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11 February 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs and Rulanzen Martin

After two years of lockdown, online meetings, and limited contact with colleagues, academy at the University of the Free State (UFS) is gradually returning to normal. This month (February 2022), staff, students, and members of related industries will convene on three different occasions to learn about cutting-edge scholarship, to reconnect with each other, and to discuss issues impacting society in the fields of theology, the humanities, and agriculture.

Seminar on ‘The Limits of Decolonisation’ with Prof RW Johnson 

Date: 24 February 2022
Time: 09:00-16:00 SAST
Venue/Platform: Equitas Auditorium, UFS Bloemfontein Campus, and Microsoft Teams 
Microsoft Teams link: https://bit.ly/3Llejew 

Decolonisation has been a heated point of discussion for some time now, but have you ever wondered if there could be limitations hindering the decolonisation project?  The Departments of Political Studies and Governance and Philosophy and Classics at the UFS will host an array of academics and experts for a hybrid seminar on the topic The Limits of Decolonisation.

If decolonisation is an important issue for you or if you are interested in the topic and its relevance and influence in the world and academia, you should join or attend the seminar – either online via Microsoft Teams or in person in the Equitas Auditorium – on 24 February 2022 from 09:00. 

The keynote speaker is political scientist Prof RW Johnson from the University of Oxford. Prof Johnson is an emeritus fellow at Magdalen College and is the author of several acclaimed political books.  The other speakers are all from the Departments of Political Studies and Governance, and Philosophy and Classics. Terrence Corrigan from the South African Institute of Race Relations will speak on The relationship between critical race theory and decolonisation. 

Find full programme here

RSVP: Alice Stander StanderAFM@ufs.ac.za  (please specify dietary requirements, as a light lunch will be served) 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News Archive

Department at the UFS receives special visitors
2008-02-26

 

From the left are: Prof. Hans Ausloos, Prof. Bénédicte Lemmelijn, and Prof. Fanie Snyman (Head of the Department of Old Testament at the UFS). Both Prof. Ausloos and Prof. Lemmelijn are professors in the Old Testament within the Bible Science Investigation Unit of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.
Photo: Lacea Loader
 

Department at the UFS receives special visitors

The Department of Old Testament in the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State (UFS) has for the first time received a visit from two guest professors from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU) in Belgium who are presenting undergraduate lectures.

What makes the visit even further unique is that the guest professors are a married couple who specialise in the Old Testament.

“Proff. Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn are visiting the faculty for about a month to present undergraduate programmes. They are part of a co-operative agreement between the UFS and the KU Leuven. This is also a good way of giving our students exposure to European experts,” says Prof. Snyman, Head of the Department of Old Testament at the UFS.

The couple and their three children, Matthias (10), Elke (8) and Ruben (6), are staying in Prof. Daan Pienaar’s house for the duration of their stay. Prof. Pienaar is a retired professor in Biblical Science at the UFS. The children are at school in Universitas Primary School for the duration of the family’s stay in Bloemfontein. “The headmaster was very kind and provided them with school uniforms out of the school’s second hand clothing shop, of which they will not part easily as they do not wear school uniform in Belgium,” says Prof. Lemmelijn.

Proff. Lemmelijn and Ausloos cannot stop talking about the charm of the university’s Main Campus. “In Leuven the university is part of the city and the university buildings are situated amongst the city buildings. We do our shopping while the students move from one class to the other! Here, the university is a town on its own and the students are given the opportunity to socialise in a protected environment,” says Prof. Lemmelijn.

The couple is also just as impressed with Bloemfontein. “The safety issue in South Africa is accentuated in such a way in Europe that we are astounded by the peaceful and friendly atmosphere of the city. We are also surprised with the shopping centres that are under one roof. In Belgium the shops are situated far apart,” says Prof. Lemmelijn.

The couple finds the living costs – especially food – to be quite expensive. “Some basic food is even more expensive than it is in Belgium,” says Prof. Ausloos.

Over and above their commitment to lecture, the couple is also busy with research on the Greek translation of the 12 Small Prophets in co-operation with Prof. Snyman.

“This is the first time that lecturers from the KU Leuven visit the Department of Old Testament for such a long time and are part of the normal curriculum. It is interesting to note that the teaching modules between the two departments resemble each other in such a way that lectures which are presented in Leuven are also repeated here,” says Prof. Snyman.

Both Proff. Ausloos and Lemmelijn are professors in the Old Testament within the Bible Science Investigation Unit of the KU Leuven. They publish articles internationally on the editorial and text criticism of the Old Testament and are involved with international investigative programmes such as the Hexapla Project and Septuaginta-Deutsch. Prof. Ausloos is director of the Leuvense Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism and Prof. Lemmelijn is an associate in the centre. Together they have published several financed investigative projects on the characterising of the translation technique of the Greek Bible translation.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
25 February 2008
 

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