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Prof Mogomme Masoga appointed as Dean: Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS

13 December 2022 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Supplied

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

UFS History lecturer becomes Visiting Fellow at Harvard

2015-05-25

Dr Chitja Twala
Photo: Eugene Seegers

Prestige Scholar and lecturer of African/South African History at the UFS, Dr Chitja Twala, was recently accepted as a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).

A Visiting Fellow status is available to individuals holding a doctoral degree to pursue independent research at Harvard. The Fellowship is for non-degree purposes but aims at the enhancement and further intellectual development of those involved. It focuses on enrichment and development programmes.

Twala was appointed in the Department of History at the UFS in the beginning of 2003. His research field is Liberation History, with specific reference to the liberation movements on the SADC region. He has published extensively on this field and presented papers in local and international conferences.

“I applied (to Harvard GSAS) in April 2014 for the Fellowship through the South Africa Harvard Fellowship Programme,” says Twala.

“After being successful in the interviews conducted by the GSAS panel in July 2014, I had to apply for admission in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard, and got accepted for the Fall Semester of 2015.”

At Harvard, Twala will be mentored by Prof Emmanuel Akyeampong (African History Expert).

“Firstly, my main assignment will be to grasp a much deeper theoretical knowledge/framework in historical studies and a broader repertoire of methodologies in the field of African History. Secondly, if time permits, I will be presenting seminars and attending some in a very challenging, stimulating, and intellectually demanding environment where my ideas can be tested and expanded. Thirdly, I will be exposed to new trends as far as African historiography is concerned. Lastly, I will informally engage and exchange some ideas with some experts in the field of African History.”

The programme was recommended to Twala by the Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen and Prof Ian Phimister, Centre for Africa Studies Senior Professor at UFS.

“As per the priorities of the Prestige Scholarship Programme, the Fellowship will assist in inculcating in me the intellectual breadth and depth required to pose critical questions and generate ground-breaking knowledge for History as a discipline. It is important for the UFS to establish and sustain international networks with other leading universities and scholars around the world.

“I applied for this Fellowship in order to advance further and broaden the scope in the three areas of scholarship in higher education: discovery, teaching, and public engagement,” says Twala.

Twala will be leaving for Harvard by mid-August and will return by the end of December 2015.

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