Opinion

LitNet contributors voice their opinions about current affairs.

Open Stellenbosch: “Yeah but you said it” – revisited

Heleen Hofmeyr English 2015-09-07

"Once again, I find myself perplexed by your intentions, OS. You need to jump off this taaldebat train, because it’s clear your demands for transformation go so much further than language – and rightly so."

Afrikaans-in-dialogue, rather than Protection-of-Afrikaans

Bibi Burger Opinion 2015-09-07

" ...the only way forward for Afrikaans is for its proponents to stop privileging it above other indigenous South African languages and actively and practically support the development of all South African languages."

Have Springbok fans moved on at all?

Chris Heymans Opinion 2015-09-02

"The apartheid legacy does still haunt the nation, and seems set to continue doing so for a while."

Artists unite against corruption

Mike van Graan Menings 2015-08-12

More than 650 individuals in the arts, culture and heritage sector endorsed the Unite Against Corruption campaign in less than a week.

Video: Thinking ahead: critical questions on language in higher education

Naomi Bruwer Akademies en skole 2015-06-04

Mbulungeni Madiba of UCT in conversation with Gerda Odendaal and Marius Swart, Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, Stellenbosch University. The discussion centred on a chapter in Neville Alexander's book Thoughts on the New South Africa, problematising  the issue of language in the modern South African university. 

Tessa Dowling on the Funza Lushaka bursaries

Tessa Dowling Opinion 2015-05-26

"So Chumani Maxwele is correct: we South Africans who are not  first-language speakers of African languages need to lose our arrogance, our  feelings of superiority and our fear of making fools of ourselves, and learn  what it is like to flounder in a language that is not our own, but still make  sense."

The Franschhoek Literary Festival 2015 and the elephant in the room

Liam Kruger English 2015-05-22

"And for all that the Franschhoek Literary Festival is irredeemably disengaged from the lived reality of much of South Africa ..."

Instagram or intervention? #xenomedia

Herman Wasserman English 2015-04-22

What is the role of the media in the time of xenophobia?

André Brink: Impressions / Afterthoughts

Ludo Teeuwen In memoriam 2015-02-10

After André Brink had received an honorary doctorate and delivered a speech at UCL he made one final public appearance. On Thursday, 5 February he was interviewed by Ludo Teeuwen at Bozar in Belgium. This interview (including photos) was the last time he appeared in front of an audience in his life.

Photos of André Brink's last public performance

LitNet Books and writers 2015-02-10

After André Brink had received an honorary doctorate and delivered a speech at UCL he made one final public appearance. On Thursday, 5 February he was interviewed by Ludo Teeuwen at Bozar in Belgium. This interview was the last time he appeared in front of an audience in his life. Here are photos of this final interview.

In Memoriam: André Brink

Carole Blake 2015-02-09 "Meeting him gave me a dear friend. Losing him is painful. Something I share with so many. Raising a glass to you now in London, dear André, friend for 41 years."

From Jy-is-’n-drol to Je-suis-Charlie

Pieter-Dirk Uys 2015-01-11 "Censorship now happens in many subtle ways. The bigger concern is self-censorship where the fear of violent retaliation, no matter how small, mutes the voice and cripples the word."

"What Good is a Song?"

Phil Ndlela 2014-12-15 "If a song has no meaning | if it cannot send you higher | it is not good enough to sing." Phil Ndlela writes a tribute to Marvin Gaye, USA for Africa Project, Peter Tosh and Hugh Masekela.

Breyten Breytenbach receives honorary doctorate from Ghent University

2014-12-10 "On 3 December 2014, Ghent University (UGent) presented an institutional honorary doctorate to the South African poet, painter, novelist, playwright, essayist and freedom activist Breyten Breytenbach."

To whom does a music genre belong?

Rohan Magerman 2014-11-19 "Is it politically accurate to speak of 'white' or 'black' music? Why do we commonly designate hip hop to gangsters, reggae to Rastafarians, gospel to converted Christians, and bubblegum pop to teenage girls?"

Interview: Arthur Attwell explains the impact of the South African Department of Basic Education’s proposed new policy

Arthur Attwell, Carine Janse van Rensburg 2014-10-07 Arthur Attwell explains the impact of the South African Department of Basic Education’s proposed new policy: "Different learners need different kinds of textbooks, chosen school by school for their specific needs."

A tribute to the late Mbulelo Vizikhungo Mzamane (1948–2014)

Phil Ndlela 2014-10-02 "On Saturday, February 15 the sun set on one of South Africa’s pre-eminent black scholars and writers, Mbulelo Vizikhungo Mzamane."

Cross-border languages

Johann Lodewyk Marais 2014-09-25 "Africa was, and still is, a continent characterised by its rich linguistic heritage, but also the prominent role that the languages of the former colonial powers, namely English, French and Portuguese, still play."

I am a white South African … apparently

Annzra Naidoo 2014-09-05 "My name is Annzra Denita Naidoo. Although my ID defines my race as Indian, I have discovered that I am actually a white South African."

A Reading of Claudius’s "State of the Nation Address" in Hamlet

Phil Ndlela 2014-09-02 Shakespeare Against Apartheid: "Those of us who seek an equitable, just and democratic South Africa ... need to recognise that there is no neutral territory for Shakespeare studies in present-day South Africa."
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