On Friday, 4 September 2015, the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Faculty of Humanities invites you to Journalism, Communications, Film and The Arts after Marikana: Unpacking the implications of the Farlam Commission Report.
“Most academic reflections on the massacre and its aftermath have focused on political and economic factors. We want to focus on a different set of issues. How the massacre has changed, if at all, how those concerned with symbolic representation are doing their work,” said Jane Duncan, a Professor in the Department of Journalism, Film and Television at UJ, on the third commemorative seminar on Marikana.
The purpose of the seminar series is to make sure that society learns the necessary lessons from the massacre, and that academia contributes to ensuring that the conditions that gave rise to the massacre never occur again. Through the eyes of those who should be assisting in reflecting the country back to itself, namely journalists and artists, the seminar will attempt to answer whether they are attempting to take the temperate of South Africa as a country in the wake of the massacre.
The seminar co-hosted by the Department of Journalism, Film and Television and the Department of Communications, and will take place at 13h00 – 18h00, at the University’s Faculty of Humanities common room, C-ring 319, Auckland Park Kingsway campus (APK).
RSVP: jduncan@uj.ac.za
About Marikana
On 16 August 2012, the police opened fire on striking mineworkers at the Lonmin mine in Marikana in the North-west province of South Africa, and scores of mineworkers were killed. Three years later, the families of those killed are still seeking justice, and in this regard, many looked to a Commission of Enquiry set up by President Jacob Zuma and chaired by Judge Ian Farlam. While the Commission found that the police used excessive force, many have also been disappointed by the inconclusive nature of the Commission’s findings on key issues.
