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30 October 2024 | Story Jacky Tshokwe | Photo Bram Fischer
BRAM FISCHER MEMORIAL LECTURE 2024

Join us as Prof Premesh Lalu from the University of the Western Cape presents this year’s lecture, with a response from Prof Steven Friedman of the University of Johannesburg.

Lecture title: "Bram Fischer's Briefcase: What's Left of Apartheid?"

In a compelling narrative of historical irony, a briefcase exchanged between Bram Fischer and Sydney Kentridge after the Rivonia Trial was later reimagined in the 1997 theatre production Ubu and the Truth Commission, created by Jane Taylor, William Kentridge, and Handspring Puppet Company. Repurposed as the ‘Dogs of War’ puppet, this briefcase transformed into Brutus, Brutus, and Brutus – embodying apartheid’s enforcers and the unspoken tensions beneath South Africa's political history. Through the theatre lens, the lecture will explore whether Bram Fischer’s briefcase revealed apartheid as a tragicomedy that needed dismantling to foster genuine reconciliation.

Date: Thursday 14 November 2024
Time: 18:00 to 21:00

Venue: Albert Wessels Auditorium, UFS Bloemfontein Campus

Click to view documentClick here to RSVP before by 10 November 2024.

The Speaker

Prof Premesh Lalu is a prominent researcher and former Director of the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) at the University of the Western Cape, which was awarded flagship status by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSTI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) in 2016. His books include The Deaths of Hintsa: Post-Apartheid South Africa and the Shape of Recurring Pasts (2009) and Undoing Apartheid (2022). He is a respected voice in publications such as History and Theory, the Journal of Southern African Studies, and Critical Times, and serves on various international advisory boards.

The Respondent

Prof Steven Friedman is a Research Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg. A widely published authority on South Africa’s democratic transition, his work focuses on democratic theory and practice. His notable publications include Good Jew, Bad Jew: Racism, Anti-Semitism and the Assault on Meaning, and he writes a weekly column, Against the Tide, offering critical insights into South African democracy.

For further information, please contact Alicia Pienaar at pienaaran1@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

House Madelief turns over a new leaf
2013-02-15

 

The new year has come with a lot of changes for House Madelief. The residence, home to 179 female students, had a make-over which changed its inside appearance. The changes include new relaxation and meeting spaces, changes in decor, as well as renovations to the residence’ and visitors’ bathrooms.

Notable changes include four different spaces which each present a unique, but blending identity. When not in class, residents can make use of the little coffee corner, a conference room for quick meetings, a lounge and relaxation area. New paintings were also hung in the men’s gazellie, consisting of artworks painted by talented Madelief resident, Kondi Shikwambani. 

With new decor came a new theme. “A place we call home, our home, Madelief," says Diatile Mohlakane, Prime of the residence. "Madelief is a vibrant place of colour, which has postitive energy flowing throughout the house."

Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, congratulated Madelief on its new appearances. "We are immensely proud of Madelief and of both the Residence Head and the Residence Committee for achieving change, not only in terms of what the residence’s facilities offer Madeliefies, but also in the apparent sense of community among students which have become a proud reality. Madeliefies are now known as people who live with values which inspire all around them."

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