Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Jaap Steyn: Book pays tribute to leading Afrikaans academic

23 October 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin

Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Prof Jaap Steyn, Prof Hennie van Coller and Prof Bernard Odendaal — From the left: Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Prof Jaap Steyn, Prof Hennie van Coller, research fellow and former HOD of Afrikaans and Dutch; German and French and Prof Bernard Odendaal, from the ATKV School for Creative Writing at North West University,after the book launch on 16 October 2019.

The very comprehensive publication, JC Steyn en Afrikaans – ’n viering, pays tribute to a leading figure of the Afrikaans academic world. The book, edited by Profs Angelique van Niekerk, Hennie van Coller, and Bernard Odendaal, was recently launched at the University of the Free State (UFS) as a tribute to Prof Jaap Steyn, research fellow and former colleague at the UFS.

“The publication contains diverse contributions and provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of research in Afrikaans literature and linguistics,” said Prof van Niekerk, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the UFS.

The scope of the contributions is as wide as the influence Prof Steyn has had on the Afrikaans language landscape. “Creative writing and biographies lexicography and sociolinguistics are addressed in his book,” Prof van Niekerk said.

As mentioned in the title, the publication serves as a celebration of Afrikaans as a language and discipline; it also covers the research areas in which Prof Steyn used to publish research himself.

The book, published by SUN MeDIA, was made possible by a financial donation from the South African Academy for Science and Art. It was officially launched at the UFS on Wednesday 16 October 2019.

More about Prof Steyn

Prof Steyn is a seasoned poet, writer, and one of the leading Afrikaans academics in the country. With more than 100 articles in scientific journals to his name, Prof Steyn is still serving as research fellow in the UFS Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French. He is also the author of, among others, books on language politics, language, and cultural history, such as Tuiste in eie taal, Trouwe Afrikaners: Aspekte van Afrikanernasionalisme en Suid-Afrikaanse taalpolitiek and the recent Ons gaan ’n taal maak. He has also written a number of award-winning biographies and published prose and poetry.

Prof Steyn has been associated with several South African universities, including the University of Johannesburg (the then Rand Afrikaans Universiteit), Nelson Mandela University (the then University of Port Elizabeth), as well as the UFS.

Prof Jaap Steyn signs a copy of the book for Prof Theodorus du Plessis

From the left; Prof Henning Pietersen; Pof Angelique van Niekerk; Prof Jaap Steyn; Prof Hennie van Coller; Prof Bernard Odendaal and Dr Francois Smith

News Archive

"We cannot train for unemployment"

2009-11-16

The prestige forum was attended by, from the left: Prof. Dirk van Damme, Head of the Centre for Education research and innovation at OECD in Paris, France; Dr Saretha Brüssow of the Planning Unit: Teaching and Learning; Mr Francois Marais, Director of CHESD; Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor; Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector Academic Planning and the guest speaker; and Prof. Magda Fourie of the University of Stellenbosch.
Photo: Gerhard Louw

“We cannot train for unemployment. We must continuously look at what employers and the world want, and update,” Prof. Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning at the University of Stellenbosch, recently said at a prestige forum for teaching and learning at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof. Fourie, former Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS delivered the second Magda Fourie Prestige Lecture at the forum. The forum was presented by the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Learning (CHESD) and the Planning Unit: Teaching and Learning. Various presentations were made on innovations in teaching and learning at the UFS.

Prof. Fourie said research has shown that the knowledge, skills, competencies and values of students are out of sync with the needs of the world out there. Higher Education must look at the context in which it operates and the relevance of its teaching and learning. “We are busy with the cultivation of humanity,” she said.

The UFS is doing excellent work with its bridging programmes and other universities will have to give attention to it. The UFS is also excellent in its extended programmes and have more women and foreign students than the national average. The UFS, however, has a lower percentage of black students than the national average.

The UFS is also excellent in terms of postgraduate students. The national average is 36%, with the UFS boasting 47%. Prof. Fourie expressed her concern for the low throughput in Business and Economics at the UFS where only 13% of those who enter the system graduate. “These are the people we need for this country’s economy.”

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept