Liberation Movements in South Africa

Today we sat in on a lecture by Stellenbosch University Professor Dr. Justin Pearce about liberation movements in South Africa. Dr. Pearce gave us an impressive crash course on the History of South Africa. He started off by providing us with some context about the African continent, and emphasized the political significance of the land itself. Then we learned about the multiple colonization efforts in Southern Africa both by country and decade. It was very neat to see how liberation movements in Africa played out on the global stage and better understand the political motives of the major players in apartheid. 

 

Dr. Pearce concluded by showing us some intriguing pictures he took when he visited an ANC training camp in Angola. In the pictures were layers of writing and phrases painted on the walls in many different languages. We observed the impact of foreign presence during such a transitional time. By studying resistance and repression in Southern Africa, we realized that all Southern African countries had different paths to victory, and the effects of liberation linger heavily in the government today. After the lecture, we were all feeling very grateful for the ability to learn history from a different perspective and in a different place than we ever have been before.

 

Madeleine S

07/13/2022