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10 July 2018 Photo Supplied
Inaugural lecture focuses on understanding society
Dr Kristina Riedel, Head of the UFS Department of Linguistics and Language Practice with Prof Kobus Marais at his inaugural lecture in May.
Understanding what the terms ‘social’ and ‘cultural’ mean and where they come from is important for Prof Kobus Marais. “If one thinks about it carefully, there was a time in the history of the universe and Earth that terms like ‘social’ and ‘cultural’ did not exist. So, if they did not exist from the very beginning, they must have emerged through some process,” he said at his inaugural lecture held earlier this year.

Prof Marais is a senior lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Language Practice at the University of the Free State (UFS). His interest is in translation studies, but he is conceptualising translation as a technical term that refers to the semiotic process   in other words, the process through which living organisms create meaningful responses to an environment. 

Semiotics entails the study of signs, and it holds that anything in the universe can act as a sign or be interpreted as one. “A tune can be a sign of resistance against political domination, such as Give me hope, Jo’anna, a song by Eddie Grant, and smoke can be a sign of fire, just as the word ‘rose’ could be a sign of a sweet-smelling flower of any colour,” Prof Marais said. 

The universe is perfused by signs, and we are constantly interpreting them, from traffic signs to buildings to agricultural practices to more abstract things like ‘the law’, ‘politics’, ‘economics’ or ‘religion’. All of these things mean something to us and were made as meaningful responses to an environment.

Inaugural lectures vital part of any university
“Inaugural lectures afford professors the opportunity to table a broader research agenda as well as the opportunity to reflect on meta-disciplinary concerns,” Prof Marais said.

He said during the lecture, he had worked out “a theory of translation that explains some aspects of where social/cultural things come from and how they come to be”. An idea that society, and or culture, are a result of translation processes, that is, “processes in which organisms (human beings in this case) respond to an environment in a meaningful way by creating social relationships and cultural phenomena”. 
“Social and cultural phenomena thus all have a meaningful (semiotic) dimension or aspect that I would like to study,” he said.

News Archive

Alumni inspired to keep flying the Kovsie flag high at reunion weekend festivities
2015-09-01

Dr Khotso Mokhele and Adv Roelf Meyer

The University of the Free State hosted alumni from all over the country on the Bloemfontein Campus during a weekend of exciting events, talks, and tours around the campus on 28 and 29 August 2015.

The celebratory events were kick-started with a leadership symposium hosted by Dr Marcus Ingram, Director: Institutional Advancement with Adv Roelf Meyer. The symposium was attended by current student leaders and the SRC Presidents Alumni Association. In his dialogue with the audience, Adv Meyer shared his experiences and personal growth in the process of bringing about democracy in the country with student leaders as change agents. “If you really want to contribute to change, it is not only an intellectual exercise; it is also a heart and soul thing,” he said.

The anchor event was the inaugural Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumnus Award Luncheon hosted by Chancellor, Dr Khotso Mokhele. Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, welcomed guests by highlighting the latest extraordinary achievements of UFS students and academic staff.

Keynote speaker of the day, Ms Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Executive Director of Inyathelo and a renowned politician, spoke of the role that universities have in preparing women for leadership roles and how they, in turn, can prepare society for female leadership.  She commended the UFS’s advancement efforts supported by the Kresge Foundation, which supports young people, to keep them in universities. “I am proud to say that the UFS’s efforts in advancement have achieved its goals.”

In his remarks, Dr Mokhele said “what draws a student back to his/her Alma Mater is the quality of the experience they had on campus.  This campus contributed to the transformation of this country through alumni such as Roelf Meyer and Kobie Coetsee.”  He said this initiative should create a lived experience for students on the university campus.  The Chancellor presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award to Adv Roelf Meyer, for his outstanding contributions to the human interests of South Africa, and his current work of facilitating peace processes around the world.

In accepting the award, Adv Meyer introduced Youth Zones, a project which he has been involved with for the past five years, empowering and supporting 40,000 youths in the Free State. In accepting the award, he said “I was a first-year student in 1960, my year group represented the most emphatic group of this university. There are many who came before and after us who well deserve this award, therefore, I accept it on behalf of all alumni.”

To wrap up the weekend’s festivities, former SRC President, Richard Chemaly, hosted the Faculty of Law alumni cocktail event at the CR Swart Auditorium.
Speaking at the event, Prof Caroline Nicholson, Dean of the Faculty of Law, said “A faculty cannot exist without its alumni, we need you to carry us.  Your continued support and collaboration is truly appreciated.”

Alumni and staff enjoyed further entertainment by well-known musical groups, Freshly-Ground and The Muses.

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