What are the real roots of the student protests of 2015 and 2016? Is it actually about fees?
Why did so many protests turn violent?
Where is the government while the buildings burn, and do the students know how to end the protests?
In his book As By Fire, former Free State University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jonathan Jansen delves into the unprecedented disruption of universities that caught South Africa by surprise. In frank interviews with eleven of the VCs most affected, he examines the forces at work, why the protests escalate into chaos, and what is driving – and exasperating – South Africa’s students.
This urgent and necessary book gives us an insider view of the crisis, tells us why the conflict will not go away and what it means for the future of our universities.
Jansen recently discussed the book on AmaBookaBooka. Listen to the episode here:
Amabookabooks is a novel podcast about books and the people who write them. It is produced by Jonathan Ancer and Dan Dewes. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – or wherever you get your podcasts.
“The problem is it only got attention – scholarly attention and political attention – when it came to the former ‘white’ universities”
Prof Jonathan Jansen is a leading South African educationist, commentator and the author of several books including the best-selling Letters to My Children. He is the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State, where he earned a reputation for transformation and a deep commitment to reconciliation.
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