Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
22 February 2021 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Prof Rodwell Makombe’s literary research focuses on a Facebook page that ‘reconstructs home away from home’.

Home is a complex concept, as it is not a physical place. This is according to Prof Rodwell Makombe’s recently published research article titled, Online images and imaginings of home: The case of Qwaqwa Thaba Di Mahlwa Facebook page

“The article looks at how migrants from Qwaqwa, now living in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and elsewhere, imagine Qwaqwa as home. Because they spend a lot of time away from home, they always have a longing and a sense of loneliness, as they live in places that are not home. They also have to find ways of reminiscing about their homeland. This study is about how they reconstruct home away from home. There are two approaches towards the idea of home. Firstly, home can be conceptualised as a familiar place and a place of origin that offers stability. Secondly, home is within them and they carry it with them wherever they go,” said Prof Makombe. 

‘Qwaqwa Thaba Di Mahlwa’  

The study focused on a Facebook page created by Qwaqwa migrants, called ‘Qwaqwa thaba Di Mahlwa’. “We looked at the images that were posted on this page and how they seek to construct Qwaqwa as a home. When a person posts a picture from Qwaqwa, everyone from Qwaqwa associates with the picture and are reminded of certain things from home. Migrants make homes out of this Facebook page and the page becomes a place where all can rally together and construct their home,” he added. 

The study is part of a broader book project titled Visual Cultures of the Afromontane, funded by the Afromontane Research Unit. 

Prof Makombe is an Associate Professor in the Department of English on the Qwaqwa Campus. His areas of research include cultural studies, postcolonial literatures, and cultures of resistance. The article was co-written with Dr Oliver Nyambi.  

 

 

LISTEN: Prof Rodwell Makombe on Qwaqwa migrants and their connection to home

News Archive

UFS announces its Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year
2012-10-12

Here are, from the left: Raymond Rhule, Junior Sportsman of the year, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Institutional Affairs, and Jamba Ulengo, Sportsman of the year. Izelle Lategan (Sportswoman of the year) and Tanya Brits (Junior Sportswoman of the year) was not present at the event.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
12 October 2012

The University of the Free State (UFS) honoured its top achievers at a glamorous gala dinner in the Centenary Complex on the Bloemfontein Campus on Thursday 11 October 2012. Jamba Ulengo and Izelle Lategan were named the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year respectively.

The Junior Sportsman and Sportswoman for 2012 are Raymond Rhule and Tanya Brits.

This year the university’s sport stars were honoured in five categories. This includes:

- Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year (everyone that represented South Africa at a senior level, was eligible for the title). The winners each received a trophy and each sportsman and sportswomen in this category were honoured with a medal.
- Junior sportsman and sportswoman of the year. The winners each received a trophy.
- Sport stars that represented South Africa at senior and junior level. The achievers received certificates.
- Sport stars that represented the UFS in the national student teams. The sport stars also received certificates.
- Certificates were also awarded to the KovsieSport club sport stars.

The following students represented South Africa at senior level:

- Nardus Greyling. He represented the SA Athletics Team in the Confederation of African Athletics Senior Championship.
- Boy Soke. He represented the SA Athletics Team in the Confederation of African Cross-country Championship
- Izelle Lategan. She represented the Investec SA Women’s Hockey Team in the Champs Challenge in Dublin, Ireland, in Holland and Belgium and she played for the SA U/21 team against Spain and Belgium. She was also captain of the SA U/21-team during the senior interprovincial championships.
- JVA Steytler. He represented the SA Athletics Team in the Confederation of African Athletics Senior Championship.
- Johan Cronjé. He represented the SA Athletics Team as a 1 500 m finalist in the Confederation of African Athletics Senior Championship. He also participated in the Dessau International meeting in Germany and the Grand Prix meeting in Prague.
 

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