Rosemary Lombard and Rehana Odendaal return from semester in Sweden

Two of the APC’s Master’s scholars have recently returned from the first Linnaeus-Palme exchange programme with the University of Dalarna in Falun, Sweden. Rosemary Lombard and Rehana Odendaal spent just over five months being hosted by the Dalarna University’s Centre for African Studies (DUCAS) as part of a newly established teacher and student exchange programme with UCT’s Centre for African Studies (CAS).

The exchange saw Rosemary and Rehana providing some South African perspectives to the DU Master’s class, which included students from Italy, France, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Pakistan and Gabon.  Coursework drew on a wide range of disciplines including History, Geographical Science, Political Science, Agrarian Studies and Religious Studies, split into three courses: Dynamics of African Societies, Education and Social Change, and Religion and Politics in Africa. Class discussions were an important time to reflect on what it means to study Africa from a range of different positionalities, which led to some complex debates.

The DUCAS programme also hosted a number of visiting lecturers from around the world, including UCT’s Associate Professor Horman Chitonge and Emeritus Professor Chris Saunders. In 2015 DUCAS celebrated its 10th anniversary with two "Africa Days", where researchers presented their most current research. Rosemary represented APC by introducing her work on missionary collecting practices, to much interest.

In addition to the academic experience, the exchange programme offered the South Africans an exciting platform for experiencing new ways of life and learning environments. Two Swedish classmates, Martina von Seth and Karolina Johannson, have been received at the Centre for African Studies at UCT this semester on the reciprocal South African leg of the exchange.