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Dr Stephanie Cawood passionate about the women of Africa

13 August 2020 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Charl Devenish

Dr Cawood_read more — Dr Stephanie Cawood has great admiration for two women – her mother and Wagani Maathai. Both strong women from Africa.

Dr Stephanie Cawood from the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies is passionate about the African continent, its people, and especially the women of Africa. As an African studies researcher, Dr Cawood admires a pioneer of feminism in Africa, the late Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to receive a Nobel Prize.

Dr Cawood is trained in communication science and media studies; her field of specialisation is oral communication, particularly rhetoric and oral tradition. She obtained her PhD in 2011 with the thesis titled, The Rhetorical Imprint of Nelson Mandela as Reflected in Public Speeches, 1950-2004.

Some of her most recent research projects include ‘Memorialising Struggle Dynamics of Memory, Space and Power in Post-Liberation Africa’, funded by the British Academy under the Newton Advanced Fellowship.

In the Q&A below, Dr Cawood shares some of her inner thoughts.

Please tell us about yourself: Who are you and what do you do?

I am a Senior Lecturer in and Director of the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the UFS. This means that I am engaged in teaching, research, and strategic leadership.

Is there a woman who inspires you and who you would like to celebrate this Women’s Month, and why?

There are many women I admire. I find great inspiration in ordinary people doing extraordinary things. On a personal level, my mum has always inspired me. For a long time, she was involved in labour relations; I have always admired her ability to keep calm and to think rationally and strategically in the face of adversity. From a feminist standpoint, I greatly admire the late Nobel peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai. She was the founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and the first African woman to win the Nobel peace prize for her environmental, political, and feminist activism. In 1971, she obtained her PhD in Science from the University College of Nairobi when it was not common for women to do so. Her life is testament to the fact that it only takes one person to start a movement and to make a change.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your life that have made you a better woman?

I believe you should look to the future rather than get stuck in the past. I try to constantly learn from my experiences so that I don’t repeat mistakes and can learn to anticipate future challenges and circumvent them.

What advice would you give to the 15-year-old you?

Enjoy life and don’t be afraid of thinking independently. It’s a good thing.

What would you say makes you a champion woman [of the UFS]?

I’m not afraid of trying new things and thinking and doing things in unique and unconventional ways. I am a firm believer in treating people with humanity and respect and I try to live by this creed, although I’m not always successful. The key is in trying to do better every day.

News Archive

UFS changes format of graduation ceremony

2011-04-17

The highest number of qualifications in the history of the University of the Free State (UFS) will be awarded at the autumn diploma and graduation ceremony from 9-11 May 2011, which will be held in the Callie Human Centre on our Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

From this year, the format of the ceremony will change to make it more visible to students and the public. For the first time, all the doctoral and master’s degrees from each respective faculty will be conferred during one ceremony on 11 May 2011, instead of each faculty handling these qualifications individually. Another change in the format is that the procession will gather on the Red Square in front of the Main Building and move to the Callie Human Centre from there. Both academic staff and graduands will partake in the procession.

A total of 3 674 qualifications will be conferred during this year’s graduation ceremony, including 629 diplomas, 2 613 Bachelors and honours degrees, 372 master’s degrees and 58 doctorates.

An honorary doctorate in Drama and Theatre Arts will also be awarded to theatre stalwart Mr Pieter Fourie. He is one of the most acclaimed Afrikaans playwrights in South Africa and probably the only person to have left his mark as an actor, director, artistic director and writer.

Mr Fourie was awarded the Gerhard Beukes prize for drama , was honoured for his contribution to the arts by the South African Academy for Science and Arts and was appointed as trustee of the Arts and Culture Trust of the State President in 1997. He has also served as a committee member of the South African Academy for Science and Arts.

Mr. Fourie has also been the proud recipient of the Hertzog prize for drama, two FNB-Vita awards and a Fleur Du Cap award.

The full programme for the respective ceremonies is as follows:

Monday, 9 May 2011:

At 08:30, certificates and diplomas, excluding PGED and PGES, will be awarded to graduates from the Faculty of Education and at 12:00 PGED, PGED and B and honours degrees will be awarded to students from the same faculty. At 15:30 on the same day, certificates and B and honours degrees will be awarded to students in the Faculty of the Humanities.

At 19:00, the Faculties of Education, the Humanities and Economic and Management Sciences will have their prize-giving ceremonies for outstanding achievers.

Tuesday, 10 May 2011:

At 08:30, students in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences will graduate and at and 12:00 the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science will join them. This includes students in BML, B.Admin., B.Pub. and related honours degrees. At 15:30, 503 students from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will receive their certificates, diplomas and B and honours degrees.

At 19:00, the Faculties of Health Sciences, Natural and Agriculture Sciences, Law and Theology will have their prize-giving ceremonies.

Wednesday, 11 May 2011:

The Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Theology will be awarding their certificates, diplomas and B and honours degrees at 08:30. At 12:00, all faculties will award a total of 372 master’s degrees and at 15:30 a total of 58 doctorates will be conferred.

The Chancellor’s Dinner will take place in the Centenary Complex on the Main Campus of the UFS at 19:00.

The graduation ceremony of our Qwaqwa Campus will take place in the Rolihlahla Mandela Hall on the Qwaqwa Campus on 7 May 2011 at 10:00. All the faculties at this campus will confer their degrees, certificates and diplomas at this ceremony.

Media Release
21 April 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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