The Centre for Global and Comparative Philosophies is pleased to invite you to the 27th Lecture in the SOAS World Philosophies Lecture Series.  The Lecture will be delivered by Rianna Oelofsen, Associate Professor at University of Fort Hare, South Africa. This lecture will be hybrid, and we encourage all who can to attend in person. The venue and details are below: 

Date

Friday, May 16, 2025

Time

14:00 (UK Time)

Place

Hybrid: In-person: B202 (SOAS); Online (register HERE to get the Zoom link for all events. If you are already on our mailing list, you do not need to register; join HERE).

Title

Ubuntu, Reconciliation and Gender-Based Violence in South Africa

Summary

This presentation investigates whether the concept of Afro-communitarian (or ubuntu) reconciliation can be applied to gender in South Africa. Is there a need for reconciliation between the genders, given the prevalence of gender-based violence in the country? Or is the concept of reconciliation, typically applied to categories such as race, ethnicity, or religious groups, not the correct approach to overcoming gender-based violence? This presentation will first advocate for a specific interpretation of the term gender-based violence. An account of reconciliation according to an Afro-communitarian ethic will then be provided, after which it will be argued that ubuntu reconciliation can and should be applied to the issue of gender in South Africa. This is because what is necessary to address gender-based violence is the transformation of gender roles and identities, and it is precisely the transformation of identities that is central to ubuntu reconciliation. It will also be emphasised that in a country like South Africa, any solution that is not intersectional and does not also tackle the legacy of trauma due to colonialism and apartheid will be inadequate, as identities and individuals are complex and encompass issues of gender, race, economics, and ethnicity

Speaker Bio

Rianna Oelofsen is an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for African Phenomenology at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Her areas of specialisation and publication include African philosophy, Race and Gender theory, Philosophy of education, Phenomenology and Feminist philosophy. She is author of several essays and books including “Women and ubuntu: Does ubuntu condone the subordination of women?” (2018), “Ubuntu, Reconciliation and Gender-Based Violence in South Africa (2025)”, and the co-edited collection with Kola Abimbola, An African Path to a Global Future (2018).