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Being Human
Four times the focus on
African Studies
T
he merging in 2012 of four previously distinct academic departments in the
Faculty of Humanities has created the School of African and Gender Studies,
Anthropology and Linguistics (AXL) and it’s an exciting place to be. Instead of
working in silos, staff and students are encouraged to locate synergies, explore
innovative ways of working and share knowledge and resources. The partnership
consolidates years of research by African academics and is already bearing fruit in
the form of cross-functional collaboration.
It is clear that AXL is uniquely positioned to provide exploration and insight into issues
of what it means to be ‘African’, the meaning of culture, feminist discourse in Africa, the
construction of identity and race, and the role of language alongside the continent’s
political and social development. The value of the school, according to its director,
Associate Professor Jane Bennett, is its ability to examine familiar themes more critically,
in new ways and from a quintessentially Afrocentric perspective.
The journey towards AXL has not been without controversy. In 2011, the merits of the
proposed amalgamation were hotly debated, leading to months of discussions by
students, staff members and faculty executive, under intense media scrutiny. At the
heart of the debate was the perceived devaluation of African Studies at the institution
and concern about the loss of departmental independence for the Centre for African
Studies (CAS).
These anxieties have been set aside following significant gains achieved since the
launch, key among them the appointment of Professor Lungisile Ntsebeza (SARChI
Chair in Land Reform and Democracy) to the AC Jordan Chair in African Studies.
This has brought Professor Ntsebeza’s renowned intellectual achievements and
vision into the heart of the school.
Another gain in 2012 was the National Excellence for Teaching and Learning Award
from the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa to
AXL – a recent Humanities partnership – has begun to forge
the sort of synergies that encourage debate on the challenges
of creating imaginative, intellectual, and politically engaged
communities whose gaze on the world is, unqualifiedly and
uncomplicatedly, African.
Instead of working in silos, staff and students are encouraged to
locate synergies, explore innovative ways of working and share
knowledge and resources.
Associate Professor Jane Bennett,
Director of AXL.