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Did Barack Obama strike the right chord when he delivered the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Johannesburg yesterday? 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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Former US President Barack Obama delivered 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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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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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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Politics + Society
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Jerome Viala-Gaudefroy, Université Paris Nanterre – Université Paris Lumières
The leader of the United States has made immigrants the new face of a threatening “Other,” a primitive savage who has many of the features of the "Indians" of the American frontier myth.
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Kenneth Armstrong, University of Cambridge
Both Leavers and Remainers are unhappy with the UK's exit plan – but can their dispute ever be resolved satisfactorily?
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Energy + Environment
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Cecilia A. Green, Syracuse University; Farah Nibbs, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Many countries collect and store rainwater for use during drought or dry seasons. But this technique is rarely used in the Caribbean, where hurricanes can leave people without water for months.
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Fiona E. McNeill, McMaster University
If Elon Musk can help achieve safe drinking water more quickly for every home in Flint, Mich., then he should be lauded. Water is life.
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Health + Medicine
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Anant Madabhushi, Case Western Reserve University; Kaustav Bera, Case Western Reserve University
With artificial intelligence, machines can now examine thousands of medical images for signs of disease. Will this technology replace doctors – or work side by side with them?
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