UP Inaugural Addresseshttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/18442024-03-28T20:01:56Z2024-03-28T20:01:56ZThe role of Universities in Africa’s futures in the 21st CenturyKupe, Tawanahttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/784332022-04-08T22:48:08Z2019-01-01T00:00:00ZThe role of Universities in Africa’s futures in the 21st Century
Kupe, Tawana
“Mr Chancellor, it is my honour to introduce to you and the congregation Prof Tawana Kupe.
Professor Tawana Kupe was appointed Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria in
2018 with his duties commencing on 14 January 2019.
Prior to his appointment as Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Kupe served as the Vice-Principal of
the University of the Witwatersrand, responsible for the daily running of the University and the
coordination of operations across all executive portfolios. Prior to this appointment, he held the
rotating Vice-Principal post for one year and also served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for
Advancement, Human Resources and Transformation. Between 2013 and 2014 he was Deputy Vice
Chancellor for Finance and Operations.
Professor Kupe served as the Executive Dean of the Wits Faculty of Humanities for six years, between
January 2007 and December 2012, after serving as the Head of the then Wits School of Literature and
Language Studies, and the founding Head of the Media Studies Department.
Prior to joining Wits, Professor Kupe lectured at Rhodes University between 1999 and 2001, and briefly
acted as the Head of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies. He joined Rhodes from the
University of Zimbabwe, where he acted in various academic capacities from 1988, including as
Chairperson of the Department of English, Media and Communication Studies. Professor Kupe holds a BA Honours degree and Masters in English from the University of Zimbabwe, as
well as a DPhil in Media Studies from the University of Oslo in Norway.
Prof Kupe has a notable publication record, having authored several journal articles, books and book
chapters in his main discipline, Media Studies and Journalism. He edited a seminal book “Broadcasting
Policy and Regulation in Africa” and with two other Wits University academics Eric Worby and Shireen
Hassim, edited “Go Home or Die Here”. Over the years, Prof Kupe has played a key role in the
establishment of select new innovative initiatives at Wits, most recently he was the founding Director
of the Africa Centre for the Study of the United States – a multidisciplinary Centre focusing on critically
analysing the US as a nation and society. The Centre has attracted major academic and funding
interests from leading US universities, foundations and private corporations and from Wits and across
the African continent. The other two new initiatives of note are the Wits Arts and Literature Experience
(WALE) and the introduction of a fully-fledged Media Studies Programme. WALE was an interesting
platform that showcased Wits' unique achievements primarily in the creative arts and literature across
a range of disciplines in the humanities.
He took a leading role in developing Media Studies as a major in the BA degree at Wits and is also the
founding member of the Media Studies Department at Wits University, now one of the largest
departments in the Faculty of Humanities. Prof Kupe is an active member of several Civil Society Organisations, including the AmaBhungane
Centre for Investigative Journalism and is Chairman of the Board of Media Monitoring Africa from 2005
to date, and he is the inaugural convener of Judges for the Discovery Health Journalism Awards. He also
serves on the board of a major private company and is a member of the International Association of
Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).
Professor Kupe is a popular invited speaker, academic expert and regular commentator on issues of
media performance on radio, television and the print media in South Africa for local and international
media.
2019-01-01T00:00:00ZPhysiology as a mature science – old challenges and new opportunities in teaching and researchJoubert, Annie M.http://hdl.handle.net/2263/665182022-04-08T22:48:14Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZPhysiology as a mature science – old challenges and new opportunities in teaching and research
Joubert, Annie M.
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZRevisiting the poetry of Benedict Wallet Vilakazi : the utility and meaning of African Languages and Literatures in Higher EducationZondi, Nompumelelo Bernadettehttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/651072023-10-05T04:17:26Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZRevisiting the poetry of Benedict Wallet Vilakazi : the utility and meaning of African Languages and Literatures in Higher Education
Zondi, Nompumelelo Bernadette
Although viewed (and dismissed) by many as primarily a tool for communication, language
and literature cannot be understood only in relation towhat it communicates. A study of
how it is shaped uncovers the social forces that provide its broad and complex template in
the acts of reading and writing.
Singling out the importance of the humanities and of African languages, the DHET, in
the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training (2013:37-41), advances an
understanding of the seminal relationship between language, literature, context and
society. The National Development Plan (2011), another founding document shaping the
developmental agenda for South Africa, acknowledges that ‘major humanist projects which
link our heritage and our future as a society’ are encompassed by the humanities in general
and African languages in particular, and advises that our education from basic to tertiary
and through the science and innovation system should invest and build capacity and high
level expertise in these (in White Paper 2013: 37). The ‘demise’ of African languages in the
academic sphere poses a serious threat to linguistic diversity in South Africa’ (White Paper
2013:38) and must be reversed. The DHET White Paper commits itself to a set of key ideas
and strategies to ensure the rejuvenation of African languages through a ‘cross-disciplinary
approach’ (White Paper 2013: 38).
In this context, this lecture argues for the utility and meaning of the poetry of
Benedict Wallet Vilakazi (1906–1947), offering perspectives on the saliency of his work for
inter alia the meanings and location of African languages and literatures with regard to
epistemic diversity, the ‘transformation’ of curricula, tradition versus modernity, gender,
the meaning of identity, and the broader humanist project.
An inaugural lecture presented by Prof NB Zondi, the HOD of the Department of African Languages, University of Pretoria. The lecture was presented on the 30th May 2018 at the University of Pretoria Senate Hall.
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZReflecting critically on the conceptualization of diversity in sociolinguisticsTirvassen, Radahttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/640512022-04-08T22:47:26Z2018-02-22T00:00:00ZReflecting critically on the conceptualization of diversity in sociolinguistics
Tirvassen, Rada
While it can legitimately be claimed that research in social sciences has made significant contributions to the welfare of mankind, it is also important to acknowledge that some preconceived beliefs about people and cultural practices are rooted in certain trends in academic work. This is why it is the duty of researchers to reflect critically not only on the type of knowledge that they construct from their scholarship but also on the theoretical tools with which it is undertaken.
The conceptualisation of diversity in mainstream sociolinguistics can serve to illustrate this argument. A meta-analysis of studies undertaken in some of the islands of the Indian Ocean demonstrates that this discipline has, for a long time, highlighted social divisions along the lines of race and ethnicity and has, at the same time, ignored the role of fusion and creolisation in shaping identity. This reflection could serve to question whether sociolinguistics is equipped to contribute to fundamental issues like languages and nation building.
Presentation on In augural address; Inaugural address of Prof. Rada Tirvassen , Head of Department , Modern European Languages , Humanities Faculty , 4 August 2015
2018-02-22T00:00:00Z