> Controversy, Conflict and Democracy: 2008 Sterling Prize
Controversy, Conflict and Democracy: 2008 Sterling Prize
Contact:
Heribert Adam, 1.250.629.6229
Susan Jamieson-McLarnon, 778.782.5151
Heribert Adam, 1.250.629.6229
Susan Jamieson-McLarnon, 778.782.5151
October 8, 2008
On Wednesday, Oct.15 sociologist Heribert Adam receives the 2008 Nora and Ted Sterling prize in support of controversy at Simon Fraser University's Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The $5000 prize was awarded on the basis of Dr. Adam's work on the apartheid regime and its transition to democracy and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the Middle East.
Controversy courts me, says Adam, with a wry smile. He's reflecting on a research career immersed in some of the world's most volatile political situations, from South Africa's apartheid era to the political impasse that rules Israeli/Palestinian life. He doesn't seek controversy, he says, rather he pursues rigorous research on the difficult issues of ethnic and racial conflict.
Originally from Germany, he went to South Africa to research the "Nazis of Africa" and their race laws. A strong opponent of apartheid, he was eventually banned and refused a visa for associating with anti-apartheid activists.
He joined SFU's sociology department in 1968 where he continued his close examination of South Africa. Along the way he met Nelson Mandela. "While he was still imprisoned, we sent him a copy of one of our books (co-authored with his South African wife, UBC sociologist Koglia Moodley). About three months later we received a warm, hand-written letter from Mr. Mandela asking us if we could drop by the prison one day to autograph it for him," Adam recalls. "We didn't meet in person until after his release."
In recent years Adam has turned his attention to the Middle East and the issues that prevent peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. He asks: "Are there lessons to be learned from the South African negotiated settlement?" In their recent book, Seeking Mandela, Adam and Moodley speculate what might have happened in the Middle East if there had been what they call "Palestinian or Israeli Mandela" to provide leadership in the ethnic conflict. They doubt that even a Mandela could achieve reconciliation in Jerusalem.
Adam is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, recipient of the outstanding achievement award of the Canadian Sociology Association and author, or co-author, of 10 books and over 200 articles. In 1998 he received the Konrad Adenauer Prize of the Humboldt Foundation to look at how democracies deal with the crimes of their past. Now professor emeritus, he held the SFU Simons Chair in graduate liberal studies.
Dr. Adam's Sterling prize lecture: Peacemaking in Divided Societies: South Africa, Israel/Palestine, Canada, begins at 7 pm, Wednesday, Oct. 15, at SFU's Wosk Centre. Free. Reservations: 778.782.5100.
Controversy courts me, says Adam, with a wry smile. He's reflecting on a research career immersed in some of the world's most volatile political situations, from South Africa's apartheid era to the political impasse that rules Israeli/Palestinian life. He doesn't seek controversy, he says, rather he pursues rigorous research on the difficult issues of ethnic and racial conflict.
Originally from Germany, he went to South Africa to research the "Nazis of Africa" and their race laws. A strong opponent of apartheid, he was eventually banned and refused a visa for associating with anti-apartheid activists.
He joined SFU's sociology department in 1968 where he continued his close examination of South Africa. Along the way he met Nelson Mandela. "While he was still imprisoned, we sent him a copy of one of our books (co-authored with his South African wife, UBC sociologist Koglia Moodley). About three months later we received a warm, hand-written letter from Mr. Mandela asking us if we could drop by the prison one day to autograph it for him," Adam recalls. "We didn't meet in person until after his release."
In recent years Adam has turned his attention to the Middle East and the issues that prevent peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. He asks: "Are there lessons to be learned from the South African negotiated settlement?" In their recent book, Seeking Mandela, Adam and Moodley speculate what might have happened in the Middle East if there had been what they call "Palestinian or Israeli Mandela" to provide leadership in the ethnic conflict. They doubt that even a Mandela could achieve reconciliation in Jerusalem.
Adam is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, recipient of the outstanding achievement award of the Canadian Sociology Association and author, or co-author, of 10 books and over 200 articles. In 1998 he received the Konrad Adenauer Prize of the Humboldt Foundation to look at how democracies deal with the crimes of their past. Now professor emeritus, he held the SFU Simons Chair in graduate liberal studies.
Dr. Adam's Sterling prize lecture: Peacemaking in Divided Societies: South Africa, Israel/Palestine, Canada, begins at 7 pm, Wednesday, Oct. 15, at SFU's Wosk Centre. Free. Reservations: 778.782.5100.