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English Academy of Southern Africa conference – ‘Ways of Reading: Literature and Literacy’

25 January 2024

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.

News Archive

Prof. Jansen is a "charmer", say students

2010-09-14

Prof. Jansen with Transport personnel.

Prof. Jansen with a B.Ed. student, Nokubonga Mdlalose.

Prof Jansen with Mr Samuel Mensah.

Prof Jansen with Sibusiso Macu, Sindiswa Masango, Mbali Phakathi and Masebabatso Mofokeng.

Prof. Jansen with Ms Mtombeni (in a white coat )

CHARMING, DOWN TO EARTH, STREEWISE … these are some of the words staff and students on the Qwaqwa Campus used to describe our Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jonathan Jansen during his recent courtesy visit to the campus.

Prof. Jansen easily mingled and joined in conversations like a person who was acquainted to the groups of friends that he spoke to. Topics ranged from “girlfriends and boyfriends, how easy or difficult that course was, this and that party”, and of course serious academic talk.

“Prof. Jansen jokingly asked me about my white coat and whether I was a medical doctor. And when I answered that I am a cleaners’ supervisor, he became more interested in what I had to tell him,’ said Ms Dineo Mtombeni, a Maintenance Services supervisor.

“He continued to praise me and my colleagues for the cleanliness on campus and I must say he showed that he is a caring person, despite his position,” concluded Ms Mtombeni.

“I was happy to see Prof. Jansen chatting informally with students and staff. I asked him what he thought of our campus and he said he would know it better once he started teaching here once or twice a week,” said Mr Samuel Mensah, Economics lecturer.

“I then invited him to present some Economics classes and he roared with laughter about the difficulty of dealing with our micro and macro aspects of the subject and I asked him to keep it down as that would justify my students’ fear of the subject,” laughed Mr Mensah.

“He is a nice and friendly person,” said a 19-year-old Bachelor of Commerce student Masebabatso Mofokeng.

“We shared a joke or two with him and it was one of our best experiences here on campus,” added friends, Sindiswa Masango (19) and Mbali Phakathi (19), who are also studying for their Bachelor of Commerce degrees.

A Bachelor of Education student, Nokubonga Mdlalose (20) described Prof. Jansen as a ‘charmer’.

“He is generous with his time, despite the high position that he occupies. He is approachable, friendly, charming, cool, calm and collected,” said Nokubonga.

“He asked me about my studies and I told him I wanted to make a difference in as far as teaching science is concerned. He was very interested in my Biology experiments and I am so glad I met him,” concluded Nokubonga.

– Thabo Kessah

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