On rainbows and butterflies: the Classics, the Humanities, and Africa

Abstract

The purpose of teaching the Humanities and, in particular, the Classics, in a postcolonial African context, has been the subject of intense debate within South African and African universities. In this paper, I contribute to this debate by considering how the University of Ibadan in Nigeria has appropriated the classical tradition in a post-colonial context, and what classicists in South Africa can learn from the Ibadan exemplum. A brief discussion of the complex patron-client relationships, which underpin the survival of a strong Department of Classics at Ibadan, is intended to suggest how local cultural politics, inextricably linked to the history of the institution and the department, will affect the transformation of the curricula within African universities. Departments of Classics at South African universities will have to negotiate their own paths to transformation as they reflect on why Classical Studies should continue to be taught in their specific South African contexts. ‘There’s a rainbow outside, sir. Have you seen it? What’s the Greek for a rainbow?’ ‘Something to do with the goddess, Iris, I imagine. Ἴρις, I suspect. Thus arcoiris in Spanish.’ ‘And Latin?’ ‘The same, surely. Iris.’ ‘And butterfly?’ ‘I really don’t know. Why are you asking me this?’ ‘I saw one yesterday for the first time in ages. I know from my Italian course that it’s farfalla in Italian.’ ‘And mariposa in Spanish. Borboleta in Portuguese.’ ‘And papillon in French, sir.’  Chairperson’s address, Classical Association of South Africa, 30th Biennial