Pasts and Presents of Student Protests: Comparing Southern Africa and Switzerland

Special Event

Since October 2023, students around the world have occupied university campuses in protest against the war in Gaza, military escalation, and gross human rights violations in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. In our colloquiumwe place these protests and the responses to them within the university, in the media and across various public spheres (politics, international courts, international organisations) in critical comparison with Southern African histories of student protests throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. We will discuss examples that include anti-apartheid struggles, the significance of Palestine for Africa focused solidarity groups, the Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall student movements, and student protests at the University of Basel and other Swiss universities.

The colloquium addresses current debates in Namibian and Southern African Studies and provides a forum for conversations between students and local and international scholars, artists and activists. The regional focus is programmatic, but we offer multiple opportunities to reflect on the sessions, and situate them in broader discourses. We nurture an intellectual milieu and knowledge practice that transcend rigid institutional and symbolic boundaries between the university and society, the Global South and North, and disciplines, fields, and practices. The colloquium is open to students from all levels and guests from within and beyond the university. Jointly organised by the University of Namibia, the University of Basel & the Basler Afrika Bibliographien

Contact for registration and zoom link: julia.rensing@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na

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