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The University of the Free State’s Bloemfontein campus played host to the English Academy of Southern Africa’s (EASA) annual international conference on 7-8 December 2023. Attracting 35 delegates from Canada, the UK, Nigeria, Botswana, and South Africa, the two-day conference delved into the theme, “Ways of Reading: Literature and Literacy,” with a diverse group seeking to unravel the intricate relationship between literature and literacy.
The proceedings were inaugurated by Prof Vasu Reddy, emphasising the importance of exploring how literacy shapes our modes of attention, both culturally and socially. He expressed his faith that the conference would be “generatively disruptive,” noting that “where there is disruption, there is also growth.”
Featuring two eminent keynote speakers, the conference saw Prof David Attwell, Emeritus Professor at the University of York (UK), discussing the connection between translingualism and creativity in a lecture titled, “A Ventriloquial Literature: The Art of ‘Throwing the Voice’ in the South African Canon. On the second day, Dr Karen Jennings, author of the Booker Prize longlisted novel An Island, reflected on “how place and identity are crucial to the act of creation,” with her talk whimsically titled, “Bums in the Ground.”
Delegates approached the conference theme in various ways, with some exploring how specific writers or critical movements have shaped scholarly reading habits. Others highlighted the significance of literacy for social justice. This diversity extended to the interdisciplinary nature of the conference, bringing together scholars working in language practice, literary studies and even the medical humanities.
Convened by Dr Rick de Villiers, a senior lecturer in the Department of English and the regional vice-president of EASA, the conference delighted in attracting scholars from different backgrounds and stages of their careers. “We had a wonderful mix of established and early-career scholars. The atmosphere was rigorous and robust but collegial throughout.”
Speaking on behalf of EASA, Dr De Villiers extended gratitude for the financial and administrative support from the UFS, particularly the Department of English.
Mathatha Tsedu to deliver King Moshoeshoe lecture
2009-06-29
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| Mathatha Tsedu |
The former Editor of City Press, Mathatha Tsedu, will deliver the Second King Moshoeshoe Memorial Lecture at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, 9 September 2009.
The King Moshoeshoe Memorial Lecture series are an initiative of the University of the Free State to honour the leadership legacy of King Moshoeshoe I, founder of the Basotho nation. The lecture series aim to provide a platform for debate about the key challenges of nation-building, reconciliation and leadership facing our country and the African continent.
In 2004 the UFS produced a documentary on the life of King Moshoeshoe I as part of the project to pay tribute to this great African leader. The documentary was screened numerous times on SABC TV.
Later in 2006, the inaugural King Moshoeshoe Memorial Lecture was delivered by Prof Njabulo Ndebele, former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town.
Mr Tsedu is one of South Africa’s foremost journalists and social commentators. He will speak on the topic, “When globalisation ties the fate of the Maluti to that of the ice caps on the Alps, what does Morena Moshoeshoe teach us about leadership today?”
Mr Tsedu has received several awards, including the Nat Nakasa Award for Courageous Journalism in 2000 as well as the Shanduka Lifetime Achievers Award in 2007.
A graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, he started his career in journalism as a bureau reporter for the Sowetan in 1978 responsible for the then Northern Transvaal. Later Mr Tsedu became Political Editor of the Sowetan, the Deputy Editor of The Star as well as the Deputy Editor of the Sunday Independent and Deputy Chief Executive of SABC News.
He has also been the Editor of two major Sunday newspapers, the Sunday Times and City Press and is currently the Head of the Journalism Academy at the Media24 group.
Mr Tsedu is the Chairperson of The African Editors Forum and a Council Member of the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF). He has addressed various organisations on journalism in South Africa, including the International Federation of Journalists; the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; the Botswana Journalist Association; the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists; the Kenya Union of Journalists; and the Union of African Journalists.
He was an active trade unionist and national executive member of the Media Workers’ Association of South Africa. He was detained several times, banned and restricted to Seshego in the Northern Province from 1981 to 1986.
Mr Tsedu is also a short story writer with several of his stories published in various magazines. He was awarded a prestigious Nieman Fellowship in 1996/97 to study at Harvard University in the United States of America.
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
29 June 2009 |