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Apartheid's Legacy – ghosts, psyche, and trauma

29 September 2023 | Story Samkelo Fetile

The University of the Free State (UFS) is set to host a compelling book launch event, exploring the lasting legacy of apartheid. This thought-provoking gathering is organised by the Deputy Vice-Chancellors (Research and Internationalisation; Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact), the Directorate for Institutional Advancement, and the Faculties of Law (Centre for Human Rights) and The Humanities, with a cocktail reception to follow.

The overarching question guiding the event is a thought-provoking one: Even though apartheid has formally ended, to what extent does its legacy persist? This enquiry sets the stage for an exploration of diverse facets of this legacy by three distinguished authors – Premesh Lalu, Wahbie Long, and Saleem Badat. Their recently published works, namely Undoing Apartheid (Polity Press, 2022), Nation on the Couch: Inside South Africa’s Mind (MF Books, 2021), and Tennis, Apartheid and Social Justice: The First Non-Racial International Tennis Tour, 1971 (UKZN Press, 2023), respectively offer textured insights into the enduring shadows cast by apartheid on contemporary realities.

These authors will engage in a conversation with Sarah Nuttall, Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies at Wits and the former Director of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER), who served in that capacity from 2012 to 2022.

Date: 12 October 2023

Time: 16:30-18:30

Venue: Albert Wessels Auditorium, UFS Bloemfontein Campus

For those interested in attending, RSVP by 6 October 2023 through the event registration. For further information, contact Alicia Pienaar at pienaaran1@ufs.ac.za.

The Speakers

The speakers include Premesh Lalu, Research Professor and former founding director of the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC); Wahbie Long, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town (UCT); and Saleem Badat, Research Professor in the Department of History at the UFS, former Programme Director of International Higher Education and Strategic Projects at the Andrew Mellon Foundation in New York, and former Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University.

As South Africa grapples with the lingering impact of its apartheid history, this event promises an insightful exploration of the continuing reverberations of this historical trauma, inviting participants to reflect on the ways in which it continues to shape the present.

News Archive

University welcomes new first-year students

2014-01-20

"Welcome to Kovsieland! The time of your life has just begun."

With these words Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, welcomed thousands of new first-year students. They attended a welcome ceremony with parents and guardians on the Bloemfontein Campus.

The arrival of first-year students saw the campus come to life, with the area in front of the Main Building turned into an open-air venue. A festive atmosphere prevailed, with live music filling the air and residences camping on the grass surrounding the area. Those who came out to welcome the new first-years, included members of the rectorate, the deans of all seven faculties and the student leadership.

"You are the smartest in the country," Prof Jansen told the new Kovsie students, informing them that thousands applied, but did not make it because of limited space. "We took the best students," he informed the large crowd, telling them that the more than 4 000 new Kovsies come from all over South Africa and the continent.

"This university is about high academic standards for its staff and its students. This is a place where we respect people, irrespective of where they come from, how they pray and how they love," Prof Jansen added.

Prof Jansen brought laugher to the audience, sharing tips for first-years from senior students, among them jewels like, "Wear flip-flops in the shower, you never know what the science students left behind" and "Don't keep your boyfriend back home, you never know what you will get at the university."

Phiwe Mathe, SRC President of the Bloemfontein Campus, added to the list of tips, telling first-years to have a hunger for knowledge and be open minded. "Participate in life on campus and ask important questions," he urged them. "There is plenty to learn at this university. "

Here is an idea where our students come from:
Eastern Cape: 395
Free State: 1701
Gauteng: 632
KwaZulu-Natal: 692
Limpopo: 333
Mpumalanga: 211
Northern Cape: 313
North-West Province: 243
Western Cape: 171

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