Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
21 November 2024
|
Story Jacky Tshokwe
|
Photo Supplied
Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean: Faculty of the Humanities.
On 8 November 2024, the South African Humanities Deans Association (SAHUDA) elected Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean of the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS), as its new President. This appointment marks a pivotal moment for SAHUDA, which represents a diverse network of deans who champion the prominence and future of humanities, social sciences, and the arts in South Africa and beyond. Prof Masoga, who has served as Vice-President of SAHUDA for the past year, brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to advocating for the role of humanities in addressing the challenges of our contemporary world.
As President, Prof Masoga envisions broadening the influence of what he terms ‘public and applied humanities.’ His aim is to advance a humanities framework that not only enriches academic discourse, but also engages with critical global and local issues. This approach, rooted in socially responsive scholarship, will prioritise areas such as computational and digital humanities, environmental humanities, and other interdisciplinary fields that intersect with the pressing concerns of our time.
“The humanities are more relevant than ever to understanding complex societal issues,” Prof Masoga explained. “Through public and applied humanities, we can bring the critical perspectives of our field into active dialogue with the challenges of a digital and ecologically threatened world.”
His election underscores the University of the Free State's growing influence in national and international conversations about the future of the humanities. For the UFS, this leadership role enhances its reputation as an institution deeply invested in fostering meaningful contributions to society. Prof Masoga’s presidency is set to amplify the university’s voice and perspectives in SAHUDA’s mission to fortify the role of humanities in education and public life.
Over the next two years, Prof Masoga’s tenure will include a focus on initiatives that strengthen the relevance of humanities scholarship, encourage interdisciplinary research, and cultivate public engagement. He will also prioritise fostering collaboration across higher education institutions in South Africa and internationally to ensure that humanities disciplines are equipped to address the diverse needs of our rapidly evolving world.
Prof Masoga’s commitment to SAHUDA’s mission reflects the values and aspirations of the UFS Faculty of The Humanities. His presidency is an invaluable opportunity for the university to contribute to the national agenda of reinforcing the humanities as a field essential to a healthy, critically informed, and culturally aware society. This achievement serves as a proud moment for the UFS and a beacon for the potential of the humanities to drive societal progress in South Africa and beyond.
British piano duo perform at Odeion
2016-10-19
David Nettle and Richard Markham, better known
as Nettle and Markham, will be performing in the
Odeion on 20 October 2016.
Photo: Supplied
The Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS) will be hosting one of the world’s foremost piano duos. Nettle and Markham perform in the main concert halls of Europe and with major British orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, the RPO, the CBSO, and the ECO as well as other international orchestras. They also participate in major international festivals such as the Bath, Harrogate, Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein, and BBC Proms.
The British duo have been delighting audiences throughout the musical world for nearly forty years and will perform at the Odeion on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 20 October 2016. David Nettle and Richard Markham are considered one of the most entertaining and musically satisfying partnerships performing today.
"We have not heard here until now a piano duo of such exceptional quality. The understanding of the music by both partners is so good that you cannot distinguish by hearing which of them picks up the musical theme. At the same time it is playing full of colour and spontaneous musicality, stirring and ravishing," Vecemi Praha said.
Nettle and Markham's varied recital and concerto repertoire encompasses not only standard works, but also their own distinctive transcriptions. Their highly praised recordings reflect the range of styles they are known to assimilate effortlessly, from Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring to Sir Malcolm Arnold’s Concertos for two pianos.
In addition to their regular concert schedule, recent seasons have seen them devoting large amounts of time to preparing new recordings - the complete four-hand works of Schumann and Saint-Saëns being the first in a series of projects designed to keep them busy from now until their 40th anniversary seasons in 2017 and 2018.
Event: Nettle and Markham – two pianos
Date: 20 October 2016
Time: 19:30
Place: Odeion (Bloemfontein Campus)
Cost: R130 (adults), R90 (pensioners), R70 (UFS staff members), R50 (students and learners), R50 (group booking of 10+). Tickets available at Computicket.
For more information contact Ninette Pretorius at +27 51 401 2504.