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23 October 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Prof Jaap Steyn, Prof Hennie van Coller and Prof Bernard Odendaal
From the left: Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Prof Jaap Steyn, Prof Hennie van Coller, research fellow and former HOD of Afrikaans and Dutch; German and French and Prof Bernard Odendaal, from the ATKV School for Creative Writing at North West University,after the book launch on 16 October 2019.
The very comprehensive publication, JC Steyn en Afrikaans – ’n viering, pays tribute to a leading figure of the Afrikaans academic world. The book, edited by Profs Angelique van Niekerk, Hennie van Coller, and Bernard Odendaal, was recently launched at the University of the Free State (UFS) as a tribute to Prof Jaap Steyn, research fellow and former colleague at the UFS.

“The publication contains diverse contributions and provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of research in Afrikaans literature and linguistics,” said Prof van Niekerk, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the UFS. 

The scope of the contributions is as wide as the influence Prof Steyn has had on the Afrikaans language landscape. “Creative writing and biographies lexicography and sociolinguistics are addressed in his book,” Prof van Niekerk said.

As mentioned in the title, the publication serves as a celebration of Afrikaans as a language and discipline; it also covers the research areas in which Prof Steyn used to publish research himself.

The book, published by SUN MeDIA, was made possible by a financial donation from the South African Academy for Science and Art. It was officially launched at the UFS on Wednesday 16 October 2019. 

More about Prof Steyn 

Prof Steyn is a seasoned poet, writer, and one of the leading Afrikaans academics in the country. With more than 100 articles in scientific journals to his name, Prof Steyn is still serving as research fellow in the UFS Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French. He is also the author of, among others, books on language politics, language, and cultural history, such as Tuiste in eie taal, Trouwe Afrikaners: Aspekte van Afrikanernasionalisme en Suid-Afrikaanse taalpolitiek and the recent Ons gaan ’n taal maak. He has also written a number of award-winning biographies and published prose and poetry. 

Prof Steyn has been associated with several South African universities, including the University of Johannesburg (the then Rand Afrikaans Universiteit), Nelson Mandela University (the then University of Port Elizabeth), as well as the UFS.

Prof Jaap Steyn signs a copy of the book for Prof Theodorus du Plessis
Prof Jaap Steyn signs a copy of the book for Prof Theodorus du Plessis
From the left; Prof Henning Pietersen; Pof Angelique van Niekerk; Prof Jaap Steyn; Prof Hennie van Coller; Prof Bernard Odendaal and Dr Francois Smith
From the left; Prof Henning Pietersen; Pof Angelique van Niekerk; Prof Jaap Steyn; Prof Hennie van Coller; Prof Bernard Odendaal and Dr Francois Smith
Book
Book
Prof Jaap Steyn
Prof Jaap Steyn

News Archive

DF Malan – the politician, the man and Lindie Koorts’ award behind it
2014-04-30

 
Lindie Koorts
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. In this case, it is not only true, but fact is stirring up more of a buzz than make-belief does.

The first biography of an apartheid Prime Minister written since 1994, won an award at the 2014 Woordfees. ‘DF Malan and the Rise of Afrikaner Nationalism’ is the title of the book causing this national whirlwind. The author: Lindie Koorts – a postdoctoral fellow at the UFS’s Centre for Africa Studies.

She admits she was among the most surprised when she won the category for Debut Writers. “This is, as far as I know, the first time this prize goes to a non-fiction writer,” Koorts said.

What started as curiosity around DF Malan, four years later culminated in an objective biography devoid of justification or exoneration. “Throughout the process of writing, I offer the facts, but I do not clamber in with moralistic judgements,” Koorts said.

In addition to Malan the politician, Koorts discovered Malan the human being as well during her research. When she stumbled on his hand-written love letters to Maria Louw, which he wrote when he was in his 60s, a totally different man emerged. “I felt like a teenager while reading those letters!” Koorts laughed.

In the chapter entitled Coalition and Fusion, this dynamic historian unearthed a fact that had the power to change the course of history. Up until this point, the belief was held that one party deceived another. However, Koorts’ research proves that the entire issue rested on a letter that did not arrive on time. A case of tardy train schedules and a mere misunderstanding.

“To be able to unravel these things makes one feel that you have succeeded in something,” she said.

Not only did she succeed in writing an award-winning biography, she surely will be making history as she goes.

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