Ubuntu Dialogues

Seminar Exchange Fellows 2021

Stellenbosch University Fellows

Allison Geduld

Dr Allison Geduld is a senior lecturer at the North-West University. She completed her LLB, BA Honours (Latin), LLM (cum laude) and LLD at the North-West University. She teaches Jurisprudence and Ethics. Her research interests include Jurisprudence, Socio-economic Rights and Legal Education.

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Ashwin Afrikanus Thyssen

Mx Ashwin Afrikanus Thyssen is a doctoral candidate at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Theology, in the Department of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology. Mx Thyssen’s research concerns the intersection of religion, race and sexuality, with particular focus on the manner in which these social constructions allow people to exist in the world. Mx Thyssen is also interested in the contours of discourse in the public square, considering both its limits and its promise.

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Motsamai Molefe

Dr Motsamai Molefe holds a PhD in Philosophy. He is currently a senior researcher at the Centre for Leadership in Ethics in Africa [CLEA] at the University of Fort Hare. He has recently been appointed as an acting research manager at Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre (GMRDC) at the University of Fort Hare. Dr Molefe’s research focuses on African analytic philosophy. His areas of specialisation are African and Western ethics, Applied ethics (bioethics and environmental ethics), and Social and political philosophy. His work is centred on moral-political concepts: human dignity; needs; personhood and Ubuntu. Dr Motsamai Molefe’s research has earned a National Research Foundation (NRF) Y2 Rating.

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Nadia Sanger

Dr Nadia Sanger is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Studies at Stellenbosch University. Her research interests and writing straddle the Humanities and Social Sciences, and broadly include feminist studies and critical race studies. She worked as a researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council for many years before joining Stellenbosch University. She holds a PhD in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, and a Fulbright postdoc in Women’s Studies from the University of Maryland in the United States. 

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Sinethemba Makanya

Dr Sinethemba Makanya is a research fellow at the Centre for the study of Race, Gender and Class, University of Johannesburg. She serves as an academic coordinator at the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care at the University of Witwatersrand. Dr Makanya completed her PhD in Medical Humanities and Psychology at the Wits Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Witwatersrand. Her research interest is Indigenous Knowledge Systems and how the application of these philosophies and practitioners of these (e.g., izinyanga, izangoma, etc.) can contribute to the strengthening of theory from the global south.

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Michigan State University Fellows

Angela Tate

Angela Tate is a PhD student in History at Northwestern University, where her dissertation focuses on the intersection of race, gender, popular culture and Pan-African politics of the 20th century. Her research on women and gender through an African Diasporic lens draws on collections from multiple institutions across the globe. Her experience in museums and archives shapes her commitment to bridging the gap between the public, cultural heritage institutions, and the academy, as she sees history as a means to empower, reimagine, and expand the boundaries of memory and place, as well as give a voice to marginalized communities.

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Chris Mokolatsie

Dr Chris Mokolatsie has just completed a PhD in the Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology at the University of South Africa (Unisa). He completed his Masters degree in Theology at the University of Natal, South Africa. His research interest is Theological Ethics, African Ethics and Indigenous African Religions. Originally from Lesotho, Chris currently lives in the UK and works in local government. He has also worked in different sectors in the UK and South Africa including non-profits, higher education and print media journalism where he was a reporter and Editor. 

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Emmanuel Chima

Emmanuel Chima is a second-year PhD student in the School of Social Work at Michigan State University. His research focuses on experiences of forced displacement, youth transitions, and aging. His current research centers on the community at Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi.

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Jeanine Ntihirageza

Jeanine Ntihirageza has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Chicago. While on a Fulbright scholarship, she obtained an MA in Applied Linguistics from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Dr. Ntihirageza’s research interests are in Linguistics, language teaching, Refugee Studies, Genocide and Human Rights in Africa. She has published a number of refereed book chapters and journal articles and has presented research and advocacy papers at numerous professional conferences and community events.

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