History Professor to Speak on "Building a Multiracial, Multicultural Society in South Africa"
Posted on Monday, April 2, 2007
Dr. Patricia Clark, Westminster College assistant professor of history, will speak at Faculty Forum Wednesday, April 4, at 11:40 a.m. in the Sebastian Mueller Theater in the McKelvey Campus Center.
Clark's presentation is based on her participation in an international faculty development seminar on "Building a Multiracial, Multicultural Society in South Africa." The seminar, organized by the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), investigated South Africa's negotiations in its transition from white minority rule to multiracial democracy.
"As one of 14 faculty members from 11 colleges and universities across the United States, I spent 10 days attending lectures by South African leaders in government, education, and health care, and touring South African sites such as townships near Cape Town and Johannesburg," Clark said. "Racial segregation in South Africa officially ended in 1994. Since that time, South Africans have been trying to build a future based on freedom and equality, while not forgetting a past marked by inequality and injustice.
"In my presentation, I focus on my own history with and memory of South Africa. I compare and contrast my situation as a doctoral student observing South Africa in its fifth year of democracy, and my experiences as an assistant professor participating in a faculty study tour of South Africa. I am grateful for the opportunity to see first-hand the social and economic changes that have taken place in the past seven years."
While in South Africa, Clark presented her paper "Associating with Books: The Cape Libraries Extension Association," and chaired a panel at the Historical Association of South Africa's Jubilee Conference in Pretoria.
Faculty Forum, established in 1990, serves as a venue for the exchange of ideas and information among Westminster College faculty. Speakers present their research, teaching ideas, lectures, performances, special programs, and uses of technology to keep faculty informed about the work of colleagues from many disciplines.
Clark, who has been with Westminster College since 2004, earned her undergraduate degree from Michigan State and her masters' and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.
Contact Clark at (724) 946-7248 or e-mail clarkpg@westminster.edu for more information.
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