​During the more than two decades that Stellenbosch University (SU) has been a sponsor of Woordfees, academics at the university have been given a platform to speak to festivalgoers about their fields of expertise each year. Even though the Toyota US Woordfees takes place on television this year, and the format is different, 2021 is no exception.Many arts festivals in South Africa feature a discourse series as part of the official programme. At Woordfees this has become increasingly popular over the years, and this year includes the Professor Presenting series, the Science Café, but also three thought-provoking sessions about the current topics of the day.

In Mediclinic-gesprek: Etiese vraagstukke rondom COVID-19 (Mediclinic conversation: ethical questions around COVID-19), Prof Anton van Niekerk from SU's Department of Philosophy, leads a discussion with Prof Mariana Kruger, the head of paediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Dr Chris Jones, head of the unit for moral leadership in the Faculty of Theology, about moral issues around COVID-19. Several topics that are currently being debated in the public realm, such as resistance to vaccinations, “vaccination passports" and questions around the moral principles that should guide our reflection on these issues, will be discussed.

In Ongehoord – Covid Diaries, Prof Amanda Gouws, the SARChI Chair in Gender Politics and a professor of political science at SU, engages with essays published in a new book that was edited by her and Olivia Ezeobi from the Department of Economics.

The essays in Covid Diaries capture the existential feelings of anxiety, angst and uncertainty. They also express exhaustion, discovering new dimensions of life and rethinking priorities in the face of a rupture of what has gone before. Through the essays runs a golden thread of coming to terms with a new way of life and what it means to be a woman, a mother, a partner, a friend and a COVID-19 victim in the year that will be known as the year of the pandemic.

And on a lighter note, in Filosofiekafee (Philosophy café), philosophers, wordsmiths and sages use words to bamboozle each other, play pranks and poke fun at the highly popular Philosopher's Café. Who is going to win this time?

The Toyota US Woordfees runs until 7 October on DStv channel 150. For more information, click here.

Mediclinic-gesprek: Etiese vraagstukke rondom COVID-19

• 4 October – 16:05

Filosofiekafee

• 4 October – 19:00

Ongehoord: Covid Diaries

• 4 October – 09:33
• 6 October – 06:29
• 7 October – 01:06​​​