Passionate about Politics: Sudhir Hazareesingh
We’ve asked some of our Undergraduate Politics academics, tutors and lecturers to tell us what sparked their interest in the subject, when they were students.
In the first instalment, we talked to Sudhir Hazareesingh, lecturer and award-winning author of Black Spartacus, who was influenced not just by a book, but by powerful events happening around him in Mauritius in July 1976:
“In July 1976, as a teenager growing up in my native island of Mauritius, I watched with great excitement as the summit of the Organisation of African Unity was held in the capital city of Port-Louis.
“Leading heads of state and government from all over Africa attended, and the final resolutions included a strong challenge to the racist governments of South Africa and Rhodesia, and a declaration of unity and solidarity with liberation movements fighting for racial equality.
“In the years which followed I read a lot about the global history of racial justice, and my favourite book on the subject was CLR James' The Black Jacobins, a ground-breaking study of the Haitian revolution, the world’s only successful slave insurrection.
“It is a book which continues to inspire me, and its message of voluntarism, generosity, and optimism is one which is still very relevant to our times.”
Further reading:
- The Organization of African Unity
- An introduction to C L R James's The Black Jacobins
- Read Black Spartacus
- Listen to Sudhir introduce his book Black Spartacus for the Baille Giffort Prize Shortlist
Are you interested in studying Politics at Oxford?
Meet some of our other Undergraduate teaching staff and find out what got them into Politics, when they were students.
Find out about our joint-honours undergraduate degree options:
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