E. H. Brookes was professor of history and political science at the University of Natal and an outspoken critic of apartheid. Brookes moved to Natal with his parents as a child in the early twentieth century. After studying at the University of South Africa, Brookes was appointed lecturer at Transvaal University College. In the 1920s, he was appointed as South African delegate to the League of Nations. With several other scholars, he formed the South African Institute of Race Relations. He interrupted his academic career once more in 1937 to become a Senator in the South African Parliament. In 1947, he was a South African representative to UNESCO. Brookes left politics in 1952 to return to academia. In 1959, he assumed his position at the Universal of Natal. He wrote several books, including his first major work, The History of Native Policy in South Africa from 1830 to the Present Day and from 1963-1968 he was acting national chairman of the Liberal Party of South Africa. His later scholarly works include South Africa in a Changing World (1953), Civil Liberty in South Africa (1958), and White Rule in South Africa (1974, a revision of his first book). He died in 1979.
Brookes gave three lectures: Towards The Twenty-First Century, Freedom, & Faith. His argument throughout was that a good world is impossible without freedom, and that freedom is ultimately impossible without faith. In the first lecture, he discussed the possibility of a world state and the necessity of establishing a world university to safeguard freedom. In his second lecture, Brookes examined the meaning of freedom and the fears that stand in the way of securing freedom. In the final lecture, Brookes described faith as the acceptance of certain presuppositions that are vital to life. Given faith, freedom, and a good world, along with the indestructibility, unpredictability, and inner integrity of the human spirit, Brookes encouraged his audience to face the twenty-first century with hope.
Brookes was the first Visiting Professor brought to Queen’s under the Dunning Trust lectureship. He and his wife spent approximately three months at Queen’s. Brookes held weekly seminars on race relations in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s and assisted in seminars on South African history. He was also invited to speak at Queen’s Theological College, as he was a prominent Anglican layman. While at Queen’s, he was awarded honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at a Special Convocation in December 1965.
Listen to excerpts from Brookes’ lectures or read the full transcripts below.
At the end of his Visiting Professorship, Dr. Brookes wrote Queen’s students a letter that was published in the Queen’s Journal.
