NMMU dean explores stories
EVOCATIVE, engaging and entertaining were some of the words used to sum up the inaugural lecture of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s newly appointed executive dean of arts Professor Rose Boswell.
Speaking at NMMU’s north campus conference centre last night, Boswell, a professor of anthropology, kept the audience of more than 100 academics engulfed in her presentation which focused on colonial tales, alter-narratives and the enduring value of anthropology.
“Stories and story-telling are fundamental to life and also a space to explore hidden knowledge.
“We need to look more deeply into these stories for the moral tale,” Boswell said.
Reflecting on her experiences, she skilfully explored stories she had encountered during her 15 years of field research which took her to Zanzibar, Madagascar and Mauritius.
“I held on to my field notebooks, the original stories. Because these stories were not ready to be told, I held them back until they were,” she said.
Boswell, former head of Rhodes University’s anthropology department, holds a PhD from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
Reflecting on her presentation, Boswell said the lecture was a self-reflective account of her experiences, but not explicitly so.
During her career, she said, she had been fortunate enough to explore themes of self-expression through various means.
“A consequence of the challenge to anthropology was that it is dispensed with the notion of an acceptable form of exclusivity. Instead it opened to radical imaginary,” Boswell said.
Reflecting on her vast experience as an anthropologist, Boswell said stories, or narratives, allowed people to express their feelings.
“Stories are therapy for people to deal with their past,” she said.
NMMU vice-chancellor Professor Derrick Swartz said he was pleased with the turnout at the event.
“I am delighted to see the faculty [of arts] in full steam,” he said.
Deputy vice-chancellor for research and engagement Professor Andrew Leitch called Boswell’s inaugural lecture fascinating and inspiring.