HMEI Faculty Seminar: “Sediments of Meaning: A Military History of Mapungubwe National Park, 1932-present”

Jacob Dlamini, professor of history, will present “Sediments of Meaning: A Military History of Mapungubwe National Park, 1932-present” in Briger Hall Auditorium, 11 Ivy Lane, and online via Zoom. Dlamini is the first speaker in the fall 2025 HMEI Faculty Seminar Series.

This presentation is about the archaeological and political history of South Africa’s Mapungubwe National Park, with a particular focus on the reserve’s role during apartheid as a rehabilitation camp for gay military conscripts and recreational drug users. The talk examines the much-neglected role of the apartheid military in fashioning a notion of normalcy founded on arbitrary distinctions between black and white, gay and straight, as well as ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal.’

This seminar is free and open to the public. Lunch will be available in the Briger Atrium at noon.