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Presenting: #RhodesMustFall: An Intellectual Protest Movement in Post-Apartheid Academia.
Discussant: Xolela Mangcu (George Washington University)
Chumani Maxwele is a political science graduate from the University of Cape Town (UCT). During his tenure at UCT, Maxwele was the recipient of prestigious scholarship awards such as the Andrew W. Mellow Scholarship, National Research Foundation Scholarship, and the Afro-Asia Re-Centering Africa Scholarship. Maxwele currently holds a Chevening Scholarship and is reading towards an MA in African Studies at the University of London. As a National Secretary for South African Chevening Scholars, Maxwele is responsible for organising international dialogues and forums for Chevening Scholars with eminent world leaders. His involvement in the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) at a tender age of 19 as National Youth Leader led to his deep appreciation of education and active citizenship for socio-political and socio-economic rights. Maxwele’s interest are in activism, with a particular focus in Higher Education and Community Development. On the 9th of March 2015, Maxwele threw human excrement on the statue of Cecil John Rhodes, an act that gave birth to the #RhodesMustFall and subsequently the #FeesMustFall Student Movement in South Africa. Maxwele uses national and international platforms to tackle issues around the socio-political and socio-economic challenges facing South Africans and Africans in general. He has presented at several national and international platforms such as the Oxford Africa Summit and the Universite Populaire De L’Engagement Citoyen in Senegal where he explicated on the state of political activism, Blackness, Black academics and students in the “post” Colonial and “post” Apartheid era. Maxwele has been appointed by two National Ministers to serve in National Task Teams in South Africa. During his spare time, Maxwele writes opinion pieces for national and international newspapers and academic journals. Maxwele is currently working on his book titled “#RhodesMustFall: An Intellectual Protest Movement in Post-Apartheid Academia”.
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A week in advance, the presenter’s paper will be circulated through the Harvard African Studies Workshop listserv. It is assumed that everyone has read the paper before the workshop. After presentation and commentary, Workshop attendees are invited to engage in critique and discussion, under the moderation of the Workshop Chairs.
View workshop recordings here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/2369529
ORGANIZER(S): Harvard University Center for African Studies
EVENT WEBSITE: https://africa.harvard.edu/african-studies-workshop-0