in A major, Op.48, by Dvořák; Mendelssohn's String Quartet No.6 in F minor, Op.80; as well as the String Octet, Op.7, by George Enescu.</p><p>On Friday, 8 July American conductor Kazem Abdullah will lead the Festival Symphony Orchestra in a performance of music by Saint-Saëns, Debussy and Bartók. Acclaimed French violinist Nicolas Dautricourt will be the soloist in Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No.3.</p><p>The SICMF's other orchestra, the Festival Concert Orchestra (consisting of 180 young musicians) under the baton of Daniel Boico, will perform on Saturday, 9 July. On the programme is Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony, as well as well-known orchestral works like the "Mars" and "Jupiter" movements from Gustav Holst's <em>The Planets</em>, and the popular "Pomp and Circumstance" by Edward Elgar.</p><p>For the final concert on Sunday, 10 July the Festival Symphony Orchestra will be on stage again, this time accompanying Austrian clarinettist Ferdinand Steiner in Mozart's well-known Clarinet Concerto in A major.</p><ul><li><span style="line-height:1.6;">Tickets are available from Computicket, or call </span><span style="line-height:1.6;">(</span><span style="line-height:1.6;"> 021 808 2358 to purchas</span><span style="line-height:1.6;">e a festival pass. </span><span style="line-height:1.6;">Visit </span><a href="http://www.sicmf.co.za/" style="line-height:1.6;">www.sicmf.co.za</a><span style="line-height:1.6;"> for more information. </span><br></li></ul> |
| PhD candidate's first poetry collection published | http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=4102 | | PhD candidate's first poetry collection published | Lynne Rippenaar-Moses | <p style="text-align:justify;">The first poetry manuscript to be penned by Ms Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese, a doctoral candidate of the Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University, has been published by Botsotso. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Busuku-Mathese, who is originally from Durban North in Durban, is currently completing her first year of PhD studies in the English Department via a three-year, full-time scholarship offered by the Graduate School. She is being supervised by Prof Sally-Ann Murray, an academic and poet whose work she says she has greatly admired. </p><p style="text-align:justify;"><em>Loud and Yellow Laughter, </em>says Busuku-Mathese, is a personal reflection on childhood. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">"There exists a tension between truth-telling and truth-testing in the poetry."</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The poems in the collection are woven together with archival materials such as letters, photographs, scraps of conversations recorded verbatim and found notes. Busuku-Mathese also uses dramatic techniques such as character lists and stage directions, highlighting the texts' re-enactment of pre-existing events between the main characters: The Mother, The Father and The Girl Child. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">As the adopted daughter of a man from Yorkshire, Britain and the biological daughter of a woman from Mt. Fletcher, Eastern Cape, her childhood was anything but normal if measured against traditional standards. Her poetry collection is also a creative memorial to her adoptive father, she says, who passed when she was only 13 years old. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">"The poetry collection looks at family and intergenerational discussions about parenting and childhood in South Africa, as well as topics of adoption and (un)belonging, and generational slippages that arise within families," she explains. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">"It is linked to my own background and very personal."</p><p style="text-align:justify;">By delving into her mother's and father's pasts and growth of their relationship – a parenting relationship between two friends – Busuku-Mathese explores her own identity as a South African through her writings by mixing auto/biography, elegy and documentary collage to explore the intersections between history and fiction. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">"My parents were two friends who decided to co-parent a child. It definitely did not reflect the relationships I saw between the parents of my own friends, who were involved in romantic relationships and parented their children in those relationships. That being said, I am writing about fragments of several lives over four generational lines, it's a multi-voiced meditation on loss and hope – a renegotiation and sometimes even a reversioning of history. There is a slipperiness to the collection, a kind of zigzaging between the person and the persona, a conflation between history, memory, myth and documentary, all woven together in the poems, which is important to remain aware of," she says. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">The manuscript for her collection, she explains, developed from the poetry work included in her MA thesis in Creative Writing, which was supervised by acclaimed South African poet Prof Kobus Moolman at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Before being published, her work was also circulated in local poetry journals like <em>New Coin</em>, <em>New Contrast</em>, <em>Prufrock</em>, <em>Ons Klyntji </em>and <em>Aerodrome</em>. In 2015, it was shortlisted for the prestigious Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award and Busuku-Mathese was selected as runner-up for the Award. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">In 2016, Botsotso decided to publish her poetry – a major feat considering that unsolicited submissions from unknown poets and writers are often ignored. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">"I won't lie and say it was easy. What I experienced is that there is a strong resistance to new poets and often the response that you will encounter from most poetry publishers is that unsolicited manuscripts are not welcome. It's a frequent response and it can be frustrating when the few poetry publishers we have in this country will not look at new material from new poets, so when Botsotso said yes to my unsolicited publication, it was very exciting. While it is even more difficult to get poetry work published, I do believe that the more unsolicited work is accepted for review, the more publishers will start discovering interesting poetry that may have been overlooked because of exclusionary thinking."</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Her work, she hopes, will contribute to discussions around various forms of identity in South Africa and help introduce alternative narratives and voices in that space, making them more visible.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">"Issues of identity are real and personal, I think it is an important discussion to have in this country in particular considering how diverse our country is and how varied our experiences are of what it means to be South African. That is a conversation that I believe we are still grappling with and watching unfold as South Africans as we are pulled in different directions. My poetry explores what it means to be brought up in a home that is not stereotypical and to be young and struggling with the liminal space between two parents who represent radically different worlds." </p><p style="text-align:justify;">The collection however does not treat the alternative to traditional family structures as abnormal or as a spectacle.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">"That was always my intention, to present an alternative to the traditional and a view of a different form of parenting and not to make it seem different. The collection affirms that normal is not always traditional and that there are different distinctions of that. At the end of the day, it is my hope that my collection contributes to conversations about our various forms of South Africanness."</p><p style="text-align:justify;">If you are interested in purchasing a copy of <em>Loud and Yellow Laughter</em> at R80, you can contact Botsotso at <a href="mailto:botsotso@artslink.co.za">botsotso@artslink.co.za</a> or Busuku-Mathese at <a href="mailto:sindi.busuku@gmail.com">sindi.busuku@gmail.com</a>. </p><p style="text-align:justify;"><em>Photo: Ms Sindi-Busuku-Mathese with her first poetry collection, </em>Loud and Yellow Laughter, <em>which was recently published by Botsotso. (Anton Jordaan, SSFD)</em></p> |
