http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/videos-and-podcasts/decriminalising-homosexuality-in-the-caribbean/
The link above provides access to the Caribbean Studies Seminar held on 3rd February 2012 with speaker, Lord Goldsmith QC of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, replacing the originally intended Godfrey Smith, who unexpectedly had to return to Belize. The packed event was held late on a Friday afternoon and is now made available to anyone who was unable to attend in person.
Wednesday 29 February 2012
Tuesday 28 February 2012
Seminar: Politics and Media in post 9/11 Pakistan
Politics and Media in post 9/11 Pakistan
Wednesday 7 March 2012, 17:30 -18:30
Speaker: Kiran Hassan (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
Chair: Professor James Manor (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
Venue: ST274 (Stewart House, second floor), Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
Convenors: Dr Shihan de Silva (Institute of Commonwealth Studies) & Dr Susan Williams (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
Contact: chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk
forthcoming events in the Commonwealth Research Seminar Series include:
13 March The Commonwealth Secretary-General - from Smith to Sharma
Speaker: Stuart Mole (Institute of Commonwealth Studies / Commonwealth Advisory Bureau)
17:30 Room 261 (Senate House, 2nd floor)
28 March Reporting on The Truth & Justice Commission of Mauritius
Speakers: Dr Vijaya Teelock (University of Mauritius)
17:30 The Court Room (Senate House, First Floor)
24 April Rebuilding Sierra Leone's Evidence Base in the Post Conflict Period
Speaker: Anne Thurston (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
17:30 Room 261 (Senate House, 2nd floor)
22 May What happened to 'garibi hatao'? India's Congress Party and the politics of poverty
Speaker: James Chiriyankandath (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
17:30 Room 265 (Senate House, 2nd floor)
Wednesday 7 March 2012, 17:30 -18:30
Speaker: Kiran Hassan (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
Chair: Professor James Manor (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
Venue: ST274 (Stewart House, second floor), Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
Convenors: Dr Shihan de Silva (Institute of Commonwealth Studies) & Dr Susan Williams (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
Contact: chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk
forthcoming events in the Commonwealth Research Seminar Series include:
13 March The Commonwealth Secretary-General - from Smith to Sharma
Speaker: Stuart Mole (Institute of Commonwealth Studies / Commonwealth Advisory Bureau)
17:30 Room 261 (Senate House, 2nd floor)
28 March Reporting on The Truth & Justice Commission of Mauritius
Speakers: Dr Vijaya Teelock (University of Mauritius)
17:30 The Court Room (Senate House, First Floor)
24 April Rebuilding Sierra Leone's Evidence Base in the Post Conflict Period
Speaker: Anne Thurston (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
17:30 Room 261 (Senate House, 2nd floor)
22 May What happened to 'garibi hatao'? India's Congress Party and the politics of poverty
Speaker: James Chiriyankandath (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
17:30 Room 265 (Senate House, 2nd floor)
Monday 27 February 2012
Panel: Small Territories, Global Issues: Governance and Corruption in the Caribbean
You are warmly invited to the following panel on Governance and Corruption in the Caribbean jointly hosted by the Institute for the Study of the Americas and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies on Weds 29th February:
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: Room 261, Senate House, Malet St, London, WC1E 7HU
Panel: Small Territories, Global Issues: Governance and Corruption in the Caribbean
Speakers:
Peter Clegg, UWE: The Turks and Caicos Islands: Can the cloud be banished?
Dylan Vernon, ISA: Our Turn to Feed: Big Implications of Rampant Political Clientelism in Small State Belize
Peter Clegg, UWE: The Turks and Caicos Islands: Can the cloud be banished?
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is one of 14 Overseas Territories (OTs) still overseen by the United Kingdom (UK). Underpinned by tourism, property development and financial services, its economy experienced growth amongst the highest in the world during the early to mid-2000s. However, it now appears that this economic success was built on a political, economic and social system that was seriously compromised, and which created ‘a national emergency’ that potentially threatened the very future of the territory. The paper considers the report of the 2009 UK government-appointed Commission of Inquiry into alleged corruption in the TCI, and draws comparisons with a similar Commission of Inquiry undertaken in 1986. Indeed the title of the article derives from a quotation from the first inquiry overseen by Louis Blom-Cooper which said ‘… I am driven to the conclusion that the time has come to disperse the cloud that hangs like a brooding omnipresence in a Grand Turkan Sky’. It is clear that this did not happen, and the paper investigates why. The paper considers the UK government’s system of oversight and the characteristics of the TCI, and whether these help to explain recent events and those in the mid-1980s. A final assessment is then made as to whether the TCI is particularly prone to breakdowns in good governance, what is being done to repair the territory’s reputation, and whether the cloud hanging over the TCI can be banished.
Dr Peter Clegg is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of the West of England in Bristol, and in 2009/2010 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. He has published widely on the Caribbean, and teaches a range of courses on Latin American and Caribbean Politics.
Dylan Vernon, ISA: Our Turn to Feed: Big Implications of Rampant Political Clientelism in Small State Belize
The disproportionate expansion and prevalence of political clientelism in Belize since independence in 1981 have worrying implications for its democratic governance and development. From the ‘cultural normalcy’ of open vote-buying in local constituencies, to blatant patronage in the public service, to the backroom high finance deals for the ‘big boys’, the trading of political favour for political support is no longer just election addenda but a permanent state of affairs in daily political relationships of exchange and influence. Although intense party competition and high rates of poverty have jointly fuelled this political phenomenon, small state scale, highly personalised politics, and demographic shifts have also contributed significantly in the Belize context. The paper focuses on the ‘big’ governance challenges that pervasive political clientelism present for small Commonwealth Caribbean states such as Belize in terms of its relationship to political corruption, the disincentive effect on policy reform, the undermining of welfare delivery, and the creation of a mutually damaging dependency between people and their political leaders. Is this path of entrenched political clientelism inevitable for these small states?
Dylan Vernon is a United Kingdom Commonwealth Scholarship Fellow currently in his third year of completing a PhD in Caribbean Politics at the Institute for the Study of the Americas at the School of Advanced Studies, University of London. The presentation is based on his thesis (in progress) on the nature and implications of rampant political clientelism in Belize. Prior to ISA, his career included directing the Society for the Promotion of Education and Research in Belize (1994-1998), chairing the Belize Political Reform Commission (1999-2000), managing the United Nations Development Programme in Belize (2000-2005), chairing the Advisory Council on the Guatemalan Claim (2005-2009), lecturing at the University of Belize, and private consulting in the development sector.
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: Room 261, Senate House, Malet St, London, WC1E 7HU
Panel: Small Territories, Global Issues: Governance and Corruption in the Caribbean
Speakers:
Peter Clegg, UWE: The Turks and Caicos Islands: Can the cloud be banished?
Dylan Vernon, ISA: Our Turn to Feed: Big Implications of Rampant Political Clientelism in Small State Belize
Peter Clegg, UWE: The Turks and Caicos Islands: Can the cloud be banished?
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is one of 14 Overseas Territories (OTs) still overseen by the United Kingdom (UK). Underpinned by tourism, property development and financial services, its economy experienced growth amongst the highest in the world during the early to mid-2000s. However, it now appears that this economic success was built on a political, economic and social system that was seriously compromised, and which created ‘a national emergency’ that potentially threatened the very future of the territory. The paper considers the report of the 2009 UK government-appointed Commission of Inquiry into alleged corruption in the TCI, and draws comparisons with a similar Commission of Inquiry undertaken in 1986. Indeed the title of the article derives from a quotation from the first inquiry overseen by Louis Blom-Cooper which said ‘… I am driven to the conclusion that the time has come to disperse the cloud that hangs like a brooding omnipresence in a Grand Turkan Sky’. It is clear that this did not happen, and the paper investigates why. The paper considers the UK government’s system of oversight and the characteristics of the TCI, and whether these help to explain recent events and those in the mid-1980s. A final assessment is then made as to whether the TCI is particularly prone to breakdowns in good governance, what is being done to repair the territory’s reputation, and whether the cloud hanging over the TCI can be banished.
Dr Peter Clegg is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of the West of England in Bristol, and in 2009/2010 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. He has published widely on the Caribbean, and teaches a range of courses on Latin American and Caribbean Politics.
Dylan Vernon, ISA: Our Turn to Feed: Big Implications of Rampant Political Clientelism in Small State Belize
The disproportionate expansion and prevalence of political clientelism in Belize since independence in 1981 have worrying implications for its democratic governance and development. From the ‘cultural normalcy’ of open vote-buying in local constituencies, to blatant patronage in the public service, to the backroom high finance deals for the ‘big boys’, the trading of political favour for political support is no longer just election addenda but a permanent state of affairs in daily political relationships of exchange and influence. Although intense party competition and high rates of poverty have jointly fuelled this political phenomenon, small state scale, highly personalised politics, and demographic shifts have also contributed significantly in the Belize context. The paper focuses on the ‘big’ governance challenges that pervasive political clientelism present for small Commonwealth Caribbean states such as Belize in terms of its relationship to political corruption, the disincentive effect on policy reform, the undermining of welfare delivery, and the creation of a mutually damaging dependency between people and their political leaders. Is this path of entrenched political clientelism inevitable for these small states?
Dylan Vernon is a United Kingdom Commonwealth Scholarship Fellow currently in his third year of completing a PhD in Caribbean Politics at the Institute for the Study of the Americas at the School of Advanced Studies, University of London. The presentation is based on his thesis (in progress) on the nature and implications of rampant political clientelism in Belize. Prior to ISA, his career included directing the Society for the Promotion of Education and Research in Belize (1994-1998), chairing the Belize Political Reform Commission (1999-2000), managing the United Nations Development Programme in Belize (2000-2005), chairing the Advisory Council on the Guatemalan Claim (2005-2009), lecturing at the University of Belize, and private consulting in the development sector.
Saturday 25 February 2012
Service and Sacrifice: Colonial Troops and the First World War
Service and Sacrifice: Colonial Troops and the First World War
Speaker: Sonya O. Rose (BIH Visiting Fellow)
Wednesday 14th March 12.30 - 2.30 Room G16 Birkbeck Main Building
This event is free - register here
This seminar will explore what historical scholarship suggests about how the meanings of the key wartime concepts of service and sacrifice resonated across Britain’s colonial empire. It will consider what it meant under different circumstances to ‘volunteer’ and will assess how colonial participation in the war effort was secured and with what consequences. The issues of gender, race and national consciousness will be central to the discussion.
If interested in this event do check out the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library catalogue for books published on African, Asian, Caribbean, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand contributions to both world wars, as well as archive collections which include Australian and New Zealand, Caribbean and African contributions.
Speaker: Sonya O. Rose (BIH Visiting Fellow)
Wednesday 14th March 12.30 - 2.30 Room G16 Birkbeck Main Building
This event is free - register here
This seminar will explore what historical scholarship suggests about how the meanings of the key wartime concepts of service and sacrifice resonated across Britain’s colonial empire. It will consider what it meant under different circumstances to ‘volunteer’ and will assess how colonial participation in the war effort was secured and with what consequences. The issues of gender, race and national consciousness will be central to the discussion.
If interested in this event do check out the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library catalogue for books published on African, Asian, Caribbean, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand contributions to both world wars, as well as archive collections which include Australian and New Zealand, Caribbean and African contributions.
Friday 24 February 2012
Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire
Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire is a website holding detailed information on over 6000 films showing images of life in the British colonies. Over 150 of these films are available for viewing online.
You can search or browse for films by country, date, topic, or keyword.
Topics include: Administration, Development, Education, Health, Independence, Industry, Leisure, Religion, Travel, War, Empire in Revolt, and Empire on Display
Films were produced by a range of organisations including: Bekefilm, British Armed Forces Film Units, British Instructional Films, Central African Film Unit, Colonial Film Unit, Empire Marketing Board, Gaumont British Instructional, Gold Coast Film Unit, Indian News Parade, Information Films of India, Jamaica Film Unit, Malayan Film Unit , Ministry of Information /Central Office of Information, Missionary Societies, and the Nigerian Film Unit.
Over 350 of the most important films in the catalogue are presented with extensive critical notes written by the projects academic research team.
The Colonial Film project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and united universities (Birkbeck and University College London) and archives (British Film Institute, Imperial War Museum and the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum) to create a new catalogue of films relating to the British Empire with an ambition "to allow both colonizers and colonized to understand better the truths of Empire".
You can search or browse for films by country, date, topic, or keyword.
Topics include: Administration, Development, Education, Health, Independence, Industry, Leisure, Religion, Travel, War, Empire in Revolt, and Empire on Display
Films were produced by a range of organisations including: Bekefilm, British Armed Forces Film Units, British Instructional Films, Central African Film Unit, Colonial Film Unit, Empire Marketing Board, Gaumont British Instructional, Gold Coast Film Unit, Indian News Parade, Information Films of India, Jamaica Film Unit, Malayan Film Unit , Ministry of Information /Central Office of Information, Missionary Societies, and the Nigerian Film Unit.
Over 350 of the most important films in the catalogue are presented with extensive critical notes written by the projects academic research team.
The Colonial Film project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and united universities (Birkbeck and University College London) and archives (British Film Institute, Imperial War Museum and the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum) to create a new catalogue of films relating to the British Empire with an ambition "to allow both colonizers and colonized to understand better the truths of Empire".
Thursday 23 February 2012
Refugee Law Initiative Hub
The Refugee Law Initiative Hub is the new online network for the Refugee Law Initiative, at the Human Rights Consortium of the School of Advanced Study, University of London.
The Refugee Law Initiative Hub will support sharing, collaboration and dissemination of information by academics and non-academics, refugee law scholars and practitioners.
Refugee Law Initiative affiliates and workshop members are invited to
The Refugee Law Initiative is the only academic centre in the UK to concentrate specifically on international refugee law. The Refugee Law Initiative hosts seminars, workshops, short courses and other events to promote and facilitate cutting-edge research on the protection of refugees and other displaced persons. It leads and manages high-impact research, policy and training projects, and carries out consultancy work on refugee law and protection.
- create an account on the Hub
- join interest groups
- participate in discussion forums
Wednesday 22 February 2012
2012/13 Australian Bicentennial Scholarship & Fellowship
Applications for the 2012/13 Australian Bicentennial Scholarship & Fellowship awards are now open.
The Australian Bicentennial Scholarships and Fellowships is a one-off award of up to £4,000 to enable UK postgraduate students or academic staff to undertake research/study in Australia for a minimum of 3 months. Also open to Australian postgraduate students/academic staff wishing to come to the UK.
For full details, and to apply, please visit the Menzies Centre website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/ahri/centres/menzies/scholarships/absf/index.aspx
The Australian Bicentennial Scholarships and Fellowships is a one-off award of up to £4,000 to enable UK postgraduate students or academic staff to undertake research/study in Australia for a minimum of 3 months. Also open to Australian postgraduate students/academic staff wishing to come to the UK.
For full details, and to apply, please visit the Menzies Centre website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/ahri/centres/menzies/scholarships/absf/index.aspx
Tuesday 21 February 2012
Prix du Québec 2012
PRIX DU QUÉBEC 2012
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Québec Government Office in London, for this year only the amount of the prize has been increased.
In 2012, the Prix du Québec will consist of two awards of £2,000 (each) offered by the Québec Government Office in London and administered by BACS. It is designed to assist researchers who are permanent UK-residents to carry out research related to Québec by facilitating a research visit to Québec. Projects that incorporate Québec in a comparative approach (at least 50% of the focus must be on Québec) are also eligible. All applications are welcome, including those from applicants unsuccessful in recent previous competitions.
One award will be given in each of the following categories:
● Masters and doctoral students
● Researchers and academic staff (including postdoctoral researchers)
The award is not intended to be used to cover tuition fees for postgraduate study. Applicants are expected to be members of the British Association for Canadian Studies (they may join at time of application) but need not have an institutional affiliation.
The awards will be presented during the Annual Conference of the British Association for Canadian Studies in March, and successful applicants will be expected to present a paper on the outcome of their research at the next BACS annual conference. It is expected that the award will be acknowledged in any subsequent publication(s).
Application procedure
Applicants should provide a brief outline of their proposed research (including methodology, contextual background, plan and outcomes). Successful applications will have the following characteristics: (i) investigate issues concerning Quebec (includes comparative research where the focus on Quebec is at least 50%); (ii) constitute an excellent research proposal (originality, coherence of arguments and methodology); (iii) display applicant’s abilities to deliver research (previous relevant background, experience, publications, etc); (iv) is of value to potential users outside or within the research community. A brief (one-page max.) CV should be included.
Deadline: 15 March 2012 (decision within 28 days).
Maximum Length: 1000 words.
A letter of recommendation, on headed paper, from an appropriate referee is also required and should be sent with the application. Referees should address the merits of the proposal and the ability of the applicant to successfully carry out the research. The referee’s letter may be sent by email as an attachment. Any Award will be paid through the Research Office of the applicant’s institution.
Applications should be sent by email, please, to: bacs@canadian-studies.org
If further information is required, please contact Jodie Robson, Administrator, British Association for Canadian Studies, tel: 01289 387331 / mobile 07967 374554; email: bacs@canadian-studies.org
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Québec Government Office in London, for this year only the amount of the prize has been increased.
In 2012, the Prix du Québec will consist of two awards of £2,000 (each) offered by the Québec Government Office in London and administered by BACS. It is designed to assist researchers who are permanent UK-residents to carry out research related to Québec by facilitating a research visit to Québec. Projects that incorporate Québec in a comparative approach (at least 50% of the focus must be on Québec) are also eligible. All applications are welcome, including those from applicants unsuccessful in recent previous competitions.
One award will be given in each of the following categories:
● Masters and doctoral students
● Researchers and academic staff (including postdoctoral researchers)
The award is not intended to be used to cover tuition fees for postgraduate study. Applicants are expected to be members of the British Association for Canadian Studies (they may join at time of application) but need not have an institutional affiliation.
The awards will be presented during the Annual Conference of the British Association for Canadian Studies in March, and successful applicants will be expected to present a paper on the outcome of their research at the next BACS annual conference. It is expected that the award will be acknowledged in any subsequent publication(s).
Application procedure
Applicants should provide a brief outline of their proposed research (including methodology, contextual background, plan and outcomes). Successful applications will have the following characteristics: (i) investigate issues concerning Quebec (includes comparative research where the focus on Quebec is at least 50%); (ii) constitute an excellent research proposal (originality, coherence of arguments and methodology); (iii) display applicant’s abilities to deliver research (previous relevant background, experience, publications, etc); (iv) is of value to potential users outside or within the research community. A brief (one-page max.) CV should be included.
Deadline: 15 March 2012 (decision within 28 days).
Maximum Length: 1000 words.
A letter of recommendation, on headed paper, from an appropriate referee is also required and should be sent with the application. Referees should address the merits of the proposal and the ability of the applicant to successfully carry out the research. The referee’s letter may be sent by email as an attachment. Any Award will be paid through the Research Office of the applicant’s institution.
Applications should be sent by email, please, to: bacs@canadian-studies.org
If further information is required, please contact Jodie Robson, Administrator, British Association for Canadian Studies, tel: 01289 387331 / mobile 07967 374554; email: bacs@canadian-studies.org
Monday 20 February 2012
Another new apartheid archive online
We recently announced announce that we had added a PDF version of the catalogue of the Marion Friedmann papers to the Senate House Libraries archives catalogue, a collection which included material regarding the Liberal Party of South Africa, of which she was a founder member.
We're very pleased today, to announce another new PDF catalogue has been made available.
The Peter Hjul papers were donated by Peter Hjul, was was active in the Liberal Party of South Africa and chaired the Cape Provincial Division. He also chaired the editorial board of the radical fortnightly "Contact" and was also the editor of the South African Shipping News and Fishing Industry Review. He and his family were harassed by South African security forces and emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1965, where Peter Hjul continued his career as a journalist.
The collection comprises material on the Liberal Party of South Africa and civil rights, and includes meeting minutes, correspondence and open letters, posters announcing meetings, election leaflets, various reports and nine issues of Contact, dating from October 1964 to June 1965.
We're very pleased today, to announce another new PDF catalogue has been made available.
The Peter Hjul papers were donated by Peter Hjul, was was active in the Liberal Party of South Africa and chaired the Cape Provincial Division. He also chaired the editorial board of the radical fortnightly "Contact" and was also the editor of the South African Shipping News and Fishing Industry Review. He and his family were harassed by South African security forces and emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1965, where Peter Hjul continued his career as a journalist.
The collection comprises material on the Liberal Party of South Africa and civil rights, and includes meeting minutes, correspondence and open letters, posters announcing meetings, election leaflets, various reports and nine issues of Contact, dating from October 1964 to June 1965.
Friday 17 February 2012
Map Kibera - Community Mapping in Nairobi, Kenya
Map Kibera
http://mapkibera.org/
Map Kibera is a fascinating example of citizens and aid agencies using social media for community empowerment and development.
Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, is a city suburb, which since 2009 has been creating a free open map of facilities and providing news services for local citizens and community activists. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa, situated in Nairobi, Kenya. Many UN agencies, including UN-HABITAT, US Government agencies such as USAID, and NGOs, have presences nearby in Nairobi, and as a result, Kibera is one of the most well known, researched, and serviced slums anywhere. Despite this focus, Kibera was literally a blank spot on the map, its patterns of traffic, scarce water resources, limited medial facilities, etc. remained invisible to the outside world, and residents themselves. Without a basic knowledge of the geography of Kibera it is impossible to have an informed discussion on how to improve the lives of the residents of Kibera.
In November 2009, local young people learned to create maps using OpenStreetMap techniques. This included surveying with GPS, and digitization of satellite imagery and paper based annotation with Walking Papers. The work has been ongoing since, with the support of local community members and financial support from a number of agencies. In April 2010, Map Kibera started two media and local news reporting groups formed to elaborate on information in Kibera. Kibera News Network uses handheld Flip video cameras to record local news and stories and edit videos to post on Youtube and share in the community.Voice of Kibera uses Ushahidi software to map local stories and reports onto the Kibera map, and serve as a local information hub. Both groups are led by Kibera youth.
The project blog provides descriptions of the implementation of the project which discusses the uses and promotion of mapping technology. The project wiki provides an ovierview of the project and details of plans and project documentation.
http://mapkibera.org/
Map Kibera is a fascinating example of citizens and aid agencies using social media for community empowerment and development.
Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, is a city suburb, which since 2009 has been creating a free open map of facilities and providing news services for local citizens and community activists. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa, situated in Nairobi, Kenya. Many UN agencies, including UN-HABITAT, US Government agencies such as USAID, and NGOs, have presences nearby in Nairobi, and as a result, Kibera is one of the most well known, researched, and serviced slums anywhere. Despite this focus, Kibera was literally a blank spot on the map, its patterns of traffic, scarce water resources, limited medial facilities, etc. remained invisible to the outside world, and residents themselves. Without a basic knowledge of the geography of Kibera it is impossible to have an informed discussion on how to improve the lives of the residents of Kibera.
In November 2009, local young people learned to create maps using OpenStreetMap techniques. This included surveying with GPS, and digitization of satellite imagery and paper based annotation with Walking Papers. The work has been ongoing since, with the support of local community members and financial support from a number of agencies. In April 2010, Map Kibera started two media and local news reporting groups formed to elaborate on information in Kibera. Kibera News Network uses handheld Flip video cameras to record local news and stories and edit videos to post on Youtube and share in the community.Voice of Kibera uses Ushahidi software to map local stories and reports onto the Kibera map, and serve as a local information hub. Both groups are led by Kibera youth.
The project blog provides descriptions of the implementation of the project which discusses the uses and promotion of mapping technology. The project wiki provides an ovierview of the project and details of plans and project documentation.
Thursday 16 February 2012
Canadiana Discovery Portal
Canadiana Discovery Portal http://search.canadiana.ca/
Now out of beta, the Canadiana Discovery Portal is a free service that enables users to search across the valuable and diverse digital collections of Canada’s libraries, museums and archives. It provides access to a wealth of digital material such as books, journals, newspapers, government documents, photographs, maps, post cards, sheet music, audio and video files about Canadian heritage.
New content and media types are being added to the Canadiana Discovery Portal. The current contributors to the Portal include some of Canada’s largest libraries, archives, and museums.
The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Calgary Public Library, Foreign Affairs & International Trade Canada - Affaires étrangères et Commerce international Canada (DFAIT), Library and Archives Canada - Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (LAC), the National Gallery of Canada, Scholars Portal/University of Toronto, Toronto Public Library, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Saskatchewan, University of Victoria, and Vancouver Public Library are amongst the current contributors
Content includes such material as: images of cities, towns and other scenery in Alberta, dating from 1900 to the modern era, a collection of DFAIT Press releases and Statements and Speeches from 1949 to 1995, a rich archive of Manitoba newspapers, with issues dating back to the late 19th century, the Chinese Times daily newspaper, published in Vancouver from 1914 to 1992, the Peel's Prairie Provinces collection (containing an online bibliography of books, pamphlets and other materials related to the development of the Prairies, as well as a searchable full-text collection of many of these items), the British Columbia History Digital Collections, containing historical images, diaries, books, newspapers, audio and video recordings, manuscripts and other publications, and metadata of a collection of approximately 7,000 Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia from the period 1846-1871.
To indicate the breadth of information available, sample searches produce (as of today) 13710 results for "elections", 65 results for "tar sands", and 6960 results for "New Zealand".
Sample topics demonstrated include: 20th Century aboriginal-government relations, Ontario genealogy, War of 1812 campaigns, Ontario and the environment and vegetable gardening.
Now out of beta, the Canadiana Discovery Portal is a free service that enables users to search across the valuable and diverse digital collections of Canada’s libraries, museums and archives. It provides access to a wealth of digital material such as books, journals, newspapers, government documents, photographs, maps, post cards, sheet music, audio and video files about Canadian heritage.
New content and media types are being added to the Canadiana Discovery Portal. The current contributors to the Portal include some of Canada’s largest libraries, archives, and museums.
The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Calgary Public Library, Foreign Affairs & International Trade Canada - Affaires étrangères et Commerce international Canada (DFAIT), Library and Archives Canada - Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (LAC), the National Gallery of Canada, Scholars Portal/University of Toronto, Toronto Public Library, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Saskatchewan, University of Victoria, and Vancouver Public Library are amongst the current contributors
Content includes such material as: images of cities, towns and other scenery in Alberta, dating from 1900 to the modern era, a collection of DFAIT Press releases and Statements and Speeches from 1949 to 1995, a rich archive of Manitoba newspapers, with issues dating back to the late 19th century, the Chinese Times daily newspaper, published in Vancouver from 1914 to 1992, the Peel's Prairie Provinces collection (containing an online bibliography of books, pamphlets and other materials related to the development of the Prairies, as well as a searchable full-text collection of many of these items), the British Columbia History Digital Collections, containing historical images, diaries, books, newspapers, audio and video recordings, manuscripts and other publications, and metadata of a collection of approximately 7,000 Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia from the period 1846-1871.
To indicate the breadth of information available, sample searches produce (as of today) 13710 results for "elections", 65 results for "tar sands", and 6960 results for "New Zealand".
Sample topics demonstrated include: 20th Century aboriginal-government relations, Ontario genealogy, War of 1812 campaigns, Ontario and the environment and vegetable gardening.
Wednesday 15 February 2012
New archives collection catalogue available online - Jamaican politics
With thanks to one of our current volunteers, we are pleased to make available in PDF format a new archives catalogue listing.
ICS126 The Wyndraeth Humphreys Morris-Jones papers comprise research notes and papers of Professor Wyndraeth Humphreys Morris-Jones on Jamaican politics,for the period between 1957 and 1986, including copies of official publications, press cuttings, and reports of committees of the House of Representatives.
Professor Morris-Jones was Professor of Commonwealth Affairs and Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, from 1966-1983.
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Open access journals - South East Asia and the Caribbean
Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) offers free open access to backfiles of two leading journals, The Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia and Oceania (Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde) and the New West Indian Guide (Nieuwe West-Indische Gids).
The two journals have existed since 1853 and 1919, respectively. The contents of all back issues, mostly full text, will also be made freely available through the journals' web archives. Published continuously since 1853, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde is focuses on the linguistics, anthropology, and history of Southeast Asia, and more specifically of Indonesia. It appears in four issues, running a total of roughly 600 pages annually. The large majority of articles, brief notices, and book reviews are published in English.
The New West Indian Guide is the oldest scholarly journal on the Caribbean, published continuously since 1919. It presents English-language articles in the fields of anthropology, art, archaeology, economics, geography, geology, history, international relations, linguistics, literature, music, political science and sociology. It includes the world's most complete review section on Caribbean books, covering some 150 books each year.
The two journals have existed since 1853 and 1919, respectively. The contents of all back issues, mostly full text, will also be made freely available through the journals' web archives. Published continuously since 1853, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde is focuses on the linguistics, anthropology, and history of Southeast Asia, and more specifically of Indonesia. It appears in four issues, running a total of roughly 600 pages annually. The large majority of articles, brief notices, and book reviews are published in English.
The New West Indian Guide is the oldest scholarly journal on the Caribbean, published continuously since 1919. It presents English-language articles in the fields of anthropology, art, archaeology, economics, geography, geology, history, international relations, linguistics, literature, music, political science and sociology. It includes the world's most complete review section on Caribbean books, covering some 150 books each year.
Monday 13 February 2012
Index to Kenyan newspaper articles
Indexkenya.org is an online index of articles published in Nairobi newspapers. The focus of the articles indexed includes culture, law/governance, reproductive health, and other topics about which information is difficult to obtain. The index aims to selectively index details of articles published since 1980. The actual content of an article is not provided, rather online citations describing the articles. Hard copy of any article indexed can be ordered directly from the Kenya Indexing Project. This database will be updated on a regular basis.
The index selectively coveres four newspapers published in Nairobi since 1980. These are the Daily Nation, East African, East African Standard and The People. The database is being created by a project team which has received finance from the Ford Foundation and short term funding from the International Development Research Centre to index legal articles.
The index selectively coveres four newspapers published in Nairobi since 1980. These are the Daily Nation, East African, East African Standard and The People. The database is being created by a project team which has received finance from the Ford Foundation and short term funding from the International Development Research Centre to index legal articles.
Friday 10 February 2012
New apartheid archive catalogue online
We are pleased to announce that we have added a PDF version of the catalogue of the Marion Friedmann papers to the Senate House Libraries archives catalogue.
Marion Friedmann was born in 1918, and was a founder member of the Liberal Party of South Africa.
The multiracial Liberal Party of South Africa was founded in 1954, and was forced to disband under the Prohibition of Political Interference Act of 1968.
The collection held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library and Archive comprises of material collected on South African politics, chiefly apartheid and the oppression of black South Africans. It includes electioneering material, national statements by the Liberal Party of South Africa on political issues, correspondence, biographical material on Stephen Nkadimeng, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, and Duma Nokwe, and various issues of journals Assagai, Contact, Liberal News, and Liberal Opinion. The collection also includes pamphlets and leaflets produced by groups including the ANC, South African Congress of Democrats, and Civil Rights League.
Tuesday 7 February 2012
Happy birthday to Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
Happy birthday to Commonwealth and Comparative Politics!
Just available is the first number of the 50th volume of the journal, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics.
The journal title was first published in November 1961 as the Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies, and is the oldest British journal of comparative politics and the leading journal on Commonwealth and comparative politics. The journal was renamed The Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics in 1974, and then Commonwealth and Comparative Politics in 1998. Since 2003 it has been published by Taylor and Francis. Published thrice yearly until 2006 (when it came online), it became a quarterly in 2007.
The journal emerged in the late 1950s out of a seminar series initiated at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies by its first director, Professor Sir Keith Hancock. Stimulated by the rapid decolonisation that was transforming the Commonwealth, the founders were Hancock, Professor J.D.B. Miller of the University of Leicester, Professor Robert Taylor Cole of Duke University, and Professor Kenneth Robinson, Hancock's successor at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
The Library holds print copies of the journal as well as providing electronic access.
Just available is the first number of the 50th volume of the journal, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics.
The journal title was first published in November 1961 as the Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies, and is the oldest British journal of comparative politics and the leading journal on Commonwealth and comparative politics. The journal was renamed The Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics in 1974, and then Commonwealth and Comparative Politics in 1998. Since 2003 it has been published by Taylor and Francis. Published thrice yearly until 2006 (when it came online), it became a quarterly in 2007.
The journal emerged in the late 1950s out of a seminar series initiated at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies by its first director, Professor Sir Keith Hancock. Stimulated by the rapid decolonisation that was transforming the Commonwealth, the founders were Hancock, Professor J.D.B. Miller of the University of Leicester, Professor Robert Taylor Cole of Duke University, and Professor Kenneth Robinson, Hancock's successor at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
The Library holds print copies of the journal as well as providing electronic access.
Monday 6 February 2012
New books - Jan 2012
Below are a selection of books added to the collection and library catalogue in January. Notable additions this month included a number of reports and publications shipped from our Pacific Islands supplier and a number of very welcome donations from the Library of the University of the West Indies:
(Swaziland) 2007 population and housing census. [Mbabane : Central Statistical Office, 2007?]
Biannual statistical report. 2008 Vaiaku, Funafuti, Tuvalu : Central Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning, 2008
Dayfoot, Arthur Charles and Roscoe M. Pierson (comp). Bibliography of West Indian church history : a list of printed materials relating to the history of the churches in the English-speaking Caribbean (and Bermuda) with annotations and notes on locations, London : Hansib Publications, 2004.
Griffiths, Franklyn, Rob Huebert, and P. Whitney Lackenbauer , Canada and the changing Arctic : sovereignty, security, and stewardship, Waterloo, Ont. : Wilfrid Laurier University Press, c2011.
Khan, Glenn A. Caribbean mergers and acquisitions : country studies of the financial sectors of Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, St. Augustine, Trinidad : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, University of the West Indies, 2001.
The CEDAW shadow report on the status of women in Papua New Guinea and the autonomous region of Bougainville. Papua New Guinea : National Council of Women, 2010.
Lieten, Georges K, Child labour and child rights, Dhaka : The University Press, 2009.
Ame , Robert Kwame, DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga, and Nana Araba Apt (eds). Children's rights in Ghana : reality or rhetoric? Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2011.
Lee, Ting Hui, Chinese schools in Peninsular Malaysia : the struggle for survival, Singapore : Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011.
Kim, Sang W. and Terence D. Agbeyegbe (eds). Econometric modelling of issues in Caribbean economics and finance, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, c2000.
Gill, Aisha K. and Sundari Anitha (eds), Forced marriage : introducing a social justice and human rights perspective, London ; New York : Zed Books, 2011.
Bourne, Compton. Foreign exchange rates : again? St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago : Caribbean Center for Monetary Studies, the University of the West Indies, 2003.
Irvin, Andrea. Gender, reproductive health & rights : a report on the national development plans of ten Pacific Island countries, Suva, Fiji : UNFPA Pacific Sub-Regional Office, [2008]
Sen, Purna (ed), Human rights in the Commonwealth : a status report 2010, London : Commonwealth Secretariat, 2010.
Hickford, Mark, Lords of the land : indigenous property rights and the jurisprudence of empire, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2011.
Thomas, Clive Y. Macroeconomic adjustment, growth and development in small, poor, open economies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, c2002.
Rainford, Charan and Ambika Satkunanathan. Mistaking politics for governance : the politics of interim arrangements in Sri Lanka, 2002-2005, Colombo : International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 2009.
Worrell, DeLisle. The monetary and financial authority of the Eastern Caribbean : a modest proposal, St. Augustine, Trinidad : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, University of the West Indies (Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago), 2005.
Nayar, Baldev Raj. The myth of the shrinking state : globalization and the state in India, Delhi ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.
Botswana. National development plan 10 : April 2009-March 2016. [Gaborone] : Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, [2009]
Namah, Belden. National forestry development guidelines, Port Moresby : Papua New Guinea Forest Authority, 2009.
Jones, Adam (ed), New directions in genocide research, Abingdon : Routledge, 2012.
Oxford University Press. Cartographic Dept. Oxford atlas for Pakistan, Karachi : Oxford University Press, 2008.
Papua New Guinea. National Economic and Fiscal Commission. Reform of intergovernmental financing arrangements : plain English guide to the new system of intergovernmental financing, Papua New Guinea : National Economic and Fiscal Commission, 2010.
Hughes, David McDermott. Whiteness in Zimbabwe : race, landscape, and the problem of belonging, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Maharaj , Brij, Ashwin Desai and Patrick Bond (eds), Zuma's own goal : losing South Africa's "war on poverty", Trenton, NJ : Africa World Press, c2011.
(Swaziland) 2007 population and housing census. [Mbabane : Central Statistical Office, 2007?]
Biannual statistical report. 2008 Vaiaku, Funafuti, Tuvalu : Central Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning, 2008
Dayfoot, Arthur Charles and Roscoe M. Pierson (comp). Bibliography of West Indian church history : a list of printed materials relating to the history of the churches in the English-speaking Caribbean (and Bermuda) with annotations and notes on locations, London : Hansib Publications, 2004.
Griffiths, Franklyn, Rob Huebert, and P. Whitney Lackenbauer , Canada and the changing Arctic : sovereignty, security, and stewardship, Waterloo, Ont. : Wilfrid Laurier University Press, c2011.
Khan, Glenn A. Caribbean mergers and acquisitions : country studies of the financial sectors of Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, St. Augustine, Trinidad : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, University of the West Indies, 2001.
The CEDAW shadow report on the status of women in Papua New Guinea and the autonomous region of Bougainville. Papua New Guinea : National Council of Women, 2010.
Lieten, Georges K, Child labour and child rights, Dhaka : The University Press, 2009.
Ame , Robert Kwame, DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga, and Nana Araba Apt (eds). Children's rights in Ghana : reality or rhetoric? Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2011.
Lee, Ting Hui, Chinese schools in Peninsular Malaysia : the struggle for survival, Singapore : Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011.
Kim, Sang W. and Terence D. Agbeyegbe (eds). Econometric modelling of issues in Caribbean economics and finance, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, c2000.
Gill, Aisha K. and Sundari Anitha (eds), Forced marriage : introducing a social justice and human rights perspective, London ; New York : Zed Books, 2011.
Bourne, Compton. Foreign exchange rates : again? St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago : Caribbean Center for Monetary Studies, the University of the West Indies, 2003.
Irvin, Andrea. Gender, reproductive health & rights : a report on the national development plans of ten Pacific Island countries, Suva, Fiji : UNFPA Pacific Sub-Regional Office, [2008]
Sen, Purna (ed), Human rights in the Commonwealth : a status report 2010, London : Commonwealth Secretariat, 2010.
Hickford, Mark, Lords of the land : indigenous property rights and the jurisprudence of empire, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2011.
Thomas, Clive Y. Macroeconomic adjustment, growth and development in small, poor, open economies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, c2002.
Rainford, Charan and Ambika Satkunanathan. Mistaking politics for governance : the politics of interim arrangements in Sri Lanka, 2002-2005, Colombo : International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 2009.
Worrell, DeLisle. The monetary and financial authority of the Eastern Caribbean : a modest proposal, St. Augustine, Trinidad : Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies, University of the West Indies (Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago), 2005.
Nayar, Baldev Raj. The myth of the shrinking state : globalization and the state in India, Delhi ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.
Botswana. National development plan 10 : April 2009-March 2016. [Gaborone] : Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, [2009]
Namah, Belden. National forestry development guidelines, Port Moresby : Papua New Guinea Forest Authority, 2009.
Jones, Adam (ed), New directions in genocide research, Abingdon : Routledge, 2012.
Oxford University Press. Cartographic Dept. Oxford atlas for Pakistan, Karachi : Oxford University Press, 2008.
Papua New Guinea. National Economic and Fiscal Commission. Reform of intergovernmental financing arrangements : plain English guide to the new system of intergovernmental financing, Papua New Guinea : National Economic and Fiscal Commission, 2010.
Hughes, David McDermott. Whiteness in Zimbabwe : race, landscape, and the problem of belonging, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Maharaj , Brij, Ashwin Desai and Patrick Bond (eds), Zuma's own goal : losing South Africa's "war on poverty", Trenton, NJ : Africa World Press, c2011.
Saturday 4 February 2012
Caribbean Food Cultures: Representations and Performances of Eating, Drinking and Consumption in the Caribbean and Its Diasporas
Caribbean Food Cultures: Representations and Performances of Eating, Drinking and Consumption in the Caribbean and Its Diasporas
28th to 29th September 2012, University of Heidelberg, Germany
*Deadline extended to 10th, Febuary.*
The Caribbean is associated not only with beaches, palms, exotic food, fruity rum cocktails and reggae-music in Western common knowledge, but also with the inhuman plantation system, slavery, piracy or ?banana republics?
In the Caribbean, food and drinks as products and as acts or performances play a crucial role in various areas of human behavior and interaction: for the self-preservation of the body, as ethnic, religious and national identity markers, in the context of local and global commercial relationships, or regarding the fair allo-cation of food and relations of production. These biological, social, economic, his-torical and ethnic dimensions have taken a special turn in the Caribbean ? a region that has been heavily influenced by migration. Thus, on the one hand, colonizers, slaves, contract workers, privateers and refugees were components of specific historical relations of production and trade. On the other hand, these different groups of people brought along social, cultural and economic practices related to food, consumer and luxury goods, which were subject to change and (or) hybridization. In the course of decolonization, emigration and tourism these goods and food, in turn, are being re-imported into the former European ?motherlands? and North America.
The aim of this conference is to explore the performances or acts related to the production, consumption and the sym-bolism of food and nutrition in the Caribbean and its diasporas from the perspectives of cultural, social and be-havioral sciences. Particular attention will be paid to contemporary and trans-national perspectives. These, for example, can be concerned with the social or religious significance of food, abstinence, rituals of exchange and preparation as well as the exchange of culinary traditions and ingredients on the internet. Of further interest are national and transnational representation practices of eating and drinking in literature, popular culture and new media, such as the advertisement of Caribbean products in the region and the diasporas and the symbolic or metaphorical usage of ?ethnic food? and its consumption in narrative literature and song lyrics.
As for the structure of the conference, we propose the following panels:
Food and Literature; Food and Popular Culture; Food and the Internet; Ritual Food and Eating. For further details on the panels, please see below.
Please send an abstract of 300 words by
10th February 2012 with a short CV to foodcultures@googlemail.com
For further details on the panels, please follow the link below
http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/md/transculturality/cfp_food_conference-1.pdf
28th to 29th September 2012, University of Heidelberg, Germany
*Deadline extended to 10th, Febuary.*
The Caribbean is associated not only with beaches, palms, exotic food, fruity rum cocktails and reggae-music in Western common knowledge, but also with the inhuman plantation system, slavery, piracy or ?banana republics?
In the Caribbean, food and drinks as products and as acts or performances play a crucial role in various areas of human behavior and interaction: for the self-preservation of the body, as ethnic, religious and national identity markers, in the context of local and global commercial relationships, or regarding the fair allo-cation of food and relations of production. These biological, social, economic, his-torical and ethnic dimensions have taken a special turn in the Caribbean ? a region that has been heavily influenced by migration. Thus, on the one hand, colonizers, slaves, contract workers, privateers and refugees were components of specific historical relations of production and trade. On the other hand, these different groups of people brought along social, cultural and economic practices related to food, consumer and luxury goods, which were subject to change and (or) hybridization. In the course of decolonization, emigration and tourism these goods and food, in turn, are being re-imported into the former European ?motherlands? and North America.
The aim of this conference is to explore the performances or acts related to the production, consumption and the sym-bolism of food and nutrition in the Caribbean and its diasporas from the perspectives of cultural, social and be-havioral sciences. Particular attention will be paid to contemporary and trans-national perspectives. These, for example, can be concerned with the social or religious significance of food, abstinence, rituals of exchange and preparation as well as the exchange of culinary traditions and ingredients on the internet. Of further interest are national and transnational representation practices of eating and drinking in literature, popular culture and new media, such as the advertisement of Caribbean products in the region and the diasporas and the symbolic or metaphorical usage of ?ethnic food? and its consumption in narrative literature and song lyrics.
As for the structure of the conference, we propose the following panels:
Food and Literature; Food and Popular Culture; Food and the Internet; Ritual Food and Eating. For further details on the panels, please see below.
Please send an abstract of 300 words by
10th February 2012 with a short CV to foodcultures@googlemail.com
For further details on the panels, please follow the link below
http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/md/transculturality/cfp_food_conference-1.pdf
Friday 3 February 2012
A revolutionary life: Ruth First 1925-1982
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies has recently begun a project focused on the life and work of Ruth First, the South African journalist, writer, scholar and anti-apartheid activist. This project will include selective digitisation of some of the material from the Ruth First Archive collection held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library.
Also as part of the project a symposium is planned for the 7th of June, details below:
A revolutionary life: Ruth First 1925-1982
07 June 2012, 10:00 - 19:00
Room 349 (Senate House, University of London)
This event is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
Ruth First was an anti-apartheid activist, investigative journalist, and scholar. First worked her entire life to end apartheid in South Africa, writing in 1969 she explained how she her life was dedicated ‘to the liberation of African for I count myself an African, and there is no cause I hold dearer’. Her knowledge of the continent was phenomenal and she knew many of the continent’s leading political figures Nelson Mandela, Ben Bella, Oginda Odinga. First was an influential figure, who saw activism, solidarity work (for the anti-apartheid struggle) and her research and writing as inextricably linked. She was exiled from South Africa in 1964, with her husband, the prominent South African communist Joe Slovo and their children. In 1982, while working in Mozambique, Ruth First was killed by a letter bomb sent by South Africa secret service.
2012 is the thirtieth anniversary of Ruth First’s murder. The Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICS) and the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau are holding a one-day celebration of Ruth First’s extraordinary life and work. The event is part of year long project that is digitising some of Ruth First’s papers and books held at the ICS.
The event will include Justice Albie Sachs, Gillian Slovo, Barbara Harlow, Shula Marks and Alan Wieder.
Cost: £10 (standard); £5 (students/unwaged) (includes lunch and refreshments)
Registration form
RSVP to chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk
Also as part of the project a symposium is planned for the 7th of June, details below:
A revolutionary life: Ruth First 1925-1982
07 June 2012, 10:00 - 19:00
Room 349 (Senate House, University of London)
This event is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
Ruth First was an anti-apartheid activist, investigative journalist, and scholar. First worked her entire life to end apartheid in South Africa, writing in 1969 she explained how she her life was dedicated ‘to the liberation of African for I count myself an African, and there is no cause I hold dearer’. Her knowledge of the continent was phenomenal and she knew many of the continent’s leading political figures Nelson Mandela, Ben Bella, Oginda Odinga. First was an influential figure, who saw activism, solidarity work (for the anti-apartheid struggle) and her research and writing as inextricably linked. She was exiled from South Africa in 1964, with her husband, the prominent South African communist Joe Slovo and their children. In 1982, while working in Mozambique, Ruth First was killed by a letter bomb sent by South Africa secret service.
2012 is the thirtieth anniversary of Ruth First’s murder. The Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICS) and the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau are holding a one-day celebration of Ruth First’s extraordinary life and work. The event is part of year long project that is digitising some of Ruth First’s papers and books held at the ICS.
The event will include Justice Albie Sachs, Gillian Slovo, Barbara Harlow, Shula Marks and Alan Wieder.
Cost: £10 (standard); £5 (students/unwaged) (includes lunch and refreshments)
Registration form
RSVP to chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk
Thursday 2 February 2012
Britain Zimbabwe Society's Annual Research Day 2012
Britain Zimbabwe Society's Annual Research Day 2012
The Britain Zimbabwe Society’s annual research day will be held on the 16th June at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford and will showcase research on ‘Zimbabwe and the Region’. The research day is an annual event focusing on academic research, but invites contributions from other practitioners to provide a wider context for academic papers. Priority is given to researchers from Zimbabwe and doctoral students working on related topics. Academics and non-academics are equally welcome.
This year participants will explore the historical and contemporary connections between Zimbabwe and her neighbours through a series of panels arranged around the following broad areas:
● the making of Zimbabwean identity, regional comparisons and contrasts ● cross-border identities, movements and connections during the liberation struggle ● Zimbabwe, SADC and the region’s role in resolving the recent political impasse ● Zimbabwe, the region and beyond
The southern African region, broadly conceived, has a rich and inter-connected history of social, cultural and political movements which transcend national boundaries. During the pre-colonial era, polities and territorial cults cut across areas of land later divided by colonial borders. Colonialism also opened up areas of southern Africa to a greater degree of demographic mobility, producing a rich cultural and political heritage. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the various liberation struggles of southern Africa were closely connected through the formation of governments in exile, expressions of solidarity between nationalist/revolutionary parties, and the establishment of military training camps and bases across borders.
Since independence many of these histories have been overshadowed by new political concerns with national security, immigration, and citizenship rights. Still, families, religious groups, economic and political networks continue to stretch across and beyond Zimbabwe’s borders. More recently, as events in Zimbabwe have impacted on the wider region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has come to play a key role in negotiations to resolve the political impasse.
Would those interested in participating please contact either of the organizers below:
Dr. Zoë Groves - groves.zoe@googlemail.com Dr. Blessing-Miles Tendi - miles.tendi@sant.oxon.org
Other possible topics include: Pre-colonial territorial cults and polities; migration; British South Africa Company rule; South Africa and post-independence destabilization; trade; land reform; literature and culture.
For further information, please go to: http://www.britain-zimbabwe.org.uk/
The Britain Zimbabwe Society’s annual research day will be held on the 16th June at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford and will showcase research on ‘Zimbabwe and the Region’. The research day is an annual event focusing on academic research, but invites contributions from other practitioners to provide a wider context for academic papers. Priority is given to researchers from Zimbabwe and doctoral students working on related topics. Academics and non-academics are equally welcome.
This year participants will explore the historical and contemporary connections between Zimbabwe and her neighbours through a series of panels arranged around the following broad areas:
● the making of Zimbabwean identity, regional comparisons and contrasts ● cross-border identities, movements and connections during the liberation struggle ● Zimbabwe, SADC and the region’s role in resolving the recent political impasse ● Zimbabwe, the region and beyond
The southern African region, broadly conceived, has a rich and inter-connected history of social, cultural and political movements which transcend national boundaries. During the pre-colonial era, polities and territorial cults cut across areas of land later divided by colonial borders. Colonialism also opened up areas of southern Africa to a greater degree of demographic mobility, producing a rich cultural and political heritage. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the various liberation struggles of southern Africa were closely connected through the formation of governments in exile, expressions of solidarity between nationalist/revolutionary parties, and the establishment of military training camps and bases across borders.
Since independence many of these histories have been overshadowed by new political concerns with national security, immigration, and citizenship rights. Still, families, religious groups, economic and political networks continue to stretch across and beyond Zimbabwe’s borders. More recently, as events in Zimbabwe have impacted on the wider region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has come to play a key role in negotiations to resolve the political impasse.
Would those interested in participating please contact either of the organizers below:
Dr. Zoë Groves - groves.zoe@googlemail.com Dr. Blessing-Miles Tendi - miles.tendi@sant.oxon.org
Other possible topics include: Pre-colonial territorial cults and polities; migration; British South Africa Company rule; South Africa and post-independence destabilization; trade; land reform; literature and culture.
For further information, please go to: http://www.britain-zimbabwe.org.uk/
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