The University of Pretoria Faculty of Humanities hosted the first Annual Faculty Research Day, UP Beat: Critical Humanities Lecture Series and Researchers of the Year awards on Wednesday 16 October 2013 in the Rautenbach Hall on the UP Hatfield Campus. 

The event opened with a viewing of research exhibits presented by: the four Humanities Departmental Clusters (Languages, Applied Social Sciences, Social Sciences and Arts); each of the five Faculty Research Themes (Southern Modernities, Visual Technologies, Peace and Conflict, Enhancing the well-being of vulnerable children and the Human Economy Program); and the Humanities-led Institutional Research Theme (Capital Cities Project). Staff, faculty and postgraduate students presented a wide range of impressive materials relevant to their research interests, endeavours and accomplishments.  

The exhibits were followed by the UP Beat: Critical Humanities Lecture Series, an exciting new initiative proposed by Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti, Department of Political Sciences. The lectures were presented by Professor Amanda du Preez, Visual Arts, ‘From self-portrait to selfie’; Dr Paola Wood, Biokinetics, Sports and Leisure Sciences, on military training injuries; Professor Danie Prinsloo, African Languages, on the new online Sepedi dictionary; and Dr Fraser McNeill, Anthropology, on car stickers, traditional leadership, post-apartheid nationalisms and the material culture of popular performance. The keynote address was presented by Professor Bart Vinck, Communication Pathology, on noise exposure, related hearing loss and resulting communication pathologies in present day society. The presentations were illustrated in real time by Nicolene Louw, a graphic facilitator, and recorded. Links to the presentations will soon be available on YouTube. 

Congratulations to the 2013 Faculty of Humanities Researchers of the Year: 

Language Cluster
Professor Danie Prinsloo, Department of African Languages

Applied Social Sciences Cluster
Dr Paola Wood, Department of Biokinetics, Sports and Leisure Sciences

Social Sciences Cluster
Professor Ernst Wolff, Department of Philosophy

Arts Cluster
Professor Amanda du Preez, Department of Visual Arts