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01 October 2018 | Story UFS | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Prof Charles Ngwena is a former professor in the UFS Department
Prof Charles Ngwena is a former professor in the UFS Department of Constitutional Law and Legal Philosophy in the Faculty of Law.
The meaning of race, culture and sexism in Africa takes a different tone than it does in the West. The West has always tried to create an identity for Africa, but the real question remains: “What does it mean to be an African?’ 

“My aim with this book was to see how discourse is formed and what it means when you say the word ‘African’, which is meaningless. You have to look back to understand how that was created,” said Prof Charles Ngwena.

Prof Ngwena’s new book, asks the critical question,‘What is Africanness?’ Fully titled, What is Africanness? Contesting nativism in race, culture and sexualities is a timely contribution to contemporary South African debates on issues of decolonisation, race, ethnicity, nation building and belonging.

Identity formation a crucial element

“The book speaks directly to African cultural heritage and deconstructs a Western-imposed and homogenising framework for understanding Africanness,” said Dr Nadine Lake from the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof Ngwena foregrounds the importance of intersectionality when approaching issues of race, culture and sexuality and writes: “Genericness is ineluctably homogenising. It can serve to obscure heterogeneities among women, pre-empting the need to explore the implications of differences among women in feminist theory and praxis.

“Identity is being and becoming. It is always changing. What young people think of identity is not the same way their grandparents thought about it,” said Prof Ngwena. He added that his contribution through this book was to underlay identity formation.

The book, published by Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), was launched in a joint venture by CGAS, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria on Tuesday 11 September 2018 at the UFS.

News Archive

UFS appoints new council members
2004-06-07

 

The council of the University of the Free State (UFS) last week appointed two new council members. One of the members, Mrs Busiswa Tshabalala, will represent the Qwaqwa community. It is the first time since the incorporation of the Qwaqwa into the UFS campus last year that a council member was elected to represent the Qwaqwa community.

Mrs Tshabalala obtained her BA Hons in History from the University of the North’s Qwaqwa campus in 1992 and a B Ed degree in leadership management from the UFS in 1998. She was the first female deputy principal at the Harrismith Secondary School (1989-1992) and principal of the Forty Second Hill Teachers’ Centre in the Vrede area office of the Free State Department of Education. In 2001 she was seconded by the Free State Department of Education to coordinate programme 1 and 2 for Link Community Development. She is currently the director of the Thabo Mofutsanyana education district of the Free State Department of Education.

Dr Susan Vosloo, international acclaimed cardiologist, is the other new member of the council. Dr Vosloo, old Kovsie of the year 1989, obtained the MB Chb degree in 1980 at the UFS, an M Med cardiothoracic surgery and in 1998 the FCS (SA) qualification in cardiothoracic surgery at the College of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). Dr Vosloo’s career extends over a wide spectrum and she specialises in pediatric and adult cardiothoracic surgery. In 1993 she took part in the first heart transplant in Johannesburg at Milpark Hospital, in 1997 she did the first hear-lung transplant at City Park Hospital in Cape Town and in 1997 a heart transplant on a 3-year old child.

She has a cardiothoracic surgery at the Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town since 1991 and in also part-time involved with the Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Cape Town.

“It is a great honour for the UFS to welcome two women with so much expertise and experience on the council. Their presence strengthens the UFS’s continued effort to transform the council,” said judge Faan Hancke, chairperson of the UFS council..

Both Mrs Tshabalala and Dr Vosloo’s appointments are until June 2008.

The following council members have been re-elected until June 2008:

Prof Dines Gihwala - vice-chairperson of the council
Dr Nathan Bagarette
Dr Frans Kotzé

Dr Kobus Laubscher was elected by the donors as representative for a further term until June 2008. Me Winifred Hoexter was elected by the Alumni as the third representative. She has been a foundation donor of the UFS since 1997 and committee member of the Kovsie Alumni Trust since 2000. Me Hoexter’s term is until June 2008. The other Alumni representatives are judge Faan Hancke and Mr Jan Grobler, whose term is until June 2006.


Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

7 June 2004

 

 

Mrs Busiswa Tshabalala

Dr Susan Vosloo

 

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