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09 December 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Supplied
Prof Johann Beukes
Prof Johann Beukes, a research fellow in the University of the Free State’s Department of Philosophy and Classics, received the prize for Best Afrikaans Research Paper in the Humanities from the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns.

A research article titled Intervroulike seksualiteit in die latere Middeleeue: ʼn Ideëhistoriese oorsig by Professor Johann Beukes, a research fellow in the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Philosophy and Classics, has received the 2022 ATKV South African Academy for Science and Arts (SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns) award for Best Afrikaans Research Paper in the Humanities. 

Prof Beukes says the achievement is not only about winning, but also about the restrained attitude all philosophers should have. “Given the company I find myself in, I’m very modest about it. There are highly competent Humanities scholars in South Africa who often publish peer-reviewed articles in Afrikaans.” He also received the prize in 2020 for his article Die Arabiese trajek in die Karolingiese periode van Middeleeuse filosofie. 

He considers local accredited journals like Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe as “conforming to the highest criteria for internationally recognised research, and I am proud to be associated with the several local journals I publish in, whether in English or Afrikaans.”

‘Competition is good, but philosophers works best together’

Although he is happy to have received the prize for a second time, Prof Beukes says all philosophy should start and end with a good demeanour and a restrained attitude. “I don’t think any serious scholar would present a manuscript for peer review, thinking about a prize somewhere in the future: if that happens, good, if not, that’s quite alright.” 

Prizes like this one are an important barometer, since they are based on peer evaluations and editor recommendations. “They do provide a sort of benchmark for what a particular research community considers to be solid, original research,” Prof Beukes says. Although the criteria for peer reviewing is tough, he never felt he was in competition with other scholars. In fact, he experienced the opposite: “I have always felt part of the local philosophical community, where if one of us does well, the others are happy for them.”

He thinks competition might work well in other disciplines, but not in philosophy. “Philosophers typically stand on each other’s shoulders: that’s how we work, and how we do our best work… On the other hand, that is how proper science works: very rarely is it the brilliant insight of a lone ranger that makes scientific progress possible, but rather the cumulative and restructuring work of many.”

Article aims to contribute to work on interfemale sexuality 

Prof Beukes’ research specialty is Medieval Philosophy and Foucault Studies, which is based on the ideas of French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault: to consistently address questions of how sexually became a “seismograph for our subjectivity” in Western cultures. “In other words, how did it come about that a person’s whole being-in-the-world was typically reduced to their attitudes and preferences towards sex and sexual behaviour?” 

Given that Foucault’s work influences much of his academic work, Prof Beukes based his article on Foucault’s posthumously expanded four-volume The History of Sexuality, which briefly touches on certain aspects of medieval sexuality. “This article attempted to address the ways sexual relations between women, as such, were thought and spoken of during the central and later Middle Ages.” 

His article also contributes to the small but growing body of research work done on the topic of interfemale sexuality in the Middle Ages.

News Archive

UFS chemist invited by UNESCO to present lecture at World Science Forum in Budapest
2015-12-07

From the left are: Dr Jean-Paul Ngome Abiaga from UNESCO, France; Abdoulaye Ibrahim, also from UNESCO in France; and Truidie Venter, a young scientist from the Department of Chemistry at the UFS.
Photo: Supplied

Dr Truidie Venter, a young scientist from Inorganic Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS), returned recently from presenting a lecture at the 7th World Science Forum, held in Budapest, Hungary. She was one of the few young researchers world-wide who were invited to attend the forum.

In her capacity as a young female researcher from Africa, Truidie was invited by UNESCO to present her views on science in diplomacy at this event. Her talk focused on collaboration between researchers from different countries, and the challenges faced by young researchers in Africa, and served to initiate discussions between young researchers concerning international, interdisciplinary scientific cooperation.

The Science Forum, an international conference dedicated to science and knowledge, was held in Budapest from 4-7 November 2015. This interdisciplinary gathering is supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Council for Science (ICSU), and other partners, and is aimed at providing an occasion for representatives of science, politics, international organisations, industrial and financial decision makers, international science forums, and science academies to meet and exchange views.

More than nine hundred delegates from 108 countries took part in this event. The speakers included Her Royal Majesty Princess Sumaya Bint El Hassan, President of the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan, Dr Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, Prof Sir Peter Gluckman, first Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Prof Ene Ergma, former President of the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament), and Ms Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology of South Africa.

At the conclusion of the forum, a declaration was accepted regarding the renewal of the scientific community’s commitment to the responsible and ethical use of scientific knowledge in addressing the grand challenges of humankind. This declaration addressed the headings of climate change, new sustainable development paths, disaster risk reduction, scientific advice for policies, international collaboration for capacity-building and mobilisation in the developing world, and balanced investment in science.

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