1039 EMILY HOBHOUSE: BELOVED TRAITOR

Elsabé Brits, author and specialist journalist, Netwerk24.com       

       Be merciful towards the weak, the down-trodden, the stranger. Do not open your gates to those worst foes of freedom – tyranny and selfishness. Are not these the withholding from others in your control, the very liberties and rights which you have valued and won for yourselves?

Emily Hobhouse, 1913

Emily Hobhouse, a passionate pacifist, liberal socialist and feminist who opposed both the Anglo-Boer War and the First World War, saved thousands of lives and yet died alone – an unsung hero in her own country.This course will discuss recently discovered archival material that throws light on an enigmatic woman who could speak seven languages, who travelled alone during two wars to alleviate the suffering of women and children, who was arrested and deported, and yet who continued tirelessly with her work.

LECTURE TITLES

1. Researching Emily Hobhouse and the Anglo-Boer War: a journey of discovery

2. Hobhouse’s life during the First World War and beyond

Recommended reading

Brits, E. 2016. Emily Hobhouse – Beloved Traitor.  Cape Town: Tafelberg