April 10th, 2009
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Interview with Dr. Jeff Peires
Click here to download the transcript of this interview.
General Topic of Interview: Memorialization
Dates: 10 August, 2008
Location: King William’s Town, South Africa
Narrator: Dr. Jeff Peires
Interviewer: James Chapnick
Transcriber: James Chapnick
Biographical Information:
Dr. Jeff Peires is a historian born in Cape Town. He studied at both the University of Cape Town and the University of Wisconsin.
Interview Information:
Dr. Peires speaks about South African history. He discusses representation of history during and since apartheid in general, in school curricula, and in museums. He discusses the general South African preference to not do away with the symbols of others but rather to add new symbols and memorials. He gives his opinion of street renaming, and details the post-apartheid commemoration of Steve Biko, relations between activists of the anti-apartheid and Civil Rights movements. He also discussed the role of heritage tourism in local communities, and situated three specifically: Robben Island, the Amathole Museum, and the Bhisho Massacre Site.