Edgerton Named New Dean

From Butler University: Gary R. Edgerton, professor and chair of Communication and Theatre Arts at Old Dominion University, will become the first permanent dean of Butler University’s 2-year-old College of Communication. He will join Butler on Aug. 1. Read more. 

Gary Edgerton

Chancellor of University of Johannesburg to speak at Butler, March 5, 6

• From Butler University: Dr. Wendy Nomathemba Luhabe, chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, will be the keynote speaker at "Empowerment for Change: Equipping This Generation to Save the Next," a special photography exhibit, book preview and leadership dialogue to be held at 5 p.m. Monday, March 5, in the Krannert Room, Clowes Memorial Hall.
  
  
  The event is free and open to the Butler community.
  
  
  Empowerment for Change is presented by Saving Orphans through Healthcare and Outreach (SOHO), an Indianapolis-based nonprofit organization.
  
  
  SOHO exists to improve the quality of life and life expectancy of child-headed households in communities deeply affected by HIV/AIDS. This is accomplished through medical care, food programs, parenting support and educational resources. SOHO focuses on child-headed households and is participating with other organizations and agencies to bring hope to the children.
  
  
  The event will also include the preview of a new book authored by Cynthia J. Prime, founder and CEO of SOHO, that brings much needed attention to this critical issue. The book, entitled The Hope Seekers: Survival of Southern African Child-Led Households in the shadows of HIV/AIDS, was produced by Butler University students. The book preview will open with a reception and photo exhibit at 5 p.m.
  
  
  At 5:30 p.m., Dr. Luhabe will present the keynote address and dialogue, "Bridging the Gender Gap in South Africa Through Social Entrepreneurship." Luhabe will explore cultural, political and economic barriers faced by women in South Africa, and how social entrepreneurship can help bridge the gap created by gender inequality. Also speaking at the event will be Gail Masondo, former Warner Brothers Music Industry executive and author of the book, Now This Feels Like Home.
  
  
  On Tuesday, March 6, SOHO will host "Women, Economic Empowerment and Social Change," a Women's Leadership Forum for local community leaders with Luhabe. The forum will include remarks by Luhabe, followed by a panel discussion featuring notable Indiana women in business. Butler faculty, staff and women student leaders are invited to participate.
  
  
  The SOHO Women's Forum will begin at 5 p.m., in the Krannert Room, Clowes Memorial Hall.
  
  
  Luhabe grew up in a Black South African township and rose to become one of the most influential women in South Africa. She is best known for her vision in founding South Africa's first women's investment portfolio, developing the first private equity fund to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
  
  
  Luhabe was recently appointed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to serve on the International Council on Women's Business Leadership. She has been recognized as one of the top 50 most influential social entrepreneurs in the world.
  
  
  For more information on either event, please contact Cynthia Prime, cprime@savingorphans.com, or contact the Efroymson Diversity Center, (317) 940-6570 or diversitycenter@butler.edu.

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Wendy Nomathemba Luhabe

  Wendy Nomathemba Luhabe

Washington, DC, course: Journalism, Citizenship and Democracy

Reporting from the nation's capital city: Just finished a three-day course in Journalism, Citizenship and Democracy with an outstanding group of Butler students as part of the university's Washington, D.C, program. We visited the Newseum yesterday and were lucky enough to get a preview of the new, not-yet-opened social media section.

Visiting the Newseum

The new social media section at the Newseum

Source: "For The Honor of the Father, the Sons and the Male Members of the Family"

I've been noticing more stories about this trial of "honor killings" in Canada. Interesting to hear the cultural defense. Watch: Video on Honor Killings

Back to visit Gender Links

Fanuel Hadzizi (gender justice program officer), Mercilene Machisa (GBV indicators research manager), me, and Tinashe Padare (IT Officer). All three staffers are originally from Zimbabwe.

Thanks to the generosity of Gender Links, I had access to their resources during my trip to Johannesburg. As always, CEO Colleen Lowe Morna had a packed schedule, which this time included an out-of-country trip to raise funds while I was there. A big thanks to Saeanna Chingamuka, manager of the Gender and Media Diversity Center, for her time and help. My visit concluded with a presentation and discussion of my current research.

Eleanor Kasrils, the "Unlikely Secret Agent"

I continue being fascinated with the underground struggle against apartheid, partly because it was underground and not much information is available to those who didn't participate. Currently on the bookshelves in South Africa is a book titled "The Unlikely Secret Agent," written by Ronnie Kasrils about his wife Eleanor (2010, Jacana Media). She died on November 8, 2009.

Earlier, Ronnie Kasrils had written his autobiography, "Armed and Dangerous," which apparently became a bestseller. I haven't read that book. Ronnie Kasrils played an important role in the anti-apartheid struggle, the transition to the new democracy and the first years of the ANC government, in which he served as a minister from 1994-2008.


Anyway, the book is a really quick read. The main event described by Ronnie Kasrils is the arrest and detention of Eleanor by the Security Branch on August 19, 1963, in Durban. Under new legislation, Act 37 of 1963, called the "Ninety-day Detention Act," police could arrest and detain citizens without charging them for three months. I believe this period could be repeated, if police wanted to do so.

Eleanor fights bravely against the rude and crude policemen, and she goes on a hunger strike to protest her detention. Eventually, she manages to get admitted into Fort Napier, a state psychiatric institution, from where she escapes. Kasrils details their exit from South Africa to Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika (now Tanzania).

For me, the book falls flat after their arrival in Tanzania. I understand that Ronnie Kasrils wanted to focus on the Fort Napier incident, but in his eulogy to Eleanor (also included in the book), we learn that she was the first women to join the ANC's military wing, that she worked closely with Oliver Tambo, and that she lived and worked for many years in exile in London. Instead of all the detail included in the arrest and escape of Eleanor, I think the book should have covered more of her life but in less detail.

IAMCR conference 2012, Durban

The International Association for Media and Communication Research's 2012 conference will be held in Durban, South Africa, July 15-19. The conference theme is "South-North Conversations." More info available at http://www.iamcr2012.ukzn.ac.za/. I encourage all my colleagues and friends to attend!

Masculinity in South Africa

Mbuyiselo Botha

During my recent visit to South Africa, I had the privilege of meeting Mbuyiselo Botha, government and media relations manager at the Sonke Gender Justice Network.

We had a stimulating conversation about the meaning of manhood and questions of culture. For example, Mbuyisele believes polygamy is an accepted cultural practice, but that problems arise when people do not follow the traditional rules of polygamy.

When a man moves outside of these rules, he violates the relationship to his wives and may expose them to HIV/Aids. He also questions a man's ability to look after multiple children.

Sonke made headlines when it took Julius Malema, expelled leader of the ANC Youth League, to the Equality Court in 2010. Malema was found guilty of hate speech for statements he made about President Jacob Zuma's rape accuser and rape victims in general.