My Southern Africa history class was convened this morning by Dr. Guy Willoughby, playwright, historian, raconteur, neckerchief afficionado and all-around swell guy. See, at UCT, every class is team-taught, with different lecturers bringing their own depth of knowledge to a particular subject under the auspices of an entire course. In Southern Africa in the 20th Century, Dr. Guy Willoughby (his name must be spoken in full at all times for reasons which are no doubt obvious) will be our guide through the wiles of cultural and political history throughout this turbulent time for the region. I, personally, could not be more excited. Think about a gay Eric Idle, with a sole patch, thinning but well-groomed hair, very proper British South African accent, and a fancy neckerchief and you, dear reader, will have a picture of Dr. Guy Willoughby at his finest.
To say Dr. Guy Willoughby is a force of nature is an understatement. Even this morning, as students sat sleepily on a cold winter's morning, Dr. Guy Willoughby gave a tour de force performance, leading us through the one of the bloodiest battles in the region's past, the Anglo-Boer War of 1899. His enthusaism shined through as he delivered his lecture with stirring passion and grace. His sublime descriptions of characters from the story, like Cecil John Rhodes, the founder of our fair university and Transvaal President Kruger were more theatrical than academic, which makes sense as Dr. Guy Willoughby is one of South Africa's most acclaimed emerging playwrights and actors, having recently completed a theatrical version of recent South African history. At certain points I wondered aloud to Jessie, my classmate here in Cape Town and fellow Tufts student, whether Dr. Guy Willoughby was dipping into the scripts from his own work, as he strutted about the front of Beattie 114 weaving the tale of intrigue and destruction which gripped the region at the turn of the last century.
As class broke for the morning, Dr. Guy Willoughby, adjusted his festive neckerchief, bowed to us, thanked us for listening as some in the class broke into spontaneous applause. It was the performance of a lifetime.
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3 comments:
Hahah amazing blog and thanks for the shoutout--i'm goin to tell everyone to read it ==I think you also need to include out plans to wear neckkerchiefs on the day of his last lecture..
by "out" i mean "our"...while i'm posting again though..i'd like to point out that during this lecture, he had to leave the room for a minute. as he gracefully exited the classroom (or should i say the stage?), he said, "please do not leave..and please do not fornicate." bravo, dr. guy willoughby.
The "Please do not fornicate" is amazing. Also, isn't it a "soul patch"? Sorry to be snobby from so far away :)
Jill
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