Dear Humanities Colleagues

 

Academy of Science of South Africa & Fellowship of the Royal Society of South Africa

 

Two senior members of the Faculty were recently inaugurated as members of the Academy of Science of South Africa. It is prestigious appointment following a rigorous national process based on peer review. Congratulations to the following colleagues:

• Shakila Dada (HOD and Professor of Augmentative and Alternative Communication)
• Innocent Pikirayi (Deputy Dean & Professor of Archaeology)

 

Innocent Pikirayi has also been elected as a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society of South Africa. 

 

Virtual Academic Achievers’ Awards 2020

 

I am very pleased to announce that the Faulty of Humanities featured prominently at the Academic Achievers Awards, hosted on the 25^th November 2020. I would like to applaud the following colleagues:

 

Community Engagement Award:

• Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Social Work and Criminology)

 

Teaching Excellence and Innovation Laureate Award:

• Roland Henwood (Political Sciences)
• Heather Thuynsma (Political Sciences)

 

The Conversation Award:

• Fransjohan Pretorius (Historical and Heritage Studies)
• Henning Melber (Political Sciences)

 

Colleagues with NRF Ratings:

• Mpume Zondi (African Languages)
• Rada Tirvassen (Ancient & Modern Languages and Cultures)
• Berendien Lubbe (Historical and Heritage Studies)
• Shakila Dada (Centre for Augmentative & Alternative Communication)
• James Ogude (Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship)
• Lorenzo Fioramonti (Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation)
• Ben Schoeman (Music)
• John Lamola (Philosophy)
• Christopher Isike (Political Sciences)
• Priscilla Gutura (Social Work and Criminology)
• Barbara Heinze (Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology)
• Faheema Mahomed Asmail (Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology)
• Amanda Du Preez (Visual Arts)
• Pineteh Angu (Unit of Academic Literacy)

 

Loerie Awards – School of the Arts comes out tops with 6 awards!

 

I am equally pleased to announce the success our students have had at this year’s Loerie Awards – the ‘Oscars’ of design in South Africa, Africa and the Middle East. Our students won a total of 6 Loerie Awards, the most UP has received in a single year, and an honour shared with Stellenbosch University. And of the 3 Golden Loeries up for grabs, our students took 2 of them! Please join me in congratulating the following students and their lecturers:

 

Gold Loeries:

Category: Motion graphics
Students: Dian Labuschagne & Tumi Mamabolo - Goddess
Lecturer: Kyle Rath

Category: Film & TV
Dian Labuschagne & Tumi Mamabolo - Goddess
Lecturer: Kyle Rath

 

Silver Loeries:

Category: Motion graphics
Student: Kaela Butler-White - Eyebrows on fleek
Lecturer: Kyle Rath

Student: Helene-Marie Guillaume -The evolution of humanity’s appearance
Lecturer: Kyle Rath

Students: Ian & Kayleigh Ellerbeck – It’s complicated
Lecturer: Kyle Rath

 

Bronze Loerie:

Category: Motion graphics
Students: Kaylin & Dylan Beangstrom - Red in black and white
Lecturer: Kyle Rath

In addition, our Information Design alumni who work at Clearwater, Joe Public, Ogilvy, Switch, TBWA Hunt Lascaris and Wicked Pixels received 12 Loeries – 3 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze!

 

SATI Student Prize 2020

 

I am delighted to join the Department of English in congratulating Lauren Senna Fouchè, who is the joint recipient of the SATI Student Prize 2020; Francois Gilles de Pelichy profiled her achievement for the Faculty website.

 

Social Work & Criminology Students rise to the Challenge

 

Makone Maja and Palesa Mbonde celebrate this unique production and I would like to commend Karen Booyensand her KRM120 students and tutors for rising to this challenge! Click here to view the KRM120 video.    Who’s next?

 

Funding Award: Ford Foundation

 

The Ford Foundation has approved a grant of $42,500 to Sithembile Mbete (Political Sciences) to support research into the links between Extractivism and the ‘Politics of Inequality’ in Southern Africa and how it relates to global crises of democracy, political polarization and institutional decline. This is an 18-month grant.

 

Appearances on Media Platforms

• De Wet Swanepoel (Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology) discussed the department’s formal designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for the prevention of deafness and hearing loss on the UP website and on SAfm  
• Trish Cooper (UAL) discusses our new venture, the UP Centre for Language Learning, scheduled to open in March 2021. Learn more here 
• Alf Gunval Nilsen’s (Sociology) published an opinion article on “Marx on exploitation: an ABC for an unequal world” on Open Democracy. He was also interviewed on SAfm about India’s new laws against interfaith marriages
• Henning Melber’s (Political Sciences) “#ShutItAllDown in Namibia-the fight against gender-based violence” was published on The Conversation
• Christopher Isike (Political Sciences) was interviewed on CGTN Africa about Africa’s position canvassed by President Ramaphosa during the G20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia
• Hien Willemse (Afrikaans) & Tercia Klopper (Afrikaans) virtually launched their book Onverdrote Vlyt which sketches the history of the Afrikaans Department at UP 
• Willie Burger (Afrikaans) spoke about Karel Schoeman on RSG
• Hein Willemse (Afrikaans) wrote about the future of South Africa as a unitary state on Netwerk24

 

Publications on academic platforms:

• Fransjohan Pretorius and Vicky Heunis (Historical & Heritage Sciences) published“Boerekrygsgevangenekuns vervaardig op St. Helena gedurende die Anglo-Boereoorlog, 1899-1902” in theSouth African Journal of Cultural History
• Johan Bergh’s (Historical & Heritage Sciences) article, “Die verhouding tussen SJP (Paul) Kruger en JF Celliers in die Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, 1873-1895” in the South African Journal of Cultural History
• Christopher Nshimbi co-edited the book, “Borders, Sociocultural Encounters and Contestations: Southern African Experiences in Global View” which was published by Routledge
• Alf Gunval Nilsen (Sociology) published a chapter, “Ranajit Guha” in the Routledge Handbook of Marxism and Post-Marxism 
• Sabrina Liccardo (Psychology) published “Psychosocial Pathways Towards Reinventing the South African University: Wrestling with the Ghost of a Bull” with Palgrave Macmillan

 

Scheduled Events:

• Please participate in the International Hope Barometer Survey being run by Tharina Guse (Psychology) and Andreas Krafft at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland. To complete the survey please click here.

• Fine Arts Programme is hosting its First Years’ exhibition “Face to Face…Not! Alter Ego online sculpture project” at the Artbox Gallery (86 Skilpad Road, Monumen, Pretoria, 0105) between 21-28 November 2020
• Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication will be hosting a webinar on 30 November 2020 at 13:00 on the theme "Strategies to include persons with communication disabilities: International perspectives". Click here to RSVP.