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13 December 2022 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Supplied
Prof Mogomme Masoga
Prof Mogomme Masoga, newly appointed Dean: Faculty of the Humanities.

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the appointment of Prof Mogomme Masoga as Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities for a five-year term during its quarterly meeting on 25 November 2022. 

He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zululand. 

“Prof Masoga has extensive and an impressive national and international research standing, established networks and partnerships, and substantive management experience. He is a visionary leader and a renowned scholar and will be able to lead and manage the faculty at academic, research, engaged scholarship, and community-service level,” says Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor. 

Prof Masoga holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of the Free State. He began his academic career with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he proceeded to complete two honours and a master’s degree. He received a second Master of Arts in Musicology from the University of South Africa.

Prof Masoga has an excellent record of research publication within the broad niche area of Oral History, Africanism, and Indigenous Knowledge System Studies. He has developed a well-grounded sense of autonomy and involvement, as he has been able to establish a number of research projects and has produced single and co-authored articles. He was able to synergise and sustain his research niche on Africanism and Indigenous Knowledge Studies, which has informed his research over the years. 

He has maintained a coherent research trajectory as a recognised NRF-rated scholar in Indigenous Knowledge System Studies. Prof Masoga’s participation in international collaborative projects has had a positive impact on his scholarly growth, as well as on other colleagues and departments in his faculty at the University of Zululand. 

“Prof Masoga will be able to sustain his existing networks and build new ones that will support research and postgraduate studies at the UFS. This will be particularly valuable in support of the university’s Vision 130, which expresses the institution’s strategic intent to position itself in the period leading up to 2034 when the university will be 130 years old. Vision 130 furthermore exemplifies our commitment to be acknowledged by our peers and society as a top-tier university in South Africa, ranked among the best in the world,” says Prof Petersen. 

Prof Masoga will assume duty on 1 March 2023.

News Archive

Prof Dennis Francis delivers keynote address at colloquium on homophobia and transphobia
2013-11-29

Prof Dennis Francis
Prof Dennis Francis, Dean of the Faculty of Education, delivered the keynote address at a colloquium focusing on homophobia and transphobia in schools.

The UNESCO and Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) is hosting Transforming Classrooms, Transforming Lives: Combating Homophobia and Transphobia in Education, at the University of Johannesburg.

Looking specifically at the Southern African context, this multi-disciplinary event builds on the highly successful 2012 Colloquium on Challenging Homophobia and Transphobia in South African Schools.

The colloquium allows educators, policy makers, researchers and activists from across Southern Africa to discuss the scope and impact of homophobia and transphobia in the education sector. It also creates a space for delegates to present new research, to discuss recent front-line activities, to reflect on good practices and to workshop future interventions.

Prof Francis’ paper on challenging heterosexism and heteronormativity in a South African school, was recently published in the South African Journal of Education.

For his research, Prof Francis looked at how learners understand and portray gay and lesbian characters and heterosexism by means of Participatory Theatre. He also did research on how teachers in South African schools position themselves on teaching about sexual diversity.

Prof Francis’ research papers also points out how schools promote compulsory heterosexuality and that homosexuality is something to be hidden and kept separate from teaching, learning and daily school life.

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