On Saturday, April 24, from 2 to 4 pm, the Center for Cold War Studies and International History (CCWS) will host a workshop. We will read and discuss a dissertation chapter, “Beyond Desegregation: Waging a Battle Against Apartheid in the South African Workplace,” by Mattie Webb, a doctoral candidate in the UCSB history department.

In what is sure to be a stimulating and engaging discussion, Mattie Webb looks at the ways in which U.S. multinational corporations, South African workers, and trade unionists carved space in both the transnational anti-apartheid movement and the internal South African labor movement during the 1970-1980s period. Her chapter combines multi-site archival and oral research in both the United States and South Africa, probing questions about competing visions for a post-apartheid workplace, and the place of workers in the anti-apartheid movement. Mattie’s innovative chapter pushes beyond a U.S.-centric understanding of the anti-apartheid movement to unpack the ways in which both internal and external workplace reforms patiently targeted apartheid in a way that did not agitate the South African government or push multinational corporations too far.

This workshop is part of a new CCWS initiative, the Cold War Working Group (CCWG), a collaborative, graduate student-led group designed to provide a supportive, welcoming environment for graduate students working on or around the Cold War and international history. The workshops provide an occasion for graduate students, faculty, and others to join together as peers to read, and provide feedback on, scholarly work in progress (dissertation chapters, journal articles, etc.) by members of our community. We strongly encourage other UCSB graduate students and faculty members to consider submitting their own work for discussion in future workshops.

Workshop attendees are encouraged to read the chapter in advance. Attendees should also RSVP to Addie Jensen at addisonmjensen@ucsb.edu. 

Please join us for this exciting event!