Serving the Next Generation - The Commonwealth in the 21st Century: A Strange Alchemy of Life and Law
Speaker: Justice Albie Sachs
THIS EVENT IS PART OF THE LECTURE SERIES TO MARK THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF BOTH THE INSTITUTE AND THE MODERN COMMONWEALTH.
Albie Sachs has been a Justice of South Africa’s Constitutional Court since 1994. A lawyer and anti-apartheid activist, Sachs is also the author of several books on various subjects including human rights, culture, gender and the environment. His books include ‘The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs’ covering his time in solitary confinement in apartheid South Africa; and his struggle after losing his right arm in a car bomb in Maputo recounted in ‘The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter’. In his most recent book ‘Free Diary of Albie Sachs’ (Random House South Africa 2004) Sachs says the challenge was to write about happiness instead of pain and suffering. In recent years he has been passionate about the architecture and décor of the ‘Peoples Palace’- the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Monday 1 March
12:30 - 14:00
Please note this lecture will begin promptly at 12.30pm.
Venue: The Beveridge Hall (Senate House, Ground Floor)
Contact: troy.rutt@sas.ac.uk
The Library is particularly pleased to welcome Albie Sachs back to the Institute in a visit which continues his long standing relationship with the Institute.
We are also pleased to use this opportunity to promote our holdings of the microfilm of the papers of Dr Albert Louis ('Albie') Sachs concerning legal cases and political trials of approximately 100 individuals, in South Africa. Charges include murder, sabotage, rape, contravention of Emergency Regulations, membership of the Pan Africanist Congress, incitement, distribution of banned literature, banning orders, arson, corruption, race classification and entering native locations. This collection can be consulted, on request, in the Special Collections Reading Room, 4th Floor, South Block, Senate House Library.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Monday, 22 February 2010
Books added to the collection in January
A list of new books added to the collection can be found on our new books page.
New titles this month cover topics including poverty in Kenya, human rights in West Africa, HIV/AIDS in Africa, African women and apartheid, tourism in Lesotho, Canadian business history, Caribbean youth, the implications of WTO membership for Pacific Island nations, the economic status of Pacific peoples in New Zealand, and a collection of works on Ghandhi and both South Africa and India.
New titles this month cover topics including poverty in Kenya, human rights in West Africa, HIV/AIDS in Africa, African women and apartheid, tourism in Lesotho, Canadian business history, Caribbean youth, the implications of WTO membership for Pacific Island nations, the economic status of Pacific peoples in New Zealand, and a collection of works on Ghandhi and both South Africa and India.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Exploring the Census - an Indian Odyssey
Throughout the enormous geographical extent of British colonies, as well as the raw goods and finished products on which the Empire’s prosperity was based constantly being exchanged, information was a major commodity. Unlike most of the physical items, this information is still available to researchers, and is a resource not only for historians, but for those interested in an extraordinarily wide range of subjects.
A common perception is that the Population Census is simply a head count of the people of the country. It is much more than that. Censuses collect reliable data on essential characteristics, such as, population, economy activity, social and cultural aspects, migration and demography and present them at the lowest administrative level. Census data demonstrates where the nation is positioned at a particular point in respect of various social and economic characteristics in the world. The ten yearly census data is very useful for planning for the future, as well as for reflecting on trends and change from the past.
The first Indian national census was contemplated in the mid 1850's but had a number of precedents, The earliest literature 'Rig-Veda' reveals that some kind of population count was maintained in the period 800-600 BC in India. The celebrated 'Arthashastr' by 'Kautilya' written in the 3rd Century BC prescribed the collection of population statistics as a measure of state policy for taxation. During the regime of the Mughal king Akbar, the administrative report 'Ain-e-Akbari' included comprehensive data pertaining to population, industry, wealth and many other characteristics.
A systematic and modern population census was conducted non synchronously between 1865 and 1872 in different parts of the country. This effort, building on methods used in previous colonial tabulations, culminated in 1872 and has been popularly labelled as the first population census of India. The first synchronous census in India was held in 1881. Since then, censuses have been undertaken uninterruptedly once every ten year.
There are problems in inherent in the collection of census data and statistics – these include both operational or logistical factors, including omissions and undercounting, and conceptual issues. For the Indian census historically there has been some degree of subjectivity in relation to how villages and towns and how families have been defined. One other issue that has been the subject of scholarly debate revolves around the way in which caste was conceptualised by the Indian census and the impact of this. Caste was included in censuses until 1931, and its use related to British theories of race. The introduction of a notion of social precedence has been claimed by some scholars to have had a significant role in the production of modern caste identities in India.
The Census of India 2001 was the fourteenth census in the continuous series and the sixth since independence. The gigantic task of census taking was completed in two phases. In the first phase, the House -listing Operation, all building and structures, residential, partly residential or non- residential were identified and listed and the uses to which they were put recorded. Information on houses, household amenities and assets were also collected. In the second phase, the Population Enumeration, more detailed information on each individual residing in the country, Indian national or otherwise, during the enumeration period was collected. At the Census 2001, more than 2 million (or 20 lakh) enumerators were deployed to collect the information by visiting every household. The Indian Census is one of the largest administrative exercises undertaken in the world.
The modern census is notable for the large number of publications produced and the range of depth of information that it contains. Assistance from library staff is available for students and researchers at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library.
As well as print holdings of census reports and tables electronic sopies are also available. The official Indian Government Census website http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ contains data from the latest 2001 census, and also old census reports and tables, from 1881, 1911, 1921, 1931, and 1941.
A common perception is that the Population Census is simply a head count of the people of the country. It is much more than that. Censuses collect reliable data on essential characteristics, such as, population, economy activity, social and cultural aspects, migration and demography and present them at the lowest administrative level. Census data demonstrates where the nation is positioned at a particular point in respect of various social and economic characteristics in the world. The ten yearly census data is very useful for planning for the future, as well as for reflecting on trends and change from the past.
The first Indian national census was contemplated in the mid 1850's but had a number of precedents, The earliest literature 'Rig-Veda' reveals that some kind of population count was maintained in the period 800-600 BC in India. The celebrated 'Arthashastr' by 'Kautilya' written in the 3rd Century BC prescribed the collection of population statistics as a measure of state policy for taxation. During the regime of the Mughal king Akbar, the administrative report 'Ain-e-Akbari' included comprehensive data pertaining to population, industry, wealth and many other characteristics.
A systematic and modern population census was conducted non synchronously between 1865 and 1872 in different parts of the country. This effort, building on methods used in previous colonial tabulations, culminated in 1872 and has been popularly labelled as the first population census of India. The first synchronous census in India was held in 1881. Since then, censuses have been undertaken uninterruptedly once every ten year.
There are problems in inherent in the collection of census data and statistics – these include both operational or logistical factors, including omissions and undercounting, and conceptual issues. For the Indian census historically there has been some degree of subjectivity in relation to how villages and towns and how families have been defined. One other issue that has been the subject of scholarly debate revolves around the way in which caste was conceptualised by the Indian census and the impact of this. Caste was included in censuses until 1931, and its use related to British theories of race. The introduction of a notion of social precedence has been claimed by some scholars to have had a significant role in the production of modern caste identities in India.
The Census of India 2001 was the fourteenth census in the continuous series and the sixth since independence. The gigantic task of census taking was completed in two phases. In the first phase, the House -listing Operation, all building and structures, residential, partly residential or non- residential were identified and listed and the uses to which they were put recorded. Information on houses, household amenities and assets were also collected. In the second phase, the Population Enumeration, more detailed information on each individual residing in the country, Indian national or otherwise, during the enumeration period was collected. At the Census 2001, more than 2 million (or 20 lakh) enumerators were deployed to collect the information by visiting every household. The Indian Census is one of the largest administrative exercises undertaken in the world.
The modern census is notable for the large number of publications produced and the range of depth of information that it contains. Assistance from library staff is available for students and researchers at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library.
As well as print holdings of census reports and tables electronic sopies are also available. The official Indian Government Census website http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ contains data from the latest 2001 census, and also old census reports and tables, from 1881, 1911, 1921, 1931, and 1941.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Empire into Commonwealth, 1910-2010 - Lecture series
Empire into Commonwealth, 1910-2010
A series of lectures to mark the joint centenary of the Round Table: the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and the Royal Over-Seas League
Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James's Street, London SW1A 1LR
Monday evenings, 7.00 to 8.30pm
1 March: The Edwardian Empire - Dr. John Darwin, Beit Lecturer in the History of the British Empire and Commonwealth, University of Oxford
12 April: The Empire/Commonwealth between the Wars - Dr. Susan Williams, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London
10 May: The Empire/Commonwealth and the Second World War - Dr. Ashley Jackson, Senior Lecturer, Defence Studies Department, King's College London
7 June: The Commonwealth in the Age of Decolonisation - Prof. Wm. Roger Louis, Kerr Professor of English History and Culture, University of Texas at Austin
5 July: The Modern Commonwealth - Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
All welcome; seats allocated on a ‘first come, first seated’ basis
For further details, contact Alex May (01865 355047 or alex.may@oup.com) or John Edwards (01732 883556 or johncoatesedward@aol.com)
A series of lectures to mark the joint centenary of the Round Table: the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and the Royal Over-Seas League
Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James's Street, London SW1A 1LR
Monday evenings, 7.00 to 8.30pm
1 March: The Edwardian Empire - Dr. John Darwin, Beit Lecturer in the History of the British Empire and Commonwealth, University of Oxford
12 April: The Empire/Commonwealth between the Wars - Dr. Susan Williams, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London
10 May: The Empire/Commonwealth and the Second World War - Dr. Ashley Jackson, Senior Lecturer, Defence Studies Department, King's College London
7 June: The Commonwealth in the Age of Decolonisation - Prof. Wm. Roger Louis, Kerr Professor of English History and Culture, University of Texas at Austin
5 July: The Modern Commonwealth - Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
All welcome; seats allocated on a ‘first come, first seated’ basis
For further details, contact Alex May (01865 355047 or alex.may@oup.com) or John Edwards (01732 883556 or johncoatesedward@aol.com)
Citizenship and the Commonwealth: First Conference Announcement
2010 Commonwealth Conference
First Announcement
The first Commonwealth Conference will take place from Wednesday 10th to Friday 12th November 2010 at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK.
The theme of the Conference will be “Citizenship and the Commonwealth”
Objectives
This, the first Commonwealth Conference, will explore what it means to be a citizen of the Commonwealth in the 21st century. The issue of citizenship received only passing mention in the Communiqué of the 2009 CHOGM. Yet the creation of effective forms of citizenship, which offer the maximum potential for the inhabitants of Commonwealth countries to play an active and informed role in shaping their lives and their countries, is an important precondition for the achievement of the Commonwealth’s stated goals in areas as diverse as democratisation, sustainable development, human rights, combating corruption and tackling climate change.
Active citizenship is essential for both the ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ integration of societies: ‘horizontal’ in terms of forging bonds of understanding and cooperation between different ethnic, religious and political identities, and ‘vertical’ in terms of providing people with the sense that they have a stake in all levels of policy-making, civil society and the economy. The major problems confronting the Commonwealth can be tackled more effectively if ordinary citizens feel confident that they can make a difference and governments have support for their actions from the electorate.
Participants
We would like to invite papers that address the broad theme of “Citizenship and the Commonwealth”.
These may cover topics such as:
• Commonwealth citizenship in an historical context
• Definitions of citizenship
• Gender, ethnicity and citizenship
• Citizenship, democracy and soft power
• Citizenship and migration
• Citizenship and the environment
• Citizenship and the economy
• Technology and the nature of active citizenship
Applications should include the following:
• A curriculum vitae (2000 words maximum)
• The name, address and email address of one referee
• An abstract of around 500 words on an issue relating to the subject
Background to the Conference
For a number of years the Association of Commonwealth Studies (ACS), an informal network of those interested in Commonwealth studies, has held occasional conferences at Cumberland Lodge. Arising from the deliberations of a working group, it has been agreed to place these meetings onto a regular basis, renamed as the Commonwealth Conference. We would like to acknowledge the vision and energy of Professor Thomas Symons of Trent University, Canada, in establishing the ACS, and to express the hope that all the supporters of the ACS will value the new format, support it through their participation, and consider ways and means to host future sessions of the Commonwealth Conference.
Sponsors and Organisers
The 2010 Commonwealth Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the UK Commonwealth Scholarships Commission. It will be held on a biennial basis, in alternate years to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The aim of the Conference is to bring together academics, students, policy makers, members of NGOs and other civil society groups, to discuss an issue of central importance to the future of the Commonwealth. Special emphasis will be placed on engaging with the views of students, early-career researchers and other young people from across the Commonwealth.
Publication Plans
The outcomes of the Commonwealth Conference will be disseminated in two principal ways: selected papers will be published in an edited volume, and a report will be compiled on the Conference as a whole. Both will be launched at the following year’s CHOGM. In this way, the conference organisers seek to add a new dimension and additional focus to the civil society consultations which precede Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings.
Submissions
Submissions should be sent either in hard copy or electronically to:
Troy Rutt Troy.Rutt@sas.ac.uk
Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London,
2nd floor, South block, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU
The 2010 Commonwealth Conference is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation, the UK Commonwealth Scholarships Commission and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies
First Announcement
The first Commonwealth Conference will take place from Wednesday 10th to Friday 12th November 2010 at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK.
The theme of the Conference will be “Citizenship and the Commonwealth”
Objectives
This, the first Commonwealth Conference, will explore what it means to be a citizen of the Commonwealth in the 21st century. The issue of citizenship received only passing mention in the Communiqué of the 2009 CHOGM. Yet the creation of effective forms of citizenship, which offer the maximum potential for the inhabitants of Commonwealth countries to play an active and informed role in shaping their lives and their countries, is an important precondition for the achievement of the Commonwealth’s stated goals in areas as diverse as democratisation, sustainable development, human rights, combating corruption and tackling climate change.
Active citizenship is essential for both the ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ integration of societies: ‘horizontal’ in terms of forging bonds of understanding and cooperation between different ethnic, religious and political identities, and ‘vertical’ in terms of providing people with the sense that they have a stake in all levels of policy-making, civil society and the economy. The major problems confronting the Commonwealth can be tackled more effectively if ordinary citizens feel confident that they can make a difference and governments have support for their actions from the electorate.
Participants
We would like to invite papers that address the broad theme of “Citizenship and the Commonwealth”.
These may cover topics such as:
• Commonwealth citizenship in an historical context
• Definitions of citizenship
• Gender, ethnicity and citizenship
• Citizenship, democracy and soft power
• Citizenship and migration
• Citizenship and the environment
• Citizenship and the economy
• Technology and the nature of active citizenship
Applications should include the following:
• A curriculum vitae (2000 words maximum)
• The name, address and email address of one referee
• An abstract of around 500 words on an issue relating to the subject
Background to the Conference
For a number of years the Association of Commonwealth Studies (ACS), an informal network of those interested in Commonwealth studies, has held occasional conferences at Cumberland Lodge. Arising from the deliberations of a working group, it has been agreed to place these meetings onto a regular basis, renamed as the Commonwealth Conference. We would like to acknowledge the vision and energy of Professor Thomas Symons of Trent University, Canada, in establishing the ACS, and to express the hope that all the supporters of the ACS will value the new format, support it through their participation, and consider ways and means to host future sessions of the Commonwealth Conference.
Sponsors and Organisers
The 2010 Commonwealth Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the UK Commonwealth Scholarships Commission. It will be held on a biennial basis, in alternate years to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The aim of the Conference is to bring together academics, students, policy makers, members of NGOs and other civil society groups, to discuss an issue of central importance to the future of the Commonwealth. Special emphasis will be placed on engaging with the views of students, early-career researchers and other young people from across the Commonwealth.
Publication Plans
The outcomes of the Commonwealth Conference will be disseminated in two principal ways: selected papers will be published in an edited volume, and a report will be compiled on the Conference as a whole. Both will be launched at the following year’s CHOGM. In this way, the conference organisers seek to add a new dimension and additional focus to the civil society consultations which precede Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings.
Submissions
Submissions should be sent either in hard copy or electronically to:
Troy Rutt Troy.Rutt@sas.ac.uk
Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London,
2nd floor, South block, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU
The 2010 Commonwealth Conference is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation, the UK Commonwealth Scholarships Commission and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Call for papers: The Real Story?: Personal Papers, Life Histories and Africa
The Real Story? Personal Papers, Life Histories and Africa
SCOLMA (the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa) Annual Conference
British Library Conference Centre, London, 8th June 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS
The conference will investigate the research potential of personal papers for African studies.
What can collections of private papers tell us about African history and biography, and how have they been used by historians? Who leaves private papers, who keeps them, and how should they be / are they being dealt with? What differences are there internationally in acquisitions and preservation policies? What are the tensions and relationships between private papers and public records? What difference is the digital revolution making?
We welcome papers from librarians, archivists, academics and other researchers looking at either single or multiple collections, held anywhere in the world. Colleagues from continental Europe attending the ELIAS (European Librarians in African Studies) meeting on 7th June 2010 are encouraged to offer papers.
Personal / private papers are defined as collections assembled, and usually authored in whole or in part, by a single person.
It is envisaged that selected papers from the conference will be published in SCOLMA’s journal, African Research and Documentation.
The deadline for the submission of proposals is 31 March 2010.
Please send your proposal (including name, affiliation, title and a one-page abstract) to:
Dr Marion Wallace, African Curator, British Library
Email: marion.wallace@bl.uk
Tel.: +44 20 7412 7829
Fax: +44 20 7412 7641
Please also contact Marion if you would like further information about the conference.
To pre-register for the conference, please contact
Lucy McCann, Archivist, Bodleian Library of Commonwealth & African Studies, Rhodes House, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RG
Email: lucy.mccann@bodley.ox.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)1865 270908
SCOLMA website: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/library/scolma/
SCOLMA (the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa) Annual Conference
British Library Conference Centre, London, 8th June 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS
The conference will investigate the research potential of personal papers for African studies.
What can collections of private papers tell us about African history and biography, and how have they been used by historians? Who leaves private papers, who keeps them, and how should they be / are they being dealt with? What differences are there internationally in acquisitions and preservation policies? What are the tensions and relationships between private papers and public records? What difference is the digital revolution making?
We welcome papers from librarians, archivists, academics and other researchers looking at either single or multiple collections, held anywhere in the world. Colleagues from continental Europe attending the ELIAS (European Librarians in African Studies) meeting on 7th June 2010 are encouraged to offer papers.
Personal / private papers are defined as collections assembled, and usually authored in whole or in part, by a single person.
It is envisaged that selected papers from the conference will be published in SCOLMA’s journal, African Research and Documentation.
The deadline for the submission of proposals is 31 March 2010.
Please send your proposal (including name, affiliation, title and a one-page abstract) to:
Dr Marion Wallace, African Curator, British Library
Email: marion.wallace@bl.uk
Tel.: +44 20 7412 7829
Fax: +44 20 7412 7641
Please also contact Marion if you would like further information about the conference.
To pre-register for the conference, please contact
Lucy McCann, Archivist, Bodleian Library of Commonwealth & African Studies, Rhodes House, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RG
Email: lucy.mccann@bodley.ox.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)1865 270908
SCOLMA website: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/library/scolma/
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