Department Seminar: Professor, dr. Antje Daniel

Title:

Global Flows of Decolonial Thought: Students activism of Rhodes Must and its Decolonial Impart

Abstract:

When Rhodes Must Fall emerged in 2015 and grew into a national movement under the slogan Fees Must Fall, it was not foreseeable that the idea of 'Must Fall' would have multiple resonances nationally and globally. For example, student protests in South Africa inspired Oxford students to protest. In Senegal, young people demonstrated against the statue of the French soldier Louis Faidherbe, demanding an interruption and critical reflection on the colonial past.

In the Sudanese revolution, the term 'Must Fall' was used to draw attention to the need for radical change and a break with the authoritarian regime of Omar Basir. The Must Fall idea resonated in many contexts. However, protests using 'Must Fall' also drew on other resources and had different meanings in different contexts, creating a complex transnational flow of partially interconnected protests across Africa, Europe and even the US.

The term 'Must Fall' had different meanings in different contexts. However, what unites the Must Fall movements is that they aim to express the need for radical and structural change, for a radical shift in political culture that overcomes structural violence and colonial legacies. The term 'Must Fall' expresses the urgency of action to overcome structures of oppression. The presentation analyses the genesis and meaning of the idea of 'Must Fall' and how the idea has travelled and resonated globally. In doing so, the presentation demonstrates an important case of transnational activist influence from the Global South to both the Global North and other Global South contexts.