VTalk with Alan Kirkaldy (OG 1976S)
It was wonderful to have Alan Kirkaldy (OG 1976S), associate professor and Head of the History Department at Rhodes University join us on the Old Georgian Union YouTube Channel VTalks, sharing his experience around researching and writing his latest academic book "Everyday Communists in South Africa's Liberation Struggle - The Lives of Ivan and Lesley Schermbrucker"
Alan was at St George's Grammar Schoo from 1966 to 1976 (Form 1 to Matric). During his time at SGGS he was very involved in the Naval Cadets. He achieved the Form 10 Ian Fairweather History Prize.
He went to Rhodes University where he completed his Bachelor of Social Science and BA Honours degrees, specialising in History and Social Anthropology. He completed his MA and PhD Degrees in Historical Studies at UCT. Having taught at Risinga Secondary School in Giyani and UNIGAZ, a branch campus of the then University of the North, he moved to the University of Venda in 1990, where he subsequently headed the Department of History and oversaw its transformation into the Department of Development Studies. He also served as a visiting scholar at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.
In addition to his work as a teacher and academic, he served as an activist in the underground structures of the ANC and the SACP during the struggle years.
In 2006, he moved to Rhodes University, where he currently heads the History Department. He serves on a number of university committees, serves as an external examiner for a number of universities and is also chair of the HODs forum and a former chair of the Union.
In addition to a number of articles in peer reviewed journals covering issues ranging from cannibalism through to witch burning, history teaching in rural areas, settler perceptions of African landscapes and mission history, he has published books on the fishing community at Kalk Bay, Vhavenda history and the biography of Ivan and Lesley Schermbrucker which forms the subject of the present talk. He teaches African History, Environmental History and the history of Liberation movements. He supervises postgraduate theses from Honours to PhD level in the fields of biography, struggle history, religious history, environmental history and queer history. Alan is a keen karateka and an actively practicing bladesmith.
He is married and has two adult children.
Recently Alan launched his book at the National Festival of the Arts hosted at AMAZWI - South African Museum of Literature in Grahamstown.
RUTV Journalism Rhodes University
Report by Sandile Manganyela, Anelisa Salavu & Campbell Easton 20 years after the end of apartheid former activist and history lecturer, Alan Kirkaldy, recollects his fight of the system. We explore his activism, starting as a student at Rhodes and culminating in his arrest by the secret police and the impact that it had on his views.His experiences as an activist have affects his teaching and he now encourages his students to think critically and challenge nationalism.
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