Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
28 June 2018 Photo Supplied
Reitz book wins sought-after UFS Book Prize
Back from left; JC van der Merwe; Prof Corli Witthuhn, front from left; Dionne van Reenen and Dr Glen Taylor, Senior Director of Research Development.
Having been described “a brave book” by Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research, Transformation and Legitimation in Post-apartheid Universities by JC van der Merwe and Dionne van Reenen, is the deserving winner of the University of the Free State (UFS) Book Prize for 2017.

“This award is confirmation that our research and reflections produced sound scholarly work,” said Van der Merwe. He added that they recognised it was impossible for one research study to tell the whole story about Reitz, which reached a level of complexity that extended beyond a single reading of evidence and discourses.

Van der Merwe is the Acting Director of the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice at the UFS and his co-author, Van Reenen is also a researcher at the institute. 

Book critically discusses pivotal moment
According to this year’s external evaluation, the winning book is a competent account of the struggle of one institution with identity, culture, race and transformation.  

“Congratulations to JC van der Merwe and Dionne van Reenen on winning the 2017 UFS book prize with their book. This is a brave book written with deep understanding and modulated moral anger,” said Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector; Research at the UFS.

“In critically focusing on a moment in the history of UFS – the infamous Reitz event – JC and Dionne enable us to understand the depth and embedded nature of racism in our higher education institutions.”

Unpacking the Reitz incident 
The concept for the book dates back to 2011 said Van der Merwe. “I conceptualised and organised a series of semi-structured interviews with key members of the UFS senior staff and student leaders who were in office at the time of the Reitz video.”.

He then began to formulate the structure of the book – the aim of which was to contextualise and unpack the Reitz incident by conducting an in-depth investigation into the event itself, the rhetoric surrounding it, and the set of practices and ideas in which it was embedded. Van Reenen joined the UFS after the interviews and was therefore the perfect interlocutor in discussing the events prior to and after 2008.

“They deliver a theoretically rich analysis of the anatomy of current contestation about race and transformation in higher education in South Africa, the resultant legitimation crisis facing the UFS and South African universities more generally, as well as ways to restore institutional legitimacy and reputation focusing on instituting deeper and more durable change that unlocks the promise of democracy,” Prof Witthuhn said.

News Archive

Co-architect of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland to present Annual Reconciliation Lecture today
2015-03-03

Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa

To emphasise the University of the Free State’s Human Project, the UFS has positioned itself as an institution that is recognised across the world not only for excellence in academic achievement, but also in human reconciliation. The Annual Reconciliation Lecture, whose organising committee is chaired by Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, is a unique and major initiative to enhance this important vision of our university.

This year, Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa, will present the Fourth Annual Reconciliation Lecture at the Centenary Hall on Thursday 5 March 2015.

Colm McGivern was brought up in Northern Ireland at the height of the conflict that has come to be known as the ‘Troubles.’ His early experiences of conflict, sectarianism, and living in a divided society have driven his career, and his personal commitment to peace-building and promoting reconciliation.  He was a student leader at Queen’s University in Belfast during the time of the first IRA Ceasefires in the 1990s, and then worked in the Higher and Further Education sectors, and at a community level with peace-building groups across Northern Ireland and internationally. He was Director of the British Council in Northern Ireland for four years and, in that role, facilitated discussions between divided communities before and during the Ceasefires and Peace Process, with a particular focus on bringing young people together across Ireland.

In his role as Director of the British Council, McGivern has created thousands of cultural and educational connections between the UK and SA. Every year, he ensures that young South Africans can get access to educational and cultural opportunities that are life-changing while deepening their connection with the UK.

A highlight of this year’s lecture will be a performance by musicians from the Odeion School of Music, Tumi Ntantiso (soprano), Bertha Menyatso (mezzo-soprano), Malefetsane Mofokeng (baritone), and Cezarre Strydom (piano). They will be performing works from ‘Tales of Hoffmann’ by Jacques Offenbach, among others.

Members of the public and media are welcome.

RSVP: Jo-Anne Naidoo, e-mail: Naidooja@ufs.ac.za

Date: Thursday 5 March 2015
Time: 17:30 (please be seated by 17:15)
Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

 

The event will be streamed live on: http://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept