Faculty of Humanities
Prof NTF Duncan, Dean
Telephone Number: 012 420 2318
E-mail address: dean@hum.up.ac.za
Message by the Dean
The recent Consensus Study on the State of the Humanities in South Africa
(Jansen & Vale, 2011) posits that the central value of the humanities resides
in the tradition of critical thought that has forever been a central aspect of its
functioning, that is, the tradition of asking probing questions aimed at gaining
penetrating "insight into the multiple challenges that face the human
condition". In the South African context, the Consensus Study continues. The
humanities critically contributes to "the understanding, analysis and attempts
to resolve many of the most intractable social and economic challenges
faced by the South African polity". Of course, as the Consensus Study also
notes, another core value of the humanities is its capacity to "lift humankind
out of the mundane world of the everyday".
Original and generative research, artistic productions,
professional practice innovation and publications constitute
some of the key vehicles for the aforementioned contributions
of the humanities to society.
As one of the largest faculties of its kind in South Africa, the
University of Pretoria's Faculty of Humanities continued the
tradition of asking critical questions and seeking solutions to
societal problems through its creative productions and research
and publications outputs during 2011. Specifically, during the
2011 academic year, the Faculty produced 146 journal articles,
34 book chapters and nine books. These outputs represent not
only a significant improvement on the Faculty's outputs for
the preceding two years, but also attest to its commitment to
contribute substantively to efforts to enliven the traditions and
aspirations of the humanities in South Africa and globally.
Obviously, it is not only in terms of quantity that the Faculty's
research outputs during the 2011 academic year can be
considered as having been significant; but also in terms of quality and range. Indeed, the Faculty's corpus of scholarly outputs
for the reporting period was remarkably rich in its diversity, including various successful creative productions, as well as research
related to health and wellbeing, the arts, debates in literary studies linked to issues of identity and other aspects of the human
condition, and poverty. Importantly, many of these outputs had their locus not only in South Africa, but also in a range of other
countries, including Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Mozambique and the United Kingdom.
Specifically, the 2011 academic year saw the launch and/or publication of research on a range of health-related issues, including
research on sports injuries (for example, by Dr Paola Wood of the Department of Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences), apraxia
of speech and hearing loss identification among new-borns (by Prof Anita van der Merwe and Prof De Wet Swanepoel, respectively,
both from the Department of Communication Pathology), as well as research on the influence of culture in the use of the Picture
Communication Symbols Library with children with little or no functional speech (by Dr Shakila Dada of the Centre for Augmentative
and Alternative Communication).
During 2011, various departments, as well as the Human Economy Programme in the Faculty, also produced a range of publications
focusing on poverty and other forms of social inequality. These include the important research outputs on poverty and poverty
reduction interventions by Prof Antoinette Lombard of the Department of Social Work and Criminology. The issues of poverty and
social asymmetries also constituted one of the key foci of the Human Economy Programme's research endeavours. While still in
the formative period of its establishment, the Human Economy Programme, under the leadership of Prof John Sharp and Prof Keith
Hart, contributed significantly to research in the Faculty in 2011.
Two other notable contributions to the Faculty of Humanities' research outputs were the compelling studies by Molly Brown and
Rick de Villiers of the Department of English on identity in the work of Chris Zithulele Mann and TS Eliot's increasing interest in
religion, as reflected in his The Hippopotamus, respectively.
In Historical and Heritage Studies, Prof Johan Bergh and Prof Ian Phimister, in collaboration with Herman Giliomee, Extraordinary
Professor of History at the University of Stellenbosch, continued their research on the Kruger papers, and Prof Alois Mlambo
continued his research in the project, "The comparative history of political engagement in Western and African societies".
Here it should be noted that with an output of 27 publications, the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies had been
singularly productive during 2011.
From the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, two research initiatives among several that stood out during 2011 are
Laurenco Pinto's site-specific study on rock art in the southern region of the Eastern Cape and Dr Fraser McNeill's ethnographic
investigations into child antiretroviral workshops as ritualistic rites of passage.
As indicated above, during 2011, academics in the Faculty produced a total of nine books or volumes. These include Imaginary
antipodes: Essays on contemporary Australian literature by Russell West-Pavlov of the Department of English, Dias, Da Gama en
die Khoikhoin: Ontmoeting van kulture aan die suidpunt van Afrika by Cobus Ferreira of the Department of Historical and Heritage
Studies, and Community of insecurity: SADC's struggle for peace and security in Southern Africa by Prof Laurie Nathan of the
Department of Political Sciences.
The 2011 academic year also witnessed the production of several noteworthy creative outputs, including the award-winning
movement piece, As the Night Falls/Penumbra, choreographed by Nicola Haskins, two CDs, namely Beethoven Tango and Shanghai
Brunch, by Dr Charl du Plessis of the Department of Music, as well as the scenographic productions for Picasso and Molière by
Prof Heidi Hoffer of the Department of Drama.
Attesting to the depth and impact of scholarship in the Faculty, several departments and academics in the Faculty were the recipients
of various awards and accolades during 2011, including the KykNet Ghoema Award for Best Instrumental CD in 2011 awarded to
Dr Charl du Plessis for his CD, Shanghai Brunch, and the 2011 Standard Bank Ovation Award conferred on the Department of Drama
for the production, As the Night Falls/Penumbra. In 2011, Prof David Medalie of the Department of English was also shortlisted for
the Caine Prize for African Literature for his short story, The mistress's dog.
Of course, we acknowledge that while 2011 was a decidedly fruitful year for the Faculty, the year can only be considered truly
productive if the outputs produced are used as the basis for even greater levels of outputs in the years to come.
Prof Norman Duncan
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