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05 November 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah
Prof Moffett’s latest offering collates hundreds of mountain research material into one accessible reference book.

Prof Rodney Moffett recently published a new book focusing on various scientific articles published between 1808 and 2019. The book, A Scientific Bibliography of the Drakensberg, Maloti and Adjacent Lowlands, has 534 pages and covers material appearing in accredited journals, plus unpublished but traceable reports, documents, presentations, and dissertations.

“The scientific articles range from palaeobotany with 17 entries, to rock art with 502 entries, as well as 252 theses and dissertations,” said Prof Moffett.

He said it took 18 months to compile the book, typing the manuscript himself – mostly at night.

In the foreword, Dr Ralph Clark, Director: Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), says: “This bibliography is a labour of love, and will inspire a new generation to take up the baton for excellent research in this fantastic mountain system. We are proud to publish this under the ARU banner as a contribution to growing and consolidating mountain-passionate relationships in Southern Africa, and to encourage our journey towards developing a holistic understanding and sustainable use of these iconic mountain landscapes.” 

Other books

Prof Moffett is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State, and an associate of the Afromontane Research Unit on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus. He was previously Professor of Botany on the Qwaqwa Campus when it was part of the University of the North, retiring in 2000. Since then, he has remained active, publishing scholarly works on ethnobotany and other natural history subjects.

His four recent books, also published by Sun Press, are: Sesotho Plant and Animal Names and Plants used by the Basotho (2010), A Biographical Dictionary of Contributors to the Natural History of the Free State and Lesotho (2014), Basotho Medicinal Plants – Meriana ya Dimela tsa Basotho (2016), and A Field Guide to the Clarens Village Conservancy (2018). A second revised edition of Meriana ya Dimela tsa Basotho – 

News Archive

Discourse on statues and symbols puts transformation questions in the spotlight
2015-04-12

 

Amid various protest actions against historical statues across the country over the last two weeks, the University of the Free State’s Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice presented a three-day discussion session the past week about the role and place of statues, symbols and signs in the transformation attempts of universities.

During these lunchtime sessions, various speakers from different contexts had expressed their opinions about this issue that has become a focal point, not only for universities, but also for the country as a whole.

Thus speakers not only gave their opinions about whether there is a place in present-day South Africa for statues and symbols from colonial and apartheid-South Africa, but also highlighted the cultural-historical values and the more deep-seated issues and symbolism of the statue-debate.

UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Jonathan Jansen, said on the first day of the session that the discourse was not about only one person’s memories, but about everyone’s in the country. He proposed that similar sessions should be held at each university campus.

He also said that, instead of breaking down, people should learn to live together, and everyone should be involved for transformation to occur.

Speakers who served on the panel, included academics from the UFS and Stellenbosch University as well as representatives of the Student Representative Council and of historical and heritage foundations.

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