I watched with dismay and repulsion in the preceding weeks when two houses of councillors were torched in Soweto. A myriad of questions emerged as to why a human being would do that to a fellow human being. This is because these incidents showed how human beings disregard the lives of other people as the lives of the councillors and …

The Department of Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand invites you for its first roundtable this year in the Topics in Media and Cultural Studies series. Please join us tomorrow afternoon 23 March between 14.15-16.00 hrs in CB8 (Central Block, Wits East Campus).
The following speakers will present papers:

Dr Sarah Chiumbu
Exploring mobile phone practices in social movements in …

Two months into the New Year, and already the media are brimming with coverage of newsworthy stories – floods in Australia, SA membership into the BRIC, a historic referendum in Sudan (Gasp! Shock! Horror!), the shenanigans at the SABC (yawn…) and no word yet from Julius Malema (touch wood). It’s been an eventful year to say the least! Compliments of …

In a previous article, Victorine Ntambo analysed how mothers, sisters, heroines, mentors, siblings and friends in the teaching and nursing profession teach and strike. Now, she reviews how school children boycotted preliminary examinations shortly after the public service strike in South Africa. Did they learn from the striking women?
Everyone is aware that the public servants’ strike in the …

Coinciding with Media Freedom Day this Tuesday 19 October, the recently launched Right2Know campaign (sign up here) organised a march to mark a week of action against the proposed Protection of Information Bill. The march departed from Wits University to Constitution Hill.
According to a report in the Mail and Guardian yesterday, the march was dominated by protestors from civil society …

Drawing upon her research (with Thulani Fakude) on media coverage of the service delivery protests, Fezani Khumalo asks the following questions: Who is the South African Police Service (SAPS) protecting and how do media represent the police?
I am not the biggest fan of the police, particularly the South African Police Service (SAPS). History proves that police are symbols of destruction …

During South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, t-shirts effectively communicated political messages that were censored on radio and television, ultimately leading to a ban of political t-shirts under the Public Safety Act of 1953. T-shirts became the embodied adverts of numerous anti-apartheid organizations and movements.
In post-apartheid South Africa, the t-shirt continues to play an important role in advancing a range of struggles …

Please join us on Wednesday 20 October 2010 for presentations by Last Moyo and Janeske Botes. All welcome!