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25 April 2018 Photo Supplied
UFS Debate Society to compete in upcoming World Championships
The UFS Debate Society is a diverse, cross-boundary team of UFS students who are not strangers to success, and who are exceptionally brilliant at what they do. Before winning the largest open debating competition in Africa in 2018, the team had qualified and competed in the finals for three consecutive years since 2015. The society has now been selected to compete in the Cape Town Open Debating Competition this coming weekend from 27 to 29 April, in a build-up to the World Championships taking place in December 2018.

According to the UFS Debate Society Chairperson, Tshiamo Malatji: “Thinking artistically about debating requires one to make use of creative reasoning, and essentially, lateral thinking is of importance, even in your everyday life conversations, because you will never fundamentally agree with someone who has opinions which are opposed to yours, but you will be able to appreciate where they are coming from.”

The team is also involved in organising dialogues on our Bloemfontein Campus, such as the Student Rights Dialogue, which brings together various stakeholders of the university for a discussion about human rights. They also conduct debating workshops and, together with the Department of Basic Education, function as judges for debates in the broader Bloemfontein community for less advantaged schools in Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu, Tweespruit, and Dewetsdorp.

The Debate Society is set to host a Global Politics Seminar that will analyse and explain the forces that influence international politics, and South Africa's standpoint in the global perspective. This seminar, taking place in October, will focus on the activities of chief global actors, and some of the core crises that can shape students’ understanding of current foreign affairs. The seminar will comprise presentations from knowledgeable local students and Debate Society alumni, which will conclude with a fiery debate by the society on the dynamic and controversial topic of South Africa's future in the international political arena. 

Access to the seminar is reserved for donors who will pledge their support to the society’s journey to the upcoming World Championships. For more information on how to pledge, visit the World Championships Pledge.

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News Archive

Land a fertile field for historians
2017-12-25


 Description: Dr Admire Mseba Tags: Dr Admire Mseba 

Dr Admire Mseba, historian and researcher in the International Studies Group (ISG).
Photo: Charl Devenish

The use of land and the economics of Southern Africa at present is a contentious subject at almost every level of society. A historian and researcher who revels in happenings in these two areas, is Dr Admire Mseba, a postdoctoral research fellow in the International Studies Group (ISG) at the UFS.

Dr Mseba grew up in the Mberengwa region in southern Zimbabwe, known for cattle farming and mineral mining. While at the University of Zimbabwe, he became interested in economic history and archaeology, and completed his PhD at the University of Iowa in the USA. During his time there, Dr Mseba also became passionate about environmental history.

A historian's ability to think and engage critically on diverse subjects drew Dr Mseba to his field. Currently, he is busy with three research projects. Firstly, he is working on a book on social relations, about access to land in Zimbabwe. He is also examining regional and national efforts to control migratory pests during the 20th century, in particular, the red locust. In collaboration with a colleague at the ISG, Dr Mseba is also researching monetary systems in central Africa, covering the present-day countries of Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia.

Dr Mseba believes future research opportunities in the domains of economic and environmental history abound. For one, the land question has been very topical in Zimbabwe for more than a decade—as it is now in South Africa—and needs more scrutiny. Regarding agrarian pestilences, he indicates the recent phenomenon of armyworm invasion. “There are so many opportunities for historians to investigate. There are so many ways to think about these things and trying to put it in perspective.”

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