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10 September 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Lingustics
Delegates at the workshop were provided opportunities that many larger conferences do not offer.

The growing body of work examining microvariation in African languages prompted Dr Kristina Riedel and Dr Hannah Gibson, from the University of Essex and research fellow, to work on a research project, “Variation in Sesotho and Setswana as spoken in the Free State”, to document the dialectal variation in the languages as it is spoken in the province. 

“Dr Gibson and I have a joint research project which is funded by a Newton British Academy mobility grant,” says Dr Riedel, Head of the Department of Linguistic and Language Practice at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The duo hosted a workshop on morphosyntactic microvariation (small structural differences that can be observed between closely related languages or dialects) on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, as part of the Newton Fund research project.  

Research focus on dialectal variation 

Dr Riedel says there has been some linguistic work on both of these languages. “But for Sesotho, linguists have noted that there is no dialectal variation. This seems hard to believe given the size of the population who speak the language,” she says. 

They are looking at speakers in the Free State province for differences in both languages. Speakers themselves also report awareness of dialectal differences and variation between different regions. “We’re also interested in whether they have influenced each other – particularly in places where people speak both of these languages on a day-to-day basis, such as Thaba ’Nchu and Bloemfontein,” Dr Riedel says.

Dr Riedel believes that in the context of an African university it is important to contribute to the development, teaching and support of African languages. “Research on African languages can play an important part of this picture. Furthering our knowledge and understanding of African languages from a linguistic perspective also contributes to our understanding of the world’s languages and linguistic diversity.” 

Workshop creates space for training and skill sharing

The aim of the workshop was to bring together researchers, students and language practitioners to “provide them with some of the insights and training that is helpful when looking at morphosyntactic microvariation”, Dr Riedel says.

The workshop was conducted in two sets. At the first workshop the emphasis was on training and sharing of skills and the second part focused on more research-related presentations. 

The workshop, which took place on 19 July 2019, was attended by delegates from numerous local institutions (Rhodes University, University of the Western Cape and Stellenbosch University) as well as universities in the rest of Africa including the University of Malawi, Dar es Salaam University College of Education and Makerere University in Uganda. 

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Top PhD graduates hailed for excellent research in development and historical studies
2017-07-11

 Description: Top PhD graduates hailed for excellent research  Tags: Top PhD graduates hailed for excellent research  

Prof Melanie Walker and Prof Ian Phimister

The Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development and the International Studies Group celebrated its PhD graduates on 26 June 2017. The four graduates were joined by their PhD promoters Prof Ian Phimister and Prof Melanie Walker, the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, and their families, who came from far and wide, as well as various faculty academics and staff. Their areas of study ranged between Development Studies and Africa Studies, exploring issues that make a significant impact on the Southern African region and the continent as a whole.

In the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, specialising in Development Studies, Dr Faith Mkwananzi, promoted by Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom, explored the lives and educational aspirations of marginalised migrant youth, a case study in Johannesburg. She focused on the complex nature of the daily lives and experiences of marginalised migrant youth and the complexities that influence the formation and achievement of educational aspirations in contexts of vulnerability and disadvantage. The study provides compelling evidence for policy and practice that can make the lives of marginalised young migrants better.

A focus on teaching and learning in Zimbabwean universities with a focus on quality as a human development, was what Dr Patience Mukwambo, put her research efforts into. Her work makes an original contribution to national, continental, and international debates on conceptualising and operationalising the quality of teaching and learning in higher education. She successfully developed a significant alternative approach to understanding what quality in higher education teaching and learning entails, the factors that influence the realisation of quality as she theorises it, and the overall importance for human development and human well-being in universities and society.

Dr Bothwell Manyonga, who also specialised in Development Studies, examined the broader debates on the purposes and practices of teaching and learning in higher education with a case study at two South African universities, with an emphasis on principles of social justice and equity. In the thesis, he developed a model that proposes grounds for (re)thinking sociology teaching and learning to address how the capabilities approach and dominant human capital theory might complement each other in higher education and curriculum development. This takes into account both the instrumental aim of employment, which is of concern to students, as well as the intrinsic goods of critical discourse and personal development.

In the Faculty of the Humanities, with a specialisation in Africa Studies, Dr Abraham Mlombo’s doctoral research explored the relationship between Southern Rhodesia and South Africa 1923-1953, examining the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries from the former’s perspective, highlighting the complexity of the ties between them by examining (high) political relations, economic links and social and cultural ties. “It is through Abraham’s research that for the first time, black experiences of both sides of the colonial border are detailed,” said Prof Phimister.

In congratulating the graduates, Prof Melanie Walker expressed that a lot of hard work was put into training the PhD candidates and they had without a doubt produced work that was of the highest level, at international standards.

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