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Barack Obama delivered the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Johannesburg yesterday against the backdrop of an uncertain global political landscape. Did he strike the right chord? Yes, according to Cheryl Hendricks and Keith Gottschalk, because he delivered a speech that was filled with hope, drawing attention to the visionary qualities and selflessness that Mandela epitomised. Analysing Obama’s oratory, Aaron X Smith notes that few changes in the world have garnered the level of attention as the stark contrast between Obama and incumbent US President Donald Trump.
And as the world celebrates the centenary of Mandela’s birth today, poetry is an under-explored source of contemplation. Louise Bethlehem and Karin Berkman explore poems that reflect Mandela’s life - from his defiant resistance to apartheid, to his incarceration, release and finally his presidency.
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Barack Obama delivering the 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg.
EPA-EFE/Stringer
Cheryl Hendricks, Human Sciences Research Council; Keith Gottschalk, University of the Western Cape
Barak Obama was asked to give the Mandela Lecture because he represents what the global liberation struggle icon stood for. He struck the right chord.
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Arts + Culture
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Aaron X. Smith, Temple University
Barack Obama is delivering the Nelson Mandela lecture in a changing world dominated by the often outrageous utterances of his successor, US President Donald Trump.
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Louise Bethlehem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Karin Berkman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Nelson Mandela's release in 1990 was met by an outpouring of poetic celebration both within South Africa and globally.
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Politics + Society
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Matthew Graham, University of Dundee
Mandela continues to serve as a rare example of a principled politician committed to forgiveness and reconciliation.
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John J Stremlau, University of the Witwatersrand
Drawing on Mandela's legacy, Obama can help the world better understand the nature of threats to democracy.
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Science + Technology
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Daniel B. le Roux, Stellenbosch University
There seems to be very limited high-level discourse about how South Africa plans to navigate this wave of technological advancement.
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From our international editions
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Clodagh Harrington, De Montfort University
After a week spent trampling the international order, Trump capped his performance by giving Vladimir Putin the benefit of the doubt.
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Andrew Alan Johnson, Princeton University
In Theravada Buddhism, ordaining to be a monk and donating the merit thus gained is one of the greatest honors that a person can give to another - in this case to the Navy SEAL officer, who died.
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Shahla Ghobadi, University of Manchester
Social media is a great tool for activists campaigning for social justice. But if it is not used with caution it can end up working against them.
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