tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/rhodes-statue-17316/articlesRhodes statue – The Conversation2021-06-29T09:07:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1628062021-06-29T09:07:12Z2021-06-29T09:07:12ZA meaningful debate about statues is happening – the government just doesn’t seem to be taking part<p>At the start of this year Robert Jenrick, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, introduced legislation intended to protect historic monuments. As a result, the norm is now that monuments and plaques should be kept and contextualised rather than removed. All historic statues, whether listed or not, must go through a full planning process before being removed. Jenrick himself has the <a href="https://theconversation.com/proposed-law-would-give-minister-the-power-to-block-councils-from-removing-disputed-statues-154295">final say on these decisions</a>. </p>
<p>After years of campaigning by Oxford’s Rhodes Must Fall movement, an independent commission into Oriel College’s statue of the imperialist voted in May to remove it. But the college has declined to do so, <a href="https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-universities-2021-5-rhodes-to-stay-at-oxford-s-oriel-college/">explaining</a> that attempting to remove the monument would be subject to costly legal and planning processes and would probably face challenges “particularly since the Government’s policy, in relation to historic statues and sites which have become contested, is to ‘retain and explain’ them”. </p>
<p>While Jenrick’s new law received supportive comments from <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9156727/Government-change-law-make-harder-left-wing-councils-statues.html">some segments of the media</a>, the move was also criticised even from within the Conservative party. Conservative peer Ed Vaizey called Jenrick’s announcement <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/woke-ed-vaizey-robert-jenrick-statues-b1790854.html">“ridiculously provocative”</a> and part of a “pathetic” anti-woke agenda. Political opponents and campaigners <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/17/robert-jenrick-statues-must-be-protected-from-baying-mob">have accused</a> the government of “stoking a contrived culture war in order to distract from its handling of the coronavirus pandemic”.</p>
<p>But while these are justified critiques, they risk overlooking what is at stake in these heated debates about public monuments. The government’s backlash is not just a distraction from the pressing issues raised by the pandemic. It is indicative of a broader refusal to acknowledge, let alone address, the deep historical roots of the inequalities that pervade contemporary society.</p>
<p>Activists contesting statues are raising vital questions about our histories and how we remember them, but they are not only calling for a reckoning with the past. The Bristol protesters who brought down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston a year ago were part of a global mobilisation against structural racism sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted the ongoing legacies of slavery and colonialism in the social inequalities that continue to structure society today. </p>
<p>In Britain, the disproportionately devastating effect of the pandemic on people from <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/Runnymede%20CoDE%20COVID%20briefing%20v3.pdf">minority ethnic groups</a> has made starkly visible deeply entrenched <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/28/health-inequalities-in-uk-are-major-factor-in-high-bame-covid-cases">inequalities</a> in health, working conditions, housing and <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/projects/CoDE%20Briefings/Runnymede%20CoDE%20A%20Collision%20of%20Crises%20FINAL.pdf">policing</a>.</p>
<p>The statue debate speaks directly to contemporary inequalities and allows us to see the fault lines in our public conversation about Britain’s role in empire and slavery, and – more importantly – about the ongoing legacy of this history in British society.</p>
<h2>A deeper debate</h2>
<p>The government has not confronted these issues. Instead, they have drawn on tired narratives about the threats to Britain’s cultural and historic heritage, blaming a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/16/will-save-britains-statues-woke-militants-want-censor-past/">“revisionist purge”</a> carried out by baying mobs intent on censoring or destroying history. </p>
<p>My colleagues at the University of Manchester’s <a href="https://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/research/projects/the-changing-shape-of-cultural-activism/">Centre of the Dynamics of Ethnicity</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jun/01/gary-younge-why-every-single-statue-should-come-down-rhodes-colston">Gary Younge</a>, <a href="https://www.redpepper.org.uk/statues-street-names-and-contested-memory/">Meghan Tinsley</a> and <a href="https://vimeo.com/567391866">Ruth Ramsden-Karelse</a>, have challenged these claims.</p>
<p>So has <a href="https://sharedculturalheritage.wordpress.com/2021/06/23/histories-of-empire-and-colonialism-whose-statues-whose-stories/">Sadia Habib</a>, exploring this topic with young people around the UK through a series of workshops with Manchester Museum, to uncover their experiences of statues.</p>
<p>All have noted that statues themselves are not a neutral record of history. They are often celebrations of figures whose views and actions were outrageous and cruel, <a href="https://www.uncomfortableoxford.co.uk/post/where-we-re-going-we-don-t-need-rhodes">even by the moral standards of their time</a>. Those who toppled Colston were not seeking to forget him, but <a href="https://theconversation.com/public-sculpture-expert-why-i-welcome-the-decision-to-throw-bristols-edward-colston-statue-in-the-river-140285">questioning his veneration</a>.</p>
<p>Our research has explored how grassroots organisations, museums, artists, researchers and local authorities have pushed forward the conversation in creative ways. Commissions in London and Bristol, and reviews in cities and towns across the country, are seeking to rebalance the selective stories that are told about the past.</p>
<h2>A global movement</h2>
<p>These national conversations also connect to global movements to reckon with histories of empire and slavery. Our research is investigating how activists across the UK, the US, South Africa, Belgium and the French overseas department of Martinique approach the issue of statues with problematic symbolism. </p>
<p>In 2015, students and staff at the University of Cape Town gathered to demand the removal of a statue of Cecil John Rhodes. They pointed to its prominent location at the entrance to campus as symbolic of the continued dominance of legacies of colonisation and exploitation. A month of organising and protesting led to the statue’s removal. As a crowd chanted and cheered, Rhodes Must Fall activists <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rhodesmustfall/posts/uct-rhodes-must-fall-mission-statementwe-are-an-independent-collective-of-studen/1559394444336048/">insisted that</a> this would “not mark the end but the beginning of the long-overdue process of decolonising” the university. Their actions have reverberated globally, inspiring movements across South Africa, at Harvard and the University of Oxford, and beyond.</p>
<p>In the US, longstanding debates about statues gained momentum in 2017, in the wake of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/james-a-fields-jr-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-charlottesville-car-attack/2018/12/11/8b205a90-fcc8-11e8-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html">violence</a> by white supremacists defending a statue of confederate general Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia. The state’s governor introduced legislation in April 2020 to allow cities to remove statues, paving the way for a US$10 million (£7.2 million) plan to transform Richmond Virginia’s famous Monument Avenue, where four Confederate statues have already been removed. A final monument to Lee remains on the site and is the subject of <a href="https://time.com/6071720/virginia-robert-e-lee-statue/">an ongoing legal battle</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The statue of Theodore Roosevelt in New York" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406733/original/file-20210616-23-10rv5a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The statue of Theodore Roosevelt in New York.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_Statue_of_Theodore_Roosevelt_(New_York_City)#/media/File:Equestrian_statue_of_Theodore_Roosevelt.jpg">Flickr/LunchboxLarry</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Many statues commemorate complex figures. In New York City, a statue of Theodore Roosevelt stands on the steps of the American Museum of Natural History. Roosevelt – governor of New York and US president celebrated for his conservation work and breaking up big business – is depicted on horseback. He is flanked by two standing figures, an African and a Native American. Indigenous activists and many others had long <a href="https://decolonizethisplace.org/monh">called for the monument’s removal</a>, citing the racial hierarchy built into its composition, and Roosevelt’s involvement in the eugenics movement. </p>
<p>A commission established in 2017 was unable to agree to remove or keep it. Instead, an <a href="https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/addressing-the-theodore-roosevelt-statue">exhibition</a> explored diverse perspectives on the statue. Following the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020, the monument was relocated. Conversations about its final destination continue. </p>
<p>In Martinique, activists <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200727-france-colonial-era-statues-torn-down-french-island-martinique-empress-josephine-beauharnais-racism-slavery">pulled down statues</a> of Pierre d’Esnambuc, the first French coloniser to arrive on the island in 1635, and Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, who reinstated slavery in the French colonies in 1802, calling for a public reckoning with the legacies of slavery and empire. </p>
<p>Yet they also <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/slave-abolition-statue-martinique">pulled down</a> statues of abolitionist Victor Schoelcher, making the point that whitewashing abolition erases long histories of resistance by enslaved people. The history and contemporary identity of Martinique, the activists argued, has not simply been handed down from metropolitan France – rather, it has been, and continues to be, shaped by Black people in the Caribbean.</p>
<p>Communities are now confronting the question of what will become of Colston, Rhodes, Roosevelt and others. Should they be displayed in museums – and if so, how? And what should replace them? Should we leave the plinths empty, create space for changing installations and live performances, or commission statues of figures that we can all celebrate? Or, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/jun/07/why-every-statue-should-come-down">Gary Younge argues</a>, do all statues simplify and set in stone stories that are far too complex to be told by static representations of singular individuals?</p>
<p>As my colleagues and I explain in a <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/projects/CoDE%20Briefings/Runnymede%20CoDE%20Cultural%20Activism%2C%20Statues%20v1.pdf">new briefing</a>, the government’s doubling down is only silencing desperately needed conversations about the past and its role in the present – not least, the role of structural racism in shaping the uneven effect of the pandemic. It is vital that these conversations be continued, that decision-makers listen to them and act upon them, and that the government act to support this work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162806/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chloe Peacock's research is supported by funding from the Economic and Social Research Council through the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE).</span></em></p>Activists are taking a creative approach to complex debates despite intransigence from Westminster.Chloe Peacock, Research Associate, Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/931472018-03-09T17:28:54Z2018-03-09T17:28:54ZWhiteness characterises higher education institutions – so why are we surprised by racism?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209730/original/file-20180309-30983-ccpomn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cambridge-england-may-13-row-statues-290245856?src=1NRuP1zDP7T5VrLGjvXE7g-1-70"> PlusONE / Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rufaro Chisango, a black student at Nottingham Trent University, <a href="https://twitter.com/rufarochisango_/status/971452205181161472">tweeted a video</a> of students chanting “we hate the blacks” outside of her dorm. This shockingly racist abuse has quite rightly drawn <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/03/08/we-hate-black-people-british-university-student-films-racial-slurs-outside-her-bedroom/?utm_term=.bf459d8b5047">widespread condemnation</a>. </p>
<p>Whenever someone does something explicitly racist, it’s often framed as an <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-kenski/racism-is-not-isolated_b_8106230.html">isolated incident</a>. This doesn’t just misrepresent the experiences of black and minority ethnic (or BAME) students, <a href="https://www.nus.org.uk/en/news/racism-widespread-across-uk-education-system-report-shows/">who face racism in many forms</a> on a daily basis – it obscures the structural and institutional nature of racism. </p>
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<p>It’s important and necessary to reprimand the offending students. But that’s the easy part. To make meaningful change, interventions need to go to the roots of the problem. Although the number of BAME students attending university <a href="http://www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/HEinEngland/students/">is increasing far quicker</a> than white students, black students report <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ethnic-minority-students-less-satisfied-university-experience">lower levels of satisfaction</a> than other racial groups. They are also <a href="https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/bme_summit_final_report.pdf">more likely to “drop out”</a>, and have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/28/white-students-better-degrees-minorities-same-grades-universities">lower attainment levels</a> than their white peers – even when they enter university with the same grades. </p>
<p>The outcomes and experiences of black students in academia are symptomatic of institutions where white power structures have long dominated. This makes black students and staff seem out of place and lays the ground for experiences such as Chisango’s. Over the past few years, student-led campaigns have gone to great pains to point out the mechanisms that maintain the whiteness of higher education. Perhaps those of us committed to change should listen.</p>
<h2>Race and representation</h2>
<p>The student-led “<a href="https://www.nus.org.uk/en/news/why-is-my-curriculum-white/">Why is my Curriculum White?</a>” campaign has challenged the white and euro-centric nature of the curricula in higher education. One interviewee for the campaign recalled an undergraduate modern history course, which covered the topic of empire over a week, looking at the economic competition between European countries, with all of her readings reportedly written by white academics. She is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/sep/06/how-britains-old-empire-lives-on-in-universities">not alone</a>. In a <a href="https://www.nus.org.uk/en/news/racism-widespread-across-uk-education-system-report-shows/">2011 report </a> conducted by the NUS, almost half of black students noted a lack of diversity in their curriculum. </p>
<p>Overwhelmingly <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-take-the-curriculum-back-from-dead-white-men-40268">white, male canons</a> are too often the norm in universities, making it seem like intellectual thought is the preserve of white people. Blackness, then, appears not to belong in universities. </p>
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<p>In the Why Isn’t my Professor Black campaign, students have drawn our attention to the <a href="https://robbieshilliam.wordpress.com/2016/07/10/black-academia-1-2/">lack of black professors</a> – and particularly black women professors – and the problems that arise from such under-representation. Only <a href="https://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/equality-higher-education-statistical-report-2015/">1.19% of British staff</a> on academic contracts are black – far less than the proportion of black people in the broader population, which is 3.3%. </p>
<p>The whiteness of the teaching staff reinforces the whiteness of the curricula, which both work to reinforce the association between whiteness and intellect. All this contributes to the conditions that make racism possible in higher education. </p>
<h2>Rocking the foundations</h2>
<p>Student campaigns have also brought attention to some of the ways that the myth of white intellectual superiority is perpetuated on campuses worldwide. #RhodesMustFall campaigners highlighted Cecil Rhodes’ role in histories of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-cecil-john-rhodes-said-in-his-will-about-who-should-get-scholarships-53172">racism, colonialism and genocide</a>. In so doing, those students have shown that their institution simply does not treat racism and colonialism with the seriousness that it deserves. </p>
<p>As those campaigners <a href="https://rmfoxford.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/041115rmfpressrelease1.pdf">called for</a> a more diverse curriculum and greater BAME representation in the teaching force, there was a clear sense that these different issues were interlinked, and acted to reinforce the university as a space for white people – but not for people of colour.</p>
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<p>The “I, too, am” campaign started at Harvard in 2017, before quickly spreading to UK campuses – most notably Oxford. Holding up boards that noted the derogatory slights and snubs – known as “microaggressions” – faced by BAME students on a daily basis, the campaigners sought to <a href="http://itooamoxford.tumblr.com/">highlight that</a> “in their daily encounters at Oxford, students of colour are made to feel different and othered from the Oxford community”. </p>
<p>These microaggressions occur partly as a consequence of the whiteness that characterises higher education institutions – and, in turn, they act to reaffirm those conditions. Many students of colour are acutely aware of these cycles, which is why they demand that discussions about race should be taken seriously, and that meaningful changes should occur. </p>
<p>By looking again at the campaigns led by student of colour over the past few years, we can begin to see more clearly the institutional conditions that give rise to abhorrent racist incidents. To meaningfully tackle racism in higher education, we must listen when students point out how universities create conditions where black students are seen as being out of place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Remi Joseph-Salisbury does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Student-led campaigns have been calling out racism in universities for years. After a shocking incident at Nottingham Trent University, perhaps we should start to listen.Remi Joseph-Salisbury, Senior Lecturer, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/559702016-03-09T14:47:47Z2016-03-09T14:47:47ZWhat medical ethics can teach us about the #Rhodesmustfall debate<p>Picture this: it’s 20 April 2021 and the charming Austrian village of Braunau am Inn – Hitler’s birth place – reveals a new statue of Adolf Hitler on the main square. With the new statue, the village wishes to commemorate Hitler’s valuable contributions to Germany and Austria, contributions from which many still reap benefits.</p>
<p>If this scenario were to occur, it would cause a public outcry. It would be considered offensive and disrespectful towards Hitler’s victims and their families. It would also be seen as conveying implicit approval or tolerance of the atrocities that were committed in his name. In no time, the village would succumb to the pressure to take it down.</p>
<p>If there are good reasons not to erect a statue of Hitler, are there also good reasons to remove a statue of the controversial British imperialist Cecil Rhodes? Debates over whether to use medical research that has been carried out unethically – including by the Nazis – can offer some helpful parallels. </p>
<h2>Current effects matter</h2>
<p>In January, after months of heated debate and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/rhodesmustfall">Rhodes Must Fall</a> activism, Oxford University’s Oriel College <a href="https://theconversation.com/history-is-not-a-morality-play-both-sides-on-rhodesmustfall-debate-should-remember-that-53912">decided to leave</a> a statue of Rhodes on his pedestal at the front of the college. But protests are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/07/students-queen-victoria-statue-cecil-rhodes-colonial-past">continuing</a> against Oriel’s decision – mixed in with calls to remove statues of <a href="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Society/article1675580.ece">other controversial imperialist figures</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps one could argue that erecting a statue sends a stronger message than leaving an existing one in place. But this is not always so. Whether preserving a statue implicitly condones past immoral deeds will depend on how bad the wrongdoing was (Rhodes’ wrongdoing was not as bad as Hitler’s). </p>
<p>And whether it contributes to further injustices will depend on its relevance to those alive now. No one objected to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-19822296">removal of memorials</a> to the late BBC presenter, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/jimmy-savile">Jimmy Savile</a>. Though his sexual crimes were morally not on a par with those of Hitler, many of his victims are still alive, and sex crimes remain a major social problem. Leaving his memorials in place could have had a considerable negative impact.</p>
<p>Even where reasons to keep a statue in place win out, there may be a significant moral cost, and this should be recognised and where possible, rectified. </p>
<h2>Using unethical research</h2>
<p>But we can learn something from medical ethics here. Many <a href="http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2015/06/guest-post-is-it-ethical-to-use-data-from-nazi-medical-experiments/">ethicists</a> argue that it is alright to use and benefit from past unethical medical research. For example, some have argued we may use data from cruel Nazi or <a href="http://www.bioethics.net/articles/u-s-complicity-and-japans-wartime-medical-atrocities-time-for-a-response/">Japanese medical experiments</a> carried out during World War II, or <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/30/guatemala-experiments">unethical research</a> in developing countries as long as we take steps to distance ourselves from it. </p>
<p>We could do this by explicitly acknowledging the wrongness of the experiments, by compensating or apologising to the victims and their families, and by implementing concrete measures to prevent unethical medical research in the future.</p>
<p>The Max Planck Society in Germany could serve as an example as we think about how to deal with statues of Rhodes and other controversial historical figures. Many of the scientists of the Society’s predecessor organisation – the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWS) – were <a href="http://www.mpg.de/9811513/kws-under-national-socialism">involved in Nazism</a> during WWII. This involvement ranged from sympathising with National Socialism, to advocating problematic forms of eugenics, to collaborating with the Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114352/original/image-20160308-22120-11frgub.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114352/original/image-20160308-22120-11frgub.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114352/original/image-20160308-22120-11frgub.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114352/original/image-20160308-22120-11frgub.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114352/original/image-20160308-22120-11frgub.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114352/original/image-20160308-22120-11frgub.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114352/original/image-20160308-22120-11frgub.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Twins at Auschwitz kept alive for medical experiments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Child_survivors_of_Auschwitz.jpeg">USHMM/Belarusian State Archive of Documentary Film and Photography/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In 1997, the Society appointed a committee to <a href="http://www.mpg.de/9811513/kws-under-national-socialism">address the history</a> of KWS (a 10-year project resulting in 17 volumes of research), organised a symposium about the results (surviving victims attended), and apologised to the victims. It also recently started up a research project to study the history of the Society from 1948 onwards and will investigate any other ethical lapses so as to be able to prevent them in the future. </p>
<p>This approach could be especially relevant to the ongoing debate at the University of Melbourne, where students are demanding the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/its-time-melbourne-uni-stopped-honouring-eugenicist-richard-berry-20160229-gn6661.html">renaming of buildings</a> that honour eugenicists. The most notorious is the Richard Berry Building. Berry was an anatomy professor in the early 20th century who argued for the sterilisation of “the inefficient”, including homosexuals, alcoholics, those with small heads and low IQs, and aborigines. He also inspired the <a href="https://theconversation.com/eugenics-in-australia-the-secret-of-melbournes-elite-3350">Eugenics Society of Victoria</a>. In this case, renaming the building seems to involve little cost, and it could help the university to distance itself from its problematic past. The case for renaming seems strong. </p>
<h2>Oriel’s way forward</h2>
<p>In the case of Rhodes, it might be appropriate to add a plaque to the statue that briefly mentions his problematic past and contains a brief statement distancing the college from his values. The plaque mentioning his name could simply be removed so that the statue becomes less of a memorial to the man, and more an artistic object. A deeper investigation into the injustices perpetrated by Rhodes and their long term effects might be appropriate.</p>
<p>So, should Rhodes stay or should he go? If he stays at Oriel there will be trouble. But this trouble could be minimised if the college explicitly distances itself from any problematic values Rhodes stands for and, crucially, makes a serious effort to tackle the current <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-cecil-john-rhodes-said-in-his-will-about-who-should-get-scholarships-53172">injustices that Rhodes</a> and those sharing his values contributed to.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katrien Devolder does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If it’s ok to use research carried out in unethical experiments – as long as we acknowledge they were wrong – is it ok to keep a statue of an infamous imperialist?Katrien Devolder, Marie Curie Fellow at the Uehiro Centre and a Research Fellow, Wolfson College, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/539962016-02-01T16:38:07Z2016-02-01T16:38:07ZSouth African students toppled Rhodes – but they can’t get rid of Zuma<p>In some ways, South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, must be exceptionally happy about the #Rhodesmustfall campaign. After all, it takes the heat off him and puts it on a dead white man – or rather, a block of stone in the likeness of a dead white man.</p>
<p>I went to Rhodes’s grave in the Matopos Hills in Zimbabwe in 1980. These are the most beautiful landscapes in Africa – and the spiritual power accorded the region by the Ndbelele people was palpable. On the grave, a flat slab at ground level, huge rainbow lizards danced. It seemed prophetic: one day, there would be a rainbow nation that would be able to make light of the tragic restrictions of the past.</p>
<p>The reality, of course, is very different. Today’s Zuma administration has carelessly and wantonly frittered away the last traces of South Africa’s rainbow of equity and its promise of economic equality. In an ideal world, #Zumamustfall would make for a more meaningful campaign than #Rhodesmustfall – but while the end of the ANC’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-governing-party-celebrates-with-eye-on-tough-year-ahead-52989">increasingly careless reign</a> should by rights be in the hands of South Africa’s students and young people, they have no policies and no programmes to replace it with. </p>
<p>They also see little in the way of an alternative to ANC rule. </p>
<p>The activists behind #Rhodesmustfall don’t trust the middle-class liberal economics of the opposition Democratic Alliance. To them, its leader, <a href="https://theconversation.com/first-black-leader-breathes-life-into-south-african-opposition-41275">Mmusi Maimane</a>, is merely a parrot for the country’s bankers and his party is still largely white. Meanwhile, Julias Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters are noisy, mischievous and make a huge show of providing robust opposition to the ANC – but the party’s radical-left redistributionist policies make little sense in a complex globalised world. And the <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-12-22-eff-pay-back-the-money">whiff of corruption</a> hangs around Malema just as it does Zuma.</p>
<p>So if Zuma cannot fall because the protesters have no alternative to him, have no programme to reform a self-seeking ANC, what better substitute than a statue of the dead white man who began it all?</p>
<h2>Pure soap</h2>
<p>The absence of an alternative to Zuma is almost as disheartening as the spectacle of an impulsive president without policies. The latest farce revolved around South African Airways, which was caught without a business plan and has had to take <a href="http://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/companies-and-deals/south-african-airways-cash-crunch-builds-pressure-for-change-2/">drastic fiscal measures</a>. The airline’s reckless ambition to buy its way out of trouble was refused by the minister of finance, whom Zuma then <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-zumas-actions-point-to-shambolic-management-of-south-africas-economy-52174">fired</a> – apparently without thinking the Rand would <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5c0da8b2-9eb5-11e5-b45d-4812f209f861.html">instantly lose value</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109810/original/image-20160201-32247-18qx5ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109810/original/image-20160201-32247-18qx5ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109810/original/image-20160201-32247-18qx5ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109810/original/image-20160201-32247-18qx5ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109810/original/image-20160201-32247-18qx5ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109810/original/image-20160201-32247-18qx5ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109810/original/image-20160201-32247-18qx5ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cecil Rhodes’s grave.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhodes_grave_sunrise.jpg#/media/File:Rhodes_grave_sunrise.jpg">Seabifar via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This resembles nothing so much as the 1960s television soap, Peyton Place, a black-and-white saga of small-town affairs and small-minded, small-scope melodramas. That’s what the ANC has become at the highest level: a self-obsessed village soap. And, at the popular level, the students also think in black and white, without proposing a single actual reform programme.</p>
<p>As for Oxford’s <a href="http://www.oriel.ox.ac.uk/content/statement-oriel-college-about-issues-raised-rhodes-must-fall-oxford-petition">Oriel College</a> and its rather small statue of Rhodes, the college went through the ritual of consultation, but was always safe in the knowledge that its buildings are under a conservation order. It itself had no power to unilaterally remove the statue anyway, so the whole thing was a charade.</p>
<p>In Zimbabwe, once called Rhodesia, the colonial tyrant’s name is almost never mentioned. There, politics is a matter of real substance and dramatic treacheries, with huge consequences. The country again faces a disastrous economic downturn, presided over under an aged, tyrannical president who it seems will never die.</p>
<p>And in Zambia, the furthest north Rhodes reached, it’s an election year. Prices for the country’s principal export, copper, have <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/african-and-mideast-business/declining-copper-prices-send-zambia-into-economic-crisis/article26995466/">crashed</a> and the currency is steadily losing value. As in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the rains were so late there are crises in both agriculture and <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2015/world/zambia-electricity-shortage-highlights-africas-hydropower-shortfalls/">hydroelectric power</a>. The government holds days of prayer to plead with God to resolve the crises. </p>
<p>All the while, Cecil Rhodes’s name is never mentioned or his image defiled. Instead, he’s peacefully buried in the Matopos Hills, where the lizards dance on his grave.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53996/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
South Africa’s president is direly unpopular and his government on the ropes – but protests against him are just empty symbolism.Stephen Chan, Professor of World Politics, SOAS, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/531722016-01-14T18:18:15Z2016-01-14T18:18:15ZWhat Cecil John Rhodes said in his will about who should get scholarships<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108148/original/image-20160114-2368-1w7yvf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Eddie Keogh</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The legacy of the British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes has sparked angry protests from Cape Town to Oxford. In the wake of the <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2015/12/17/Over-6000-attend-ZumaMustFall-marches">#RhodesMustFall</a> campaign, which resulted in his statue being removed from the University of Cape Town, students at Oxford have clamoured for another <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/22/oxford-students-campaign-cecil-rhodes-statue-oriel-college">statue at Oriel College Oxford</a> to be removed. Now the name of the <a href="http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/rhodesscholarship/about-the-rhodes-scholarships">Rhodes Scholarship</a>, funded by the estate of Rhodes and handed out to international postgraduates to study at Oxford by the <a href="http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/rhodes-trust/trustees">Rhodes Trust</a>, is under attack.</em></p>
<p><em>In the latest development, a group of 200 international scholars <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/12/cecil-rhodes-scholars-reject-hypocrisy-claims-amid-row-over-oriel-college-statue">have said </a> that they took a Rhodes grant as a form of reparation, “knowing that <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/cecil-john-rhodes">Cecil Rhodes</a> did not intend it for us when he wrote his will.” Gemma Ware and Thabo Leshilo from The Conversation asked historian Professor Paul Maylam about what Rhodes actually said in his will.</em> </p>
<p><strong>Is it accurate to say that Rhodes was selective about who should be awarded scholarships?</strong></p>
<p>Yes, this is accurate – in the past there was heavy discrimination in the award of the scholarships.</p>
<p>Rhodes’ will specified that only males could be awarded <a href="http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/">Rhodes Scholarships</a>. There was a clause in the will that stated that “race” should be disregarded, but Rhodes clearly viewed race in terms of the English/Dutch divide. </p>
<p>It was clearly his intention that scholars should be white. A black American <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/alain-leroy-locke-37962">Alain L Locke</a> was awarded a scholarship in 1907, but thereafter there were virtually no black scholars until the 1960s. </p>
<p>It was only in 1977 that the first black South African was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. In practice, too, for many years scholarships were only awarded to unmarried men. So I presume the 200 scholars are either women and/or black and/or married. </p>
<p><strong>What views on white supremacy did Rhodes hold?</strong></p>
<p>Rhodes was an ardent white supremacist, as revealed in a couple of his <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=VbD_mokWhL8C&pg=PT25&lpg=PT25&dq=%22Treat+the+natives+as+a+subject+people+as+long+as+they+continue+in+a+state+of+barbarism+and+communal+tenure;+be+the+lords+over+them,+and+let+them+be+a+subject+race.%22&source=bl&ots=w6cUF9EgXk&sig=8jiFlprojwlAtTMMj3NWxuDMTC4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxrrCi9KjKAhXEXhQKHQ6MDRcQ6AEIHTAB#v=onepage&q=%22Treat%20the%20natives%20as%20a%20subject%20people%20as%20long%20as%20they%20continue%20in%20a%20state%20of%20barbarism%20and%20communal%20tenure%3B%20be%20the%20lords%20over%20them%2C%20and%20let%20them%20be%20a%20subject%20race.%22&f=false">statements</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I say the natives are like children. They are just emerging from barbarism.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Treat the natives as a subject people as long as they continue in a state of barbarism and communal tenure; be the lords over them, and let them be a subject race.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>What did Rhodes intend <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Rhodes">Oxford</a> to do with the money he left it in his will?</strong></p>
<p>Apart from the scholarships, Rhodes left money for Oriel College, where he had been a student over a number of years. The will stated that the £100 000 left should be used to expand the college’s buildings on to High Street (where the statue now stands on the façade of the extension), to support Oriel fellows, to maintain “the dignity and comfort” of the high table(!), and to fund the maintenance of the college’s infrastructure. There was nothing in the will to say that a building such as Rhodes House should be constructed in Oxford in his memory.</p>
<p><strong>How have the terms of the Rhodes scholarship changed since he left Oxford the money?</strong></p>
<p>There have been a number of changes in the criteria for selecting Rhodes scholars. Several years ago women, people of colour, and married persons became eligible. These changes were introduced gradually, mainly in the 1960s and 1970s. Rhodes had also specified in his will that sporting ability – or manliness – should be a criterion for selecting scholars. I believe this has largely fallen away.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53172/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Maylam does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rhodes was an ardent white supremacist who believed Africans to be inferior. He intended his scholarships to be for white males only. This has since fallen away.Paul Maylam, Emeritus Professor, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/478852015-09-25T04:32:26Z2015-09-25T04:32:26ZUniversities need to manage hate speech, not stifle freedom of expression<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95900/original/image-20150923-2608-9frpvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students protest at South Africa's Stellenbosch University demanding the right to be taught in English rather than Afrikaans, which they identify with apartheid.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The wave of protests that has swept across South African universities in recent times reflects the undercurrent sociopolitical tensions of the broader society. Universities, after all, are microcosms of society.</p>
<p>The university is, or should be, the bastion of the right to free expression in the promotion of democracy, and has a moral and ethical obligation to provide spaces for fierce debate and critical engagement. But the reality may be somewhat different with universities globally criticised as bastions of <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140605221621837">intolerance</a>, privilege, conformism and censorship. </p>
<p>Protests at several campuses, including vocational and further education colleges, in the wake of the <a href="http://rhodesmustfall.co.za/">#Rhodes must fall</a> movement have become increasingly violent. They are indicative of the discontent with the slow pace of change, referred to as <a href="http://www.dbsa.org/EN/About-Us/Publications/Documents/The%20challenges%20of%20transformation%20in%20higher%20education%20and%20training%20institutions%20in%20South%20Africa%20by%20Saleem%20Badat.pdf">transformation</a> in the country. This means much more than a change of policies and speaks to deep transformation relating to apartheid history. It involves confronting South Africa’s colonial, racist past to redress the issues which still cause humiliation in institutions today. </p>
<p>This discontent relates to student access to higher education, student fees, accommodation, language policies and the curriculum which are all seen as exclusionary and part of the apartheid legacy. </p>
<h2>Freedom of speech versus incitement</h2>
<p>The right to freedom of expression will be severely tested on campuses as offensive speech shades into hate speech and inflames violence. Institutions must endeavour to create forums and avenues for vigorous and even more, not less, contentious debate. This may indeed bring extreme discomfort and polarise many. And of course universities will have to have policies in place for when offensive speech morphs into hate speech and incites violence.</p>
<p>Interesting <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150908141823553">research</a> into the role of higher education institutions in preventing extremism suggests that there should not be excessive curbs on extremist speech. </p>
<p>Rather, it proposes, institutions should provide multiple platforms and diverse spaces for all views so that they can be challenged openly and publicly. The research also reveals that opportunities for students from various cultures to mix and debate is a deterrent to singular, narrow views.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95902/original/image-20150923-2652-1147g7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95902/original/image-20150923-2652-1147g7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95902/original/image-20150923-2652-1147g7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95902/original/image-20150923-2652-1147g7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95902/original/image-20150923-2652-1147g7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95902/original/image-20150923-2652-1147g7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95902/original/image-20150923-2652-1147g7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A student at a protest calling for the removal of a statue of Cecil John Rhodes from the campus of the University of Cape Town in March.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If there are already policies in place against hate speech and incitement to violence, tighter controls and stricter measures tend to drive political dissent <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150908141823553">underground</a> and have the potential to make it more explosive.</p>
<h2>The challenge is where to draw the line</h2>
<p>The South African constitution, one of the most progressive in the world, guarantees the right to express oneself <a href="http://fxi.org.za/home/">freely</a>. </p>
<p>But this freedom does not only extend to expressions we find comfortable or favourable, but to also those that <a href="http://www.capebod.org.za/archives/2120">shock, disturb and offend</a>. The question then becomes: when does offensive speech shade into hate speech?</p>
<p>The constitution states that the right to freedom of expression does not extend to advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, or that constitutes “incitement to cause harm”. </p>
<p>Hate speech is seen as a growing issue in South Africa and is under intense scrutiny. The country’s <a href="http://www.southafrica.info/about/democracy/sahrc.htm">Human Rights Commission</a> noted in February that there has been a <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2015/02/09/SAHRC-experiences-increase-in-hate-speech-cases">spike</a> in hate speech cases. </p>
<p>As our democracy becomes more robust, South Africans are going to encounter more controversy, contestation and conflict - not less. People, especially those on <a href="http://businesstech.co.za/news/media/97739/news24-is-shutting-down-its-comments-section/">social media</a>, will have to brace themselves to handle communication that is increasingly disturbing and offensive.</p>
<p>A number of examples of offensive speech stand out. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>The Afrikaans singer Sunette Bridges was found guilty by the <a href="http://www.sahrc.org.za/home/index.php?ipkArticleID=330">Human Rights Commission</a> of “violent hate speech and racist” comments posted on her Facebook wall.</p></li>
<li><p>The derogatory utterances of <a href="http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/xenophobic-statement-is-king-zwelithini-guilty-of-hate-speech/">King Goodwill Zwelithini</a> against foreigners were blamed for sparking the most recent spate of deadly xenophobic violence. This case is being probed by the rights commission. A Nigerian rights group has also laid charges with the International Criminal <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/6b420200483199f49944ff4d1170398b/ICC-to-investigate-hate-speech-against-King-Zwelithini-20152904">Court</a> against the Zulu King. </p></li>
<li><p>The President of the Student Representative Council at the University of the Witwatersrand was <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-15-ex-wits-src-presidents-hitler-comments-were-freedom-of-speech">removed</a> from office for posting his admiration for Hitler on Facebook. Although the university found his comments abhorrent, it decided that he had not breached the right to free speech as enshrined in the constitution.</p></li>
<li><p>Parliamentary speaker Baleka Mbete came under fire after she referred to the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters Julius Malema as a <a href="http://www.enca.com/opinion/why-cockroach-huge-deal">“cockroach”</a> at a meeting of the governing African National Congress, of which she is the national chairperson. After coming under attack for using language reminiscent of incitement in Rwanda before the genocide she unreservedly withdrew her remarks. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Why there is a need to tread carefully</h2>
<p>Hate speech takes on a whole new meaning in fragile, volatile democracies like South Africa. Here, protests, strikes and disputes rapidly <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/public-protest-democratic-south-africa">escalate</a> into extreme violence, and even death. </p>
<p>The history of humanity is replete with narratives illustrating the role of political hate rhetoric in ethnocentrism, and even genocide. Glaring examples are the <a href="http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143">Holocaust</a> and the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13431486">1994 genocide</a> in Rwanda. Hate speech is often the precursor to the scapegoating, dehumanising and demonising of outgroups, especially minorities, and the escalation of violent attacks.</p>
<p>South African politicians are no different from politicians all over the world who use inflammatory speech to mobilise group solidarity in order to derogate outgroups. <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21663225-why-donald-dangerous-trumps-america">Donald Trump</a>, the Republican running in the US presidential race, is the master of offensive, degrading speech.</p>
<p>Trump, too, has garnered popular support but this is where the comparison ends. South Africa, unlike the US, is still licking its wounds from a traumatic past. And it is still grappling with democracy. Politicians have a duty to exercise more caution.</p>
<p>Offensive speech, whether it is declared hate speech or not, has tremendous power. It generates complex human emotions which often have deep-rooted and traumatic significance in post-apartheid South Africa. These <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=cgk4j_fAXr4C&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=Eve+Lindner+on+revenge&source=bl&ots=uTsdOV7u-V&sig=Im_u4VOW9gX1rCcb5OlV-6Nw4P0&">emotions</a> can stir motives for revenge. </p>
<p>Institutions of higher learning need to find innovative ways and create multiple forums to stimulate critical debate and dialogue as part of constructive conflict engagement. This, after all, is their purpose, to develop global citizens and critical thinkers who champion human rights and defend democratic principles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47885/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyn Snodgrass receives funding from the National Research Foundation </span></em></p>The university should be the bastion of the right to free expression in the promotion of democracy, and has a moral and ethical obligation to provide spaces for fierce debate and critical engagement.Lyn Snodgrass, Associate Professor and Head of Department: Political and Conflict Studies , Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/470752015-09-08T03:42:13Z2015-09-08T03:42:13ZHow South African universities are governed is the biggest challenge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93981/original/image-20150905-14636-dp7z0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A statue of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes is removed from the University of Cape Town after student protests. Could real transformation come through changing governance structures?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nic Bothma/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The stories emerging about black students’ experiences in South African universities are nothing short of tragic. Stellenbosch University students have released a film called Luister (Listen) which documents their experiences of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3rTBQTQk4">racist and exclusionary behaviour</a>. </p>
<p>Students at the University of Cape Town <a href="http://rhodesmustfall.co.za/">created</a> the Rhodes Must Fall movement in early 2015. Their campaign for institutional transformation has been mimicked elsewhere, even <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/18/oxford-uni-must-decolonise-its-campus-and-curriculum-say-students">reaching</a> Oxford University.</p>
<p>All of this shows that many South African universities are not perceived as open and safe spaces by the majority of those they are supposed to serve. This undercuts the whole purpose and role of higher education in a democratic South Africa. Universities should be a space for free thinking where knowledge generation and societal development go hand in hand.</p>
<p>So how best can the country’s universities effect change without undercutting what makes many of them excellent? Many are well regarded internationally for their research output and teaching. They are sites of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurialism. Their academics are trusted collaborators and partners in international initiatives. </p>
<p>How can the higher education sector guard against proposed changes being merely superficial quick fixes? At least part of the answer may lie in institutional governance.</p>
<h2>A three-fold restructuring</h2>
<p>Three major ideas have been batted about as being necessary for transformation. These are to <a href="https://theconversation.com/professors-arent-born-they-must-be-nurtured-43670">increase</a> the number of black academics in universities, to offer studies in <a href="http://www.unisa.ac.za/chs/news/2015/08/is-multilingualism-in-south-african-higher-education-possible/">languages</a> that are most <a href="http://dotmap.adrianfrith.com/">common</a> to South African students and to reform the curriculum so it takes more local knowledge and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-less-eurocentric-reading-list-would-look-like-42068">African thinkers</a> into account.</p>
<p>These are all important, but a coherent discussion is also needed about how universities are governed and how this could be changed to help institutions become more inclusive and friendly.</p>
<p>Decisions about curriculum and other academic matters rest with university senates. The real power, though, lies in the hands of university councils and management. They control the purse strings. This kind of governance environment skews decision-making and imparts a natural bias towards centralised authority. A more inclusive approach is necessary.</p>
<p>For starters, we must cast a critical eye over the composition of university senates. These are an institution’s highest academic decision making body and could be an important site to effect transformation. In South Africa, senates are largely the domains of professors.</p>
<p>By right, full professors are normally members of the senate with a smattering of support staff, students, and elected representatives from other academic ranks. Given how <a href="http://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/Where-are-our-black-academics-20150430">few black professors</a> there are in South Africa, it’s easy to imagine what these spaces look like.</p>
<p>This structure, taken directly from the UK’s practice, is hardly relevant in post-apartheid South Africa. Universities in South Africa need to rethink the form of this important decision making body. In North America, for instance, most universities have elected senates that are representative bodies of academics, support staff and students. </p>
<p>Democratising senates and making them more representative of what universities actually look like is a great step towards eventual transformation. This means taking away the automatic right of all full professors to sit on the senate and making it a democratic space with a more fair distribution of representatives from different academic ranks, student groups and support staff. </p>
<p>Surely this will improve decision-making and ensure that relevant and important voices are heard.</p>
<h2>Councils must back off</h2>
<p>A second governance reform would be to reconsider the role of university councils. These entities, like corporate boards, should be focused on strategic decision-making and ensuring sound fiscal management. </p>
<p>The government changed its policy after apartheid and empowered councils to get more involved in universities’ daily affairs. The rationale was that those council members appointed by the government would be sensitive to the necessity of diversifying a largely white academy.</p>
<p>It was a good idea at the time, but unfortunately it hasn’t played out as intended.</p>
<p>The first problem has been the government’s approach to funding universities. They have demanded that the number of students be increased – but increased funding at below inflation rates. This pressure has pushed councils away from engaging in strategic initiatives and instead seen them focusing on budget line items.</p>
<p>Another problems arises when council appointees adopt a corporate mindset to university governance (and to ideas about transformation). For instance, a number of councils are pushing for annual quantitative measurement systems around research, teaching and service. This is inappropriate and distracts from what universities are about: knowledge generation and social development, both of which are often hard to measure in the short-term. </p>
<p>University councils need to return to their arms’ length roles and allow internal governance structures to get down to the business of transformation.</p>
<h2>Decentralise power</h2>
<p>A third and final governance reform in aid of transformation would involve decentralising the power of senior university management. Despite statutory safeguards, much authority is centralised with vice-chancellors and their deputies. For transformation to really be effective, it needs to be an initiative owned and driven by everyone. </p>
<p>Universities are microcosms of society. They are a community where different stakeholders – students, academic staff, support staff and others – contribute to its functioning. This needs to be recognised more coherently and appropriately in governance structures. </p>
<p>In such a context, what is needed are senior university managers who act as leaders, facilitate the deliberations of a more democratic and representative governance structure, and promote change, not individuals who are concerned with their own power and authority. This will requires a culture shift among senior university leaders.</p>
<p>South African higher education needs to get to grips with transformation. There is no silver bullet, but rethinking how our universities are governed must be central to our efforts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47075/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David J Hornsby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How can the higher education sector guard against proposed transformation measures being merely superficial quick fixes? At least part of the answer may lie in institutional governance.David J Hornsby, Senior Lecturer in International Relations & Assistant Dean of Humanities, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/423352015-05-27T04:21:55Z2015-05-27T04:21:55ZAfrica’s rich heritage is under threat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82955/original/image-20150526-24745-s4t9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A traditional clay minaret stands in the Malian city of Timbuktu. Structures such as these are being destroyed as a result of conflict.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adama Diarra/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past decade many priceless heritage sites and monuments have been destroyed, vandalised or desecrated in countries across the world. On the African continent, sites in <a href="http://icorp.icomos.org/index.php/news/29-unesco-director-general-calls-for-an-immediate-halt-to-destruction-of-sufi-sites-in-libya">Libya</a>, Algeria, <a href="http://www.academia.edu/7039818/The_looting_and_deliberate_destruction_of_cultural_heritage_during_the_21st_century_conflict_the_search_for_solution">Egypt</a> and <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/damage_to_timbuktus_cultural_heritage_worse_than_first_estimated_reports_unesco_mission/#.VWQwrU-qqko">Mali</a>, among others, have been destroyed during internal and cross-border conflicts.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/about/world/world-heritage-convention">three main threats</a> to heritage sites are development projects, armed conflicts and natural disasters. International agencies like <a href="http://en.unesco.org/about-us/introducing-unesco">UNESCO</a> have called for the protection of heritage resources in the event of conflict. But this has not happened. </p>
<h2>An attack on history</h2>
<p>The destruction of monuments is a violent act. Those responsible are trying to erase - by force - an aspect of history targeted at material culture. One example was the Nazis who, during World War II, attempted to destroy Jewish people’s art and personal property.</p>
<p>The attacks on monuments and <a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/raymond-ibrahim/muslim-brotherhood-destroy-the-pyramids/">calls for their destruction</a> reflect the systemic and complex violence in many African states, although it’s important to note that the problem is not only an African one.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82934/original/image-20150526-24766-wafawb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heritage sites.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNESCO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Isis is the latest group <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/world/middleeast/isis-militants-severely-damage-temple-of-baal-in-palmyra.html?_r=0">destroying history and heritage</a>. This is prevalent in Iraq. The group labelled their destruction of the sites as ‘removing the signs of polytheism.’ Syria is another country witnessing its heritage being <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/26/syria-heritage-in-ruins-before-and-after-pictures">wiped out</a>.</p>
<p>When examining the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/09/mali-forgotten-war-20149691511333443.html">ongoing conflict</a> in the north of Mali, it is clear that heritage sites are just part of the collateral damage of human lives and cultural property in the ongoing conflict. </p>
<h2>The South African case</h2>
<p>In South Africa, <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2015/04/09/Rhodes-has-fallen">recent</a> student-led protests at the University of Cape Town started what became a nation-wide debate. It was mixed with acts of destruction aimed at colonial heritage monuments. </p>
<p>There were many opposing views about the statue of British mining magnate and politician Cecil John Rhodes at the university. Some saw the statue as a vestige of colonial oppression. Others said that monuments should be safeguarded and protected as legacies of South Africa’s past even though they were remnants of an oppressive past. </p>
<p>The debate about Rhodes’ statue <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2015/04/11/destroying-statues-is-illegal-repulsive-apartheid-colonial-history-must-be-preserved-zuma">set a precedent</a>. Several other statues in various South African cities have been the scene of public protests.</p>
<p>This has led to the emergence of divergent activist groups championing either the protection of monuments such as the <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Paul-Kruger-statue-in-Pretoria-vandalised-again-20150411">Kruger monument in Pretoria</a> central or the removal of all monuments associated with the apartheid period of South African history. </p>
<p>The debates continue on this topic and what keeps emerging as an underlying theme is the disenchantment, across various platforms of South African society. Disenchantment with the way in which the effects of apartheid have been dealt with in the post-apartheid period. Many argue that the processes such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission were not sufficiently able to deal with the trauma and pain wrought by apartheid. </p>
<p>Conflict resolution and peace building would be better served by exploring alternative ways of dealing with heritage destruction. Instead of condemning the heritage to destruction, it should be kept safe so it remains visible and spurs us into constant engagement and conversation.</p>
<h2>Collective approach is needed</h2>
<p>It is worth considering national and world heritage conservation <a href="http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00022">policies</a> and <a href="http://www.heritageportal.co.za/article/implications-amendment-world-heritage-convention-act">legislation</a>. All heritage is valuable and should be protected for posterity. Heritage destruction is not in the interest of humanity and can only serve to legitimate other aspects of heritage violation as was the case in the aftermath of destruction of sites and monuments in Libya and Egypt. </p>
<p>The African continent has to address the question of how we collectively deal with difficult and traumatic heritages. A reflection on the UNESCO Conventions between 1954 and 1972 should also provide guidance on future actions and discourses on heritage management at local and national levels. </p>
<p>The 1954 Convention which calls for the protection of cultural heritage during conflict and war was regularly invoked during the Iraq conflict and recent conflict in Mali. The 1970 and 1972 Conventions draw attention to safeguarding and protecting world heritage by state parties.</p>
<p>With these tools, countries should have sufficient guidance to individually and collectively protect heritage resources. Heritage resources are as much a reflection of our humanity as is our very human existence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42335/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alinah Kelo Segobye is affiliated with The University of South Africa. She is faculty at The Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute and as Senior Research Affiliate at African Futures Institute in Pretoria, South Africa. She is not currently funded by any organisation to carry out her research.</span></em></p>Africa is losing rich heritage and historical structures through conflict.Alinah Kelo Segobye, Associate Professor of Archaeology, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.