The Faculty of Law (UP Law) at the University of Pretoria (UP) announces with pride and congratulates Professor Joel Modiri on his appointment as the Head of the Department of Jurisprudence from 1 June 2021 for a four-year term.

Modiri, who has been the acting Head of Jurisprudence since October 2020, was promoted from senior lecturer to associate professor on 1 January 2021, resulting in his recognition as the youngest current professor in the Faculty of Law and the University of Pretoria at large.

He holds the degrees LLB cum laude (Pret) and PhD (Pret). His PhD thesis is titled “The Jurisprudence of Steve Biko: A Study in Race, Law and Power in the ‘Afterlife’ of Colonial-apartheid”.

Modiri’s broad vision for the Department of Jurisprudence is to:

• Pursue the central intellectual mission of an academic department in a research-intensive University engaged in hybrid learning and curriculum transformation;
• Advance, in teaching and research, a critical, transformative and contextual approach to and understanding of law; and
• Situate the department as a leading department of jurisprudence focused on foundational legal education and critical and socio-legal scholarship.

The Department of Jurisprudence will also, in collaboration with the Office of the Dean, will work towards formalising ties with upper echelons of the South African judiciary.  Further, the Department is establishing a ‘Pretoria Legal Theory Lab’, which will be the flagship main research and fundraising platform of the Department, combined with a focus on niche areas of critical enquiry in legal theory, such as political economy; critical constitutionalism; culture, sexualities and knowledges.

In her congratulatory note, Dean Professor Elsabe Schoeman wished Professor Modiri all the best and added ‘May this promotion and new career chapter inspire you to achieve even more!’