The guest lectures were held as part of the COIL project “Cross-Cultural Visual Representations: Ukraine and South Africa” in partnership with Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University and the Central University of Technology (Republic of South Africa).
Professor Svitlana Kuzmina gave a lecture on “Cultural Perspectives in the Ukrainian Context.” At the beginning, the lecturer drew attention to the significant differences between Ukraine and South Africa, which are geographical, climatic, racial and ethnic differences. At the same time, she emphasized that Ukraine and South Africa have significant similarities in history and modernity. Both countries are the same age at the beginning of their journey to freedom and democracy. In addition, there is a period in both countries’ history when they were colonies, and thus today they need to decolonize their consciousness, social and cultural institutions.
In her lecture on “Cultural Perspectives in the South African Context,” Professor Tsolofelo Tsabadira spoke about the geographical features of her region, the administrative and political structure, and the dramatic history of the Republic of South Africa. The lecturer drew attention to the fact that her country has eleven official languages. She also emphasized that resolving the language issue is only one part of the decolonization process in South Africa.
