Premesh Lalu | UK-SA Chair in Culture & Technics Workshop: 10-12 November 2025

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The lecture offers a rich, interdisciplinary argument that connects historical events, philosophical concepts, and contemporary projects. Lalu’s argument is well-structured, moving from the specific context of UWC to broader theoretical concerns. He effectively uses examples like the ‘double future’ anecdote and the slave lodge to illustrate his points. The argument is persuasive in its call to examine technology critically, but it is more suggestive than exhaustive, leaving some concepts underdeveloped.

Scientific Rigor, Source Quality, Title Accuracy

Lalu references several scholars and works, including Nicole Loraux’s ‘The Divided City’, Norbert Wiener’s ‘The Human Use of Human Beings’, and Derrida’s ‘Racism’s Last Word’. These references are relevant and lend credibility to his argument. However, the lecture is not a formal academic presentation with citations, and some references are mentioned in passing. The title accurately reflects the content, which is a workshop presentation on the Culture & Technics project.

The title accurately reflects the content: a workshop presentation by Premesh Lalu on the Culture & Technics project.

7/10

The video presents a scholarly lecture by an established academic, drawing on historical and theoretical references. While not peer-reviewed, it offers a coherent argument grounded in specific sources and institutional context.

Markers derived by PSI from the transcript: the creator did not define chapters.

• 00:00Introduction to the workshop and the Iyatsiba lab.
• 02:00Discussion of the centre's founding question: elaborating a concept of the post-apartheid.
• 05:00Engagement with puppetry, documentary film, and sound as key elements of the centre's inquiry.
• 10:00Exploration of movement as a counter to stasis, referencing Nicole Loraux's work.
• 15:00Discussion of the refusal of arts education at UWC and the concept of epistemological access.
• 20:00Analysis of grand and petty apartheid, and the figure of the slave.
• 25:00Connection of the history of science (thermodynamics, psychophysics, cybernetics) to race and technology.
• 30:00Introduction to the Herds puppet project and its eco-friendly approach.

• The Divided City — Referenced in relation to the concept of stasis and civil war.
• The Human Use of Human Beings — Referenced in relation to cybernetics and the slave.
• Racism's Last Word — Referenced in relation to deconstructing apartheid.

• The Divided City — Lalu's use of stasis aligns with Loraux's argument about civil war and forgetting.

• None — No conflicting sources were identified within the video.