Sampie Terreblanche: an intellectual giant of economics who opened minds to social role
Prof Terreblanche left an indelible mark on the thinking patterns of his students, writes Michael Jordaan
Sampie, as Prof Sampie Terreblanche was affectionately known to all at the University of Stellenbosch, had a favourite teaching trick. He would ask each of his 1,000-plus first-year economics students to write an essay on why we need economic growth. Sampie would then proceed to read the answers back to the class and discuss the merits and flaws of these views with us. Young adults who had been taught to memorise facts in school but never to use critical thinking faculties produced questionable responses like: "it is our Calvinistic duty to grow the economy" or "economic growth is the only option that humans have". For most of us students it was the first time a teacher had asked our opinion and then openly debated our views. This was nothing short of a paradigm shift for our young minds, which may have explained why Sampie also loved the word "paradigm". His trick was to make us think properly for the first time. Sampie’s speciality subject was economic history and he produced book...
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