Challenging the implicated subject: Bringing memory activism into the South African university classroom

In this article, I will explore the value of engaging with the intersections between memory studies scholarship and memory activism within the university classroom. I will do so by documenting the approach I took to teaching Michael Rothberg’ s theory of the implicated subject to South African university graduate students. I introduced the students to the implicated subject within the framework provided by two interconnected courses which make connections between histories of antisemitism, the Holocaust, colonialism and gender oppression. Together, the courses required the students to explore their positionality, and contemplate what they can do to address global challenges, related to issues such as antisemitism and racism. To prompt their reflections, I provided the students with a range of case studies that explored, among other things, white South African students’ responses to the #FeesMustFall protests, and complex intersections between South African antisemitism and racism in a hate speech case. I also gave them creative assignments which provided them with the opportunity to explore their roles as curators and memory activists. Apart from documenting my approaches of teaching and assessment, I also examine a poem, produced by one of the students, which highlights how the students have come to apply memory activism and scholarship in their everyday lives.