Scarlet Speakers from the Heart of New Brunswick with Edward Ramsamy, Ph.D.

Edward Ramsamy is Associate Professor and Chair of the Africana Studies Department. His research interests relate to international development planning; the geographies of globalization; the political economy of nation-building and transformation in post-colonial/developing societies; and the comparative politics of identity and race relations in South Africa and the United States. He is the author of The World Bank and Urban Development and editor of The Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia and Africa: an Encyclopedia (Africa Volume), among other publications. He served as the Co-Chaired for the Rutgers – New Brunswick Task Force on Inclusion and Community Values.

Abstract: The talk will examine Nelson Mandela’s emergence as a global icon of the Anti-Apartheid Movement, despite the White South African government’s efforts to render him invisible. It will focus on Mandela’s role in shepherding South Africa to democratic rule through a relatively peaceful transition, and outline some of the achievements of Mandela’s presidency.