Bringing back the ‘Little Jazz City’ legacy

MORE than 60 years ago, Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape, was South Africa’s "Little Jazz City". Almost every black home hosted an instrument, or a player or singer of note, and musical dynasties such as the Matshikiza family were being established. ...read more

Sparkling UBOM! pulls it off again

RENOWNED Eastern Cape theatre company, UBOM! is at it again with the introduction of their latest production, Betti & the Yeti. ...read more

Inside Rustenberg's banned protests

Labour and social conflict forced its way into the public consciousness last year when scores of people, mainly miners, were killed and injured in Marikana. ...read more

Suspected illegal discharge on Kowie River irks surfer

A PORT Alfred surfer has opened criminal charges with police for the alleged illegal discharge of Kowie River dredge within 100m of the sea. ...read more

Campaign every day for change in attitude

THE STATE of the Nation address occurred amid a national outcry and introspection on gender-based violence. ...read more

Making way for a new view of reality

It was a sight that demanded interpretation. Athi-Patra Ruga, wearing stilettos and stockings, his upper body and head hidden under a cloud of balloons, was stuck outside a revolving door. ...read more

Dancing on dangerous ground

A local choreographer is confronting the loaded issue of gender-based violence and silence.Athena Mazarakis is an award-winning choreographer and performer who works in the areas of physical theatre and contemporary dance. ...read more

Education receives poor audit

PSAM study points to department’s financial woes for past 10 years. ...read more

Hip-hop caravan teaches people

The Afrikan Hip-Hop Caravan is about to sweep through six African cities, from Cape Town to Timbuktu, over the next two months. ...read more

Mixed bill of choreography

Thin line between the perceived reality and the need for social contact and acceptance Now, 25 years on, Dance Umbrella has developed into one of the main platforms for contemporary choreography and dance in Southern Africa. ...read more

Contemporary counterparts

THE 21st century has seen three c words dominate almost every part of our lives: "Made in China' ? It is this domination that has 1 prompted artist and Associate Professor in the Fine Arts Department at Rhodes University, Ruth Simbao, to put together a collection of works that discuss the China-Africa relationship, including education, economy and culture. ...read more

Progress and neglect

The invitation extended this year to SA born composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen by the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival (JIMF) is of significance, especially in the context of SA classical music. ...read more

Beauty of adults playing pretend

COMING to the Midlands, fresh from a successful performance at the Musho! International Festival of One and Two-Hander Theatre in Durban, is Tristan Jacobs' Hambre Del Alma. Directed by Andrew Buckland, this solo mask performance tells the story of the Durban-born, Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa. ...read more

The star of Drama Alumni on the rise

MUSICIAN Lucy Kruger has come a long way in just one short year. Since this time in 2011, the Durban born and Joburg-raised songwriter has recorded and released her debut album Cut Those Strings, played gigs all over the country and shot her first music video. ...read more

Viva to the SA pencil-pushing angels who simply do their jobs

I have a confession to make: I love good administrators. It's true – I love modest, orderly and efficient fellow human beings who sit at desks in front of computers and telephones doing their job properly from eight to five until they retire. ...read more

Politics students receive Mandela Rhodes Scholarship

Three Rhodes University students, Lihle Mancoba, Abigail McDougall and Michael Glover, are amongst the 29 young Africans to receive the prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarship for 2013. ...read more

Students and the Black Consciousness Movement

“The Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa,” drew on Prof Barney Pityana’s own experiences as one of the founders of the movement, and particularly, the culture of education and activism that he and his contemporaries were so committed to. ...read more

“Women in Tradition in Democracy”

“The home is the site of struggle,” said Ms Nomboniso Gasa, “the central point of struggle.” Gasa, a researcher and analyst of gender, political and cultural issues, shared her thoughts about South African customary law at the talk, “Women in Tradition in Democracy”. ...read more

Misconceptions and the complex nature of struggles in South Africa

The rampant belief that all South African protests relate to service delivery issues is ignorant and uninformed, said Political and International Studies lecturer, Mr Richard Pithouse in his talk “Community Politics in South Africa”. ...read more

Old Rhodian wins SA Literary Award

Last weekend, the South African Literary Awards were hosted at the University of the Free State. ...read more

South African media marginalise voices

Taking stock of the media since the onset of democracy, Prof Jane Duncan of the School of Journalism and Media Studies critiqued the established systems of news in South Africa, examining specifically, the coverage of Marikana -- one of the media’s most glaring failures. ...read more

Insights into the mind of a significant SA poet

No other world, a compilation of essays on the life and work of South African poet Don Maclennan (1929-2009), offers insights into the man and his thinking, and provides analyses of his writing, notably of the longer poems, Notes from a Rhenish Mission (2001) and A Letter to William Blake (2003). ...read more

Pan African perspectives on current struggles

Contributing to the interdisciplinary colloquium entitled, Lineages of Freedom, which took place recently, Firoze Manji spoke on the topic: ‘Pan African Perspectives on Current Struggles’. Born in Kenya, Manji is an activist, internationally respected scholar and the founder and former editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News, a pan-African email and online newsletter committed to social justice. ...read more

Umkhonto we-Sizwe soldier speaks of history and hope

A former Umkhonto we-Sizwe (MK) soldier, Barry Gilder launched his latest book in Grahamstown entitled From Rebellion to Governance: The Songs and Secrets of Barry Gilder. ...read more

Patriarchy discourse dominant in South African leadership

Independent analyst and gender activist, Ms Nomboniso Gasa said patriarchy domination is not treated in the same way like other forms of oppression in South Africa. She was addressing an audience at Rhodes University as part of the Lineages of Freedom series of critical conversations. ...read more

Colloquium interrogates history and routes to freedom

Tracking the history of struggle movements in South Africa and abroad was the focus of Lineages of Freedom, an interdisciplinary colloquium that opened a critical dialogue around the social and political tensions that exist in South Africa eighteen years into democracy. It brought together community activists and academics from sociology, politics, biology, economics, history and journalism. ...read more

Capitalism faces crisis

Andrew W. Mellon Senior Scholar, Prof John Holloway said that capitalism will fall if the exploitation of workers does not increase, when he addressed a packed audience at the Eden Grove Blue Lecture theatre. ...read more

Zimbabwe marked by polarising social conflicts

Dr Kirk Helliker, senior lecturer in Sociology Department at Rhodes University said the contemporary Zimbabwean experience provides interesting insight into the role and behavior of civil society organisations, running contrary to most prior conceptions. ...read more

Changing society through the state has failed

The idea of changing the society through the state has failed. These were the sentiments of visiting Mellon Senior Scholar and a Congolese historian at a recent two-day Sociology conference on Politics at a Distance. ...read more

Challenges facing Social Movements

Social movements discussed the challenges they are facing and different initiatives that they are involved in at a recent Sociology conference on Politics at a distance from the state. ...read more

Class divisions in education entrench societal segregation

Mark Hunter, Research Associate in Population and Development Studies at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN), demonstrated how the mobility of children between city schools counteracts government attempts to address education inequalities and creates a situation in which schools are increasingly divided according to class. ...read more

Africa pregnant with hope and despair

Africa today faces both an opportunity for major social change and the potential for increasing barbarism in what is perhaps the most exciting period in our history. “This is a period pregnant with hope, but also pregnant with its twin, despair,” said Mr Firoze Manji, former-director of Pan African online news publication Pambazuka. ...read more

Prof Nash argues for the renewal of Marxism in South Africa

Associate Professor Andrew Nash of the University of Cape Town (UCT) Department of Political Science, argued that the implosion of South African Marxism at the moment of transition to a constitutional democracy resulted in the loss of the moral and political culture the country had known at the end of the struggle. ...read more

Sociology conference discusses politics at a distance from state

A recent two-day sociology conference has opened space for the discussion of politics that is at a distance from the state. ...read more

Articles of Interest 2011 - book launch of Peter Gabriel

The Faculty of Humanities and the Sociology department recently hosted the launch of the book “Peter Gabriel, From Genesis to Growing Up”.

The book was edited by Michael Drewett, Associate Professor in the sociology department, Dr Sarah Hill of Cardiff University and Kimi Kärki of the University of Turku, Finland, with a contribution by Professor Brenda Schmahmann of the Fine Art department.
...read more

Rhodes chairs debate on the state of Humanities

Deans of humanities from eight South African universities assembled at Rhodes University to discuss the present condition of their faculty. In a move to address ongoing questions about the demise of humanities programmes in the country, they established the South African Humanities Deans’ Association (SAHUDA).
...read more

Graduation 2010 - Thursday 8th April 2010 @ 18h00

ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS
The Congregation is requested to stand while the Choir sings Vis Virtus Veritas and the Procession enters the Auditorium.
The Chancellor will constitute the Congregation.
...read more

Graduation April 9th 2010

ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS

The Congregation is requested to stand while the Choir sings Vis Virtus Veritas and the Procession enters the Auditorium.
...read more

Mark Hipper Obituary

A heartfelt goodbye: Mark Hipper
Prolific and internationally esteemed South African artist Mark Hipper, died unexpectedly of natural causes at his home in Grahamstown last Wednesday*, aged forty-nine. ...read more

School of Languages - Talk the talk

Rhodes hosts cutting-edge orality and innovation conference

For the first time the South African Folklore Society (SAFOS) has chosen to hold its prestigious annual conference in the Eastern Cape.
...read more

Bayer Young Environmental 2009

Winners of the 2009 Bayer Young Environmental Envoy (BYEE) programme announced. Outstanding young environmentalists off to Germany in November. ...read more

Thabo Mbeki Rhodes Visit

Thabo Mbeki Rhodes Visit - Mbeki makes History at Rhodes on Africa Day ...read more

News from our departments: 2008

News from all of our departments during 2008 ...read more

Fine Art Student off to Paris 2009

A Rhodes University art student Nyaniso Lindi was recently awarded the much coveted Gerard Sekoto award for most promising artist at the ABSA L’atelier arts awards. The awards, held annually, not only ensure South Africa’s emerging artists of recognition, but also afford them the opportunity to develop their talents abroad. ...read more

Deans Report 2007

The Faculty of Humanities, by far the largest faculty at Rhodes University with about 40% of our student enrolment, had a very productive year. ...read more