As a youngster he checked out books such as James Joyce’s Ulysses from the local library, much to the librarian’s chagrin. But he had long nurtured a keen interest in English literature. His principal suggested that he take up a less intellectually demanding trade of some kind. In Johannesburg, Stadler’s mother washed and ironed clothes in exchange for backyard accommodation.Īs a student at Highlands North Boys High, Alf's academic performance was mediocre. The family relocated to Johannesburg Alf recalled the train ride to the Reef as deeply depressing: the cold, dry and treeless khaki veld of the Rand were a stark contrast to the sub-tropical forests and rolling cane fields of Natal. Alf was a public intellectual, providing analysis and commentary on election results and political events he acted as an expert witness for the defence of his students who were charged with “terrorism” by the apartheid regime and, for a time, he chaired the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism.Īlf was born in Durban in 1937, the son of a former dairy farmer, who worked for the South African railways and who died when Alf was 10. In Memoriam 2023 Alfred William Stadler (1937 - 2023)įormer professor and chair of the Department of Political Studies at Wits, Alfred William Stadler, "Alf" (BA 1960, BA Hons 1962, PhD 1971), died on 29 December 2023 at the age of 86.
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