Dear Humanities Colleagues

NEWLY RATED National Research Foundation Researchers

The Faculty is delighted with the following outcomes of 2020 NRF Ratings of our staff: 

For more information about the rating categories, please see  http://www.researchsupport.uct.ac.za/rating-categories

More Congratulations! 

I am very happy to recognise the following colleagues for their distinguishing achievements:

• The Loeries, arguably the most prestigious design awards on the African continent, has ranked our Information Design programme (School of the Arts) as the top design institution for 2020! I am also delighted to announce that Kyle Rath was named 2020’s top lecturer and 6 of our students were rated among the top 20 design students of 2020!
• Oscar Eybers (Unit of Academic Literacy) was the winner of the 2020 International Award for Excellence for the Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations Journal Collection for his article, “Intersections of Decolonial And Global Citizenship Principles In Academic Literacy Curricula”.
• Hein Willemse (Afrikaans) was nominated for the HSS prize by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences for his documentary on the history of Afrikaans entitled “Die versteekte geskiedenis van Afrikaans”.
• Rachelle Chadwick (Sociology) was awarded a NRF Competitive Support Grant for 2021-2023 for her research project 'The Birth Archive: Countering Reproductive Silencing'. The project will assemble a 'birth archive' of South African reproductive biographies (i.e. birthing and gestation narratives).

Appearances on Media Platforms

• Roland Henwood (Political Science) has had several interviews:
  • RadioPretoria discussing the role of independent candidates in local government, the meeting between Jacob Zuma and EFF leader Julius Malema at Nkandla and about the testimony by former ANC MP Makhosi Khoza at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry and the misuse of government by former president Jacob Zuma for his own benefit
  • Kyknet on the ANC’s struggles with the coronavirus pandemic and the issue of job creation and analysing the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Ramaphosa and on Donald Trump’s impeachment trial
  • SAfm on the protests in support of Navalny in Russia and more on Russia
  • RSG on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s suggestion that the Cuban medical brigades fighting the coronavirus pandemic should be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
  • Newzroom Afrika on SONA 2021 here and here
  • Radio Islam on President Cyril Ramaphosa having another family meeting before delivering his 5^th state of the nation address
• Ansie Maritz (Afrikaans) wrote about “Pondering Propaganda” in Ratio Christi
• Thaddeus Metz (Philosophy) was interviewed for the “Great Thinkers” section of El Mundo, a national newspaper in Spain
• Nerina Bosman (Afrikaans) spoke on RSG’s programme, Taaldinge, about a new book, who she is also an editor of; “Contemporary Afrikaans Linguistics”
• Henning Melber (Political Science) wrote an obituary for the passing of Sibongile Khumalo
• Willie Burger (Afrikaans) wrote a piece “Karoobrokiies, ‘n literêre reis” for Litnet
• Daily Maverick published the opinion piece “Public Intellectuals and the fabric of dissent” 
• Alf Gunvald Nilsen (Sociology) was interviewed on various sites:
  • Vice World News on abuse of the term “third world” in connection with the US Capitol attacks
  • SAfm’s worldview update about Indian farmers’ protests
  • Nordic Asia Podcast on the economics and politics of the COVID-19 pandemic in India
• Shakila Dada (CAAC) and her colleagues in the InnoFood Africa project featured on the UP Websitediscussing “Tasty, healthy and African: UP plays its part in international project to promote local crops and develop new food products”

Publications on academic platforms:

• Rachelle Chadwick (Sociology) published two articles “Theorizing voice: Towards working otherwise with voices” in Qualitative Research and “On the Politics of Discomfort” in Feminist Theory
• Bibi Burger (Afrikaans) edited an issue of the journal Scrutiny2 with the theme "Engaged Queerness in African Speculative Fiction". She also published the article "The Relationship between Futurity and the Rurality and Urbanity of Spaces in the Queer African Science Fiction of Triangulum by Masande Ntshanga" in this issue
• Jonathan Okeke Chimakonam (Philosophy) published "The Intersection Between Roots and Routes" edited by Ananta Kumar in Cross-Fertilizing Roots and Routes, and he also published "The Politics of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa" in Africa’s Radicalisms and Conservatisms
• John Mashayamombe (Sociology) & Sandla Nomvete published an article, “Leadership and Politics of Belonging in a 2015 FeesMustFall Movement: A Case of Uprising” in Politikon
• Debby Bonnin (Sociology) published “Transformations of work: a discussion of the South African workplace” in the Journal of Contemporary African Studies
• Farai Maunganidze, Debby Bonnin & Shaun Ruggunan (Sociology) published “Economic Crisis and Professions: Chartered Accountants in Zimbabwe” on SAGE Open