This year marks the centenary of the publication in 1922 of Abantu Abamnyama Lapa Bavela Ngakona (The Black People and Whence They Came), the first book-length history of black people written in isiZulu. Part of the Nguni language group, there are an estimated 12 million isiZulu speakers in South Africa.
Its author was Magema Fuze, now seen as a major figure in the body of writings produced in African languages in South Africa, but one who remains too little known outside narrow scholarly circles.
Submitted by Phumeza Majola on 23 February, 2022 - 12:24
Sihle Zikalala | Remembering Magema Fuze on the centenary anniversary of the publication of Abantu Abamnyama Lapa Bavela Ngakona
"Undoubtedly, this text is a piece of important history, and thanks to leading Fuze scholar, Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, and the UKZN Press among others, the book will be republished sometime this year."
Podcast | WiSER’s Hlonipha Mokoena in conversation with @CapeTalk’s Abongile Nzelenzele talking 100-year story of South Africa’s our first history book published in isiZulu.
Enhancing health-related remittances to Zimbabwe through digital technology
“Ndabatisa malayitsha mapiritsi amai eBP” (I gave malayitsha the BP tablets for mother). “I will send [the groceries] with malayitsha at the end of the month.” “Is your malayitsha reliable, I want to send my things home?” “How much does [the] malayitsha charge [to carry] one thousand rands?” “Did malayitsha deliver all the things I sent?”
Achille Mbembe, an outstanding researcher in the fields of humanities, social sciences, law, or theology, has been honored with the 2024 Holberg Prize. The University of Witwatersrand highlights this award as one of the most prestigious international accolades given annually to exceptional scholars in these disciplines.
Read full article here. @The University of Witwatersrand
PATRICIA HAYES AND IONA GILBURT
Centre for Humanities Research, University of the Western Cape
Retakes in Liquid Time*
In the wake of intensifying debates on decolonisation and restitution in Africa and
its francophone diaspora, a Facebook posting of 6 February 2020 gave an other life
to a photographic portrait of the French-Italian explorer Savorgnan de Brazza taken in 1882.
‘Hamwe Festival is a wonderful initiative.’ We are thrilled to welcome WiSER’s Prof. Nolwazi Mkhwanazi, a prominent medical anthropologist, on our first Board of Advisors, who will play a critical role in the growth and impact of #HamweFestival.
Can high-level meetings and summits build trust and change a historically complex set of relationships between France and post-colonial African nations?
French president Emmanuel Macron visited Rwanda on 27 May, the first such trip for France’s head of state since Nicolas Sarkozy over 10 years ago. This was a highly anticipated visit aimed at normalising relations between the two countries, which have been tense over conflicting narratives about France’s role during the 1994 genocide.
The vastly different perspectives and treatments in two recent books about Zimbabwean author Dambudzo Marechera leave the reader with tantalising questions beyond the subject matter.
My first encounter with Dambudzo Marechera is at assembly at an out-of-the-way rural boarding school. I was twelve. At this point I don’t know his story or reputations. His gender is fluid. For a while he stayed a woman in my imagination. He is not a man. Androgynous. – Tinashe Mushakavanhu
Professor Achille Mbembe, from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, has become the first African to win the Holberg Prize, recognizing his pioneering work in the humanities, social sciences, law, or theology. Awarded annually with a value of approximately US$575,000, the prize honors Mbembe's contributions that challenge traditional views on decolonization and humanity. His influential research, which has been translated into 17 languages, promotes a global understanding that transcends racial and colonial legacies.
Congratulations to Editor Makhosazana Xaba, and the 23 contributors on winning the NIHSS award for non-fiction. The compelling book, Our Words Our Worlds, explores the history and impact of poetry by black women.
Call for Applications for NRF Freestanding, Innovation and Scarce Skills Postdoctoral Fellowships for 2017
The National Research Foundation (NRF) in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) are pleased to announce the call for scholarship applications for 2017 in the following categories:
Sinethemba Makanya, a WiSER medical humanities doctoral student, has been named one of the Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans in the field of Science & Technology...
Submitted by Sarah Nuttall on 27 November, 2018 - 17:43
Statement from Sarah Nuttall and Achille Mbembe on “Recognition, Reparation, Reconciliation” Conference (Stellenbosch University)
We, like a large number of South African and international scholars, firmly oppose Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and support the boycott as a non-violent strategy for ending the occupation.
