Ã山ǿ¼é

Professor Monica Popescu, Department of English
The Trials of Nelson Mandela

After Nelson Mandela and other Rivonia trialists were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, the apartheid government was hoping to silence them and erase their memory from the minds of their fellow citizens. Under South Africa’s laws at the time, all imprisoned or banned people could not be quoted or have their pictures circulated. However, the effect was the opposite of what the government intended. In the following decades, while Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, pictures of him at the time of the trial and his statement from the dock became globally recognized icons of the struggle against injustice in South Africa. In this lecture we will look at the Treason Trial (1956-1960), the Rivonia Trial (1963-1964) and their aftermath to meditate on which aspects were publicly remembered and which forgotten, and how they contributed to Nelson Mandela’s global image as the symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle

About The Great Trials

IPLAI's Great Trials lecture series considers a collection of history-making trials across time and examines the social and political contexts in which they took place as well as their cultural consequences. The series takes the position that ‘law’ happens as much outside the courtroom as it does within it, and that each of these pivotal events stands as testament to the ways in which constructions of authority, law, and justice have informed cultural consciousness across centuries.

IPLAI is pleased to offer the lectures in this series for CLE credit through the Barreau du Québec.

Where: , 4574 Sherbrooke St. W.
When: All lectures will begin at 5:30pm

Registration fees: $60 for the series of 5 lectures, or $15 for individual lectures. Registration at the door the day of each lecture may be possible, but places will be limited and we cannot guarantee that seats will be available. Cheques only, payable to Ã山ǿ¼é. We will be unable to accept cash at the door.