Wednesday 14 April 2010

South Africa and anti-Apartheid activists papers

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library archive collection contains a significant number of collections of papers relating to South Africa and the anti-Apartheid struggle. Two collections which have had catalogues (in PDF form) recently added to the collection include:

ICS30 Ruth Hayman papers

Ruth Hayman was a lawyer in South Africa, and a campainger for racial equality and justice. After she was banned for her work in South Africa, she settled in North London, and in 1969 set up the pioneering organisation, Neighbourhood English Classes, to help newly arrived immigrants settle into the UK. Her papers in this collection include: papers on politics and human rights in South Africa, c1950-c1968; comprising file of press cuttings on law cases in Eastern Districts, mainly under the Suppression of Communism Act, or for membership of the African National Congress and the Pan African Congress; file of judgements in cases of Roly Israel Arenstein, Helen Beatrice Mary Joseph, Dennis Vincent Brutus, Terence Vigors Rait Beard, Lancelot Makgothi, Isaac Heyman, Phillip Sello and Violet May Weinberg under the Suppression of Communism Act, 1963-1966; legal papers mainly counsel's opinions on the Suppression of Communism Act, 1965-1966; papers on Johannesburg City Council Election campaign, in which Hayman stood unsuccessfully as an Independent Candidate in Berea, Johannesburg; file of legal opinions and judgements, mainly relating to individuals served with Banning Notices under the Suppression of Communism Act, 1962-1965; paper by D V Cowan 'Parliamentary sovereignty and the entrenched sections of the South Africa Act', 1957; file of papers on case of Walter Vannet Hain, Adeline Florence Hain, and Fatima Meer, who had been served with Banning Notices under the Suppression of Communism Act, 1963.

ICS34 Isaac Horvitch papers

Member and Chairman of the South African Communist Party. Prosecuted in the Treason Trials, 1959-64. Isaac Horvitch was an architect and active member and later Chairman of the South African Communist Party (SACP). In 1946 he was charged with sedition, arising from the 1946 miner's strike. After the passing of the Suppression of Communism Act he became Chairman of the Forum Club, a multi-racial political discussion club. He was arrested on 5 December 1956 on charges of treason arising from his involvement in the Congress of the People and the adoption of the Freedom Charter. The preparatory examination and trial lasted from December 1956 until March 1961, when all the accused were found not guilty and discharged. After being acquitted and after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, Horvitch escaped to Botswana and from there made his way to exile in London. Papers in the collection relate to the Treason Trials, including lists of the accused and the charges against them and a copy of the final judgement; typescript drafts for issues of 'Treason Trials Press Summary, 6 Feb 1959 - 10 Mar 1960'; miscellaneous material concerning the Treason Trials, 1957-1958; including appeals for funds by the Treason Trials Defence Fund; Horvitch's personal papers, 1957-1958 including details of payments received from the Treason Trials Defence Fund, and details of Horvitch's architectural practice; publications; papers on Ghana, 1960; and press cuttings on the Treason Trials.

South Africa: One Nation, Many Voices

South Africa: One Nation, Many Voices

18-21 April 2010

Three panel events presented by The British Library in association with The British Council as part of the South Africa Market Focus at the London Book Fair


South Africa: Country of Contrasts
Sunday 18 April 14.30-16.00

What are the realities of life for ordinary South Africans sixteen years since it emerged from apartheid? and in a country where dramatic divides still exist between rich and poor, city and countryside, modernity and tradition. BBC news presenter George Alagiah chairs a discussion with South African writers Thando Mqgolozana and Niq Mhlongo, Jonny Steinberg, Marlene van Niekerk


South Africa: The Legacy of Struggle
Monday 19 April 18.30-20.00


Life under apartheid generated an explosion of creative writing: theatre, fiction and poetry became both responses to the system and weapons of the struggle. Sixteen years on, our distinguished panel consider the impact of politics on writing, and the legacy of apartheid for literature in South Africa today. With author, artist and academic Zakes Mda, novelist and literary figurehead Njabulo Ndebele and the former editors of anti-segregationist Staffrider magazine: author and poet Chris van Wyk and short story writer and novelist Ivan Vladislaviċ. Chaired by award-winning cultural journalist Maya Jaggi (Guardian Review).


South Africa : A United Country?
Wednesday 21 April 18.30-20.00

What does it mean to be South African, especially in the light of its complex make-up and ever-evolving history? How does a country forge a national or common story – and is it necessary to do so? Writer and broadcaster Sue MacGregor, who grew up in Cape Town, chairs a discussion with four contrasting authors of South African origin: Damon Galgut whose novels include Man Booker Prize nominated The Good Doctor; young novelist Kopano Matlwa; prize-winning Afrikaans writer Etienne van Heerden, and Zoe Wicomb, much acclaimed writer of fiction, critic and academic.

For more details visit www.bl.uk/whatson
The British Library Conference Centre, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB

Tickets priced £6 / £4 concessions for each events available at http://boxoffice.bl.uk/, by calling 01937 546546 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri) or in person at The British Library.

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Policing and the Policed conference and archives relating to policing in Ceylon

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, in association with the Open University, is hosting a conference on ‘Policing and the Policed in the Postcolonial State’ on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th April in G37, Senate House, University of London.


This conference seeks to examine policing practice across the Commonwealth from a variety perspectives, including that of the ‘policed’, a constituency whose voices are underrepresented in the existing literature. A key aim of this interdisciplinary conference is to bring together academics specialists from the fields of history, criminology and the social sciences, as well as those responsible for devising and implementing policing policy.

The conference is organized in conjunction with the Colonial and Postcolonial Policing Group (COPP), a global network of academics, policy-makers and practitioners with a shared interest in colonial policing and its legacy for the post-colonial state and for international policing practice. COPP is hosted by The Open University through its International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research.

Speakers will include Professor David Anderson (University of Oxford), Dr Graham Ellison (Queen’s University, Belfast) and Professor Alice Hills (University of Leeds).

Please contact Troy Rutt troy.rutt@sas.ac.uk for further details.

With this forthcoming conference it is timely to announce a new archives catalogue available online. The papers of J R Granville Bantock: Assistant Superintendent of Police, Ceylon, 1931-1928; and Superintendent, Crime Branch, Columbo, Ceylon, 1931-1936, have been added to the ULRLS Archives Catalogue in PDF format.


The collections comprise the papers of J R Granville Bantock on his career with the Ceylon Police Force, 1921-1936; including personal papers 1922-1938, including correspondence; papers on visit of the Prince of Wales [later King Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor], 1922; papers on visit of the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden, Dec 1922; papers on the role of the police during elections, 1931-1932; report by H L Dowbiggin, Inspector-General of Police, on disturbance at Eraviur, Eastern Province, 1933; report by Bantock on strike at spinning and weaving mills, Wellawatte, 1937; notes on poison gases; copies of lectures on criminal law; Weekly Reports, 1921-1936, comprising record of inspections, parades, rounds and visits to crime scenes [very brief accounts of day-to day work]

The catalogue entry for the collection is available here.

Seminar - Fratricide and Fraternité: Intimate Atrocities

Fratricide and Fraternité: Understanding and Repairing Neighbourly Atrocity

Mellon Sawyer Seminar Series

Intimate Atrocities

23 April 2010 (2-6 pm)

G35, Senate House, University of London

“Truth in Lies”: The Performativity of Rape and Domestic Violence in Rwanda: Ananda Breed (University of East London)

Bush Wives and Girl Soldiers in Sierra Leone: Chris Coulter (Uppsala University)

The Political Mobilisation of Children: Jason Hart (University of Bath)

Fighting the Silence and Weapon of War: Confessions of Rape in Congo: Film Screenings and discussion with filmmaker Ilse van Velzen

Congo in Crisis: Andrew McConnell photo exhibition  (Organized by Doctors of the World UK)

This seminar forms part of a series comprising 2 conferences and 6 seminars organized by the Human Rights Consortium, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

The events are free and open to all. Registration recommended. For further information go to www.sas.ac.uk/fratricide.html or email kirrily.pells@sas.ac.uk