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2017Annual Report

Table of Contents

Message from the Vice-Chancellor and the Advisory Board Chair 5

Message from the Director 6

Events in the Centre in 2017 8

Advisory Board 10

Executive Committee 12

Staff and Research Fellows 13

Postdoctoral Fellows 14

Research Fellows at Large 14

Support Staff 15

African Observatory for Humanities for the Environment 16

Human Economy Programme 17

Significant Achievements in 2017 17

Human Economy Doctoral Students 18

Human Economy Postdoctoral Fellows 18

Ubuntu Project 19

Significant Achievements in 2017 19

Social Insects Research Group 20

Research by Fellows in 2017 21

Johan Bergh 21

Jannie Pretorius 21

Niko Sauer 21

Frans Swanepoel 22

Charles van Onselen 23

Postdoctoral Fellows 24

Sihle Moon 24

External Research Fellows 25

Professor Ivan Horak 25

Professor Banie Penzhorn 25

Highlights from 2017 26

Visiting Professors 27

Publications 28

Human Economy Programme 28

Ubuntu Project: The meaning and value of Ubuntu in human and social development 29

Research and Post-Doctoral Fellows 29

External Research Fellows 30

Visiting Professors 30

4 The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship Annual Report 2017

The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship Annual Report 2017 5

The University of Pretoria strives to be a leading university in Africa, with research being central to its mission. This

vision requires an environment where cutting edge research is fostered, and this is reflected in the range of research centres, institutes and units hosted by the University. The pursuit of excellence and the creation of knowledge in research is the foundation from which the current challenges within our societies can be addressed and solutions can be found. The University’s research trajectory in recent years has strongly reflected a desire to respond to social, economic and political challenges as highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are challenges that transcend disciplinary boundaries and require innovative and collaborative responses.

The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship is one of the University centres that continues to reflect this core institutional research ethos. In 2017, this manifested through continued growth in the pursuit of multi- and inter-disciplinary studies. The range of projects within the Centre offer the possibility of multiple perspectives while remaining engaged with problems on the continent that affect the lives of its citizens. The Centre fosters interactions between scholars, postdoctoral fellows, visiting distinguished scholars and senior research fellows from different academic disciplines. In 2017 the activities of the centre focussed on issues such as food security, environmental degradation, the governance and development of economic systems, inquiry into money and the role it plays within and between communities, and the role of indigenous knowledge systems in contemporary South African and African societies. This is seen most clearly in the work of the Centre’s core projects on Ubuntu and the Human Economy, as well as work conducted by the Centre’s natural scientists in the fields of agriculture and the wellbeing and behaviour of social insects.

The Centre’s accomplishments after only four years since its inception is testament to the leadership displayed by the current Director, Professor James Ogude, as well as the foundation provided by the former Director, Professor Robin Crewe. The Centre has become an important part of the University’s life, providing impactful research and supporting and cultivating leading researchers. It is this environment that has continued to attract interest and investment from funders despite the competitive and difficult atmosphere within which South African higher education and research in general finds itself. The support of the funders has been invaluable in helping the Centre fulfil its mandate and continue to nurture robust academic debate and pioneering knowledge production.

On behalf of the University, I wish to express our appreciation to all the research agencies and foundations who enabled the achievements of the centre in 2017.

I also wish to commend the Director and fellows for their achievements over the past year.

Message from the Vice-Chancellor and the Advisory Board Chair

Cheryl de la ReyVice-Chancellor

“The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship is one of the University

centres that continues to reflect this core institutional research ethos.”


2017 was marked by change in the leadership of the Centre when I took over from Professor Robin Crewe who had

led the Centre since 2012. Professor Crewe built a strong foundation for the Centre which I seek to consolidate and extend in new and different directions. The uniqueness of this Centre rests on the fact that it is a multidisciplinary research entity whose mandate is to enhance collaboration between disciplines and scholars from diverse backgrounds. Building a culture of multi-disciplinary research therefore remains one of the biggest challenges for the Centre, especially in our attempts to bridge the gap between the Humanities and the so called STEM subjects. I am, nevertheless, confident that we have the necessary building blocks for achieving our objective, and the range of research projects at the Centre, which include the Human Economy programme, the Ubuntu Project, the Humanities for the Environment and the Social Insects Research Group, are all undergirded by a strong inter-disciplinary ethos across cognate and non-cognate disciplines. We are cognisant of the fact that a limited number of our fellows will continue to take the traditional research route, working in silos, while making significant research contributions in their disciplines and fields of research. A research Centre such as ours should allow for this form of diversity and we are proud that we continue to create space for this duality in scholarship to flower.

The highlights in 2017 included the hosting of the Annual Meeting of Humanities for the Environment in August 2018, a platform which brought together a number of participants from all corners of the globe, and represented no less than 6 Observatories of Humanities for the Environment located in North America, South America, Australia-Pacific, Europe, the Circumpolar group of the Scandinavian countries, Asia-Pacific and our own: the African Observatory which was the host. Themed under the rubrics of “Earth Keeping in Africa”, the

conference called for attention to intersections of indigenous conceptions of ecological systems and multiple histories of the environment in colonial and postcolonial contexts, in furthering pro-environmental behaviour. The extremely successful conference was opened by Professor Vasu Reddy, the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and followed by a keynote address by Prof Jacob Dlamini of Princeton University, speaking to the topic: Who needs National Parks?

The year also witnessed the launch of a number of books published by the fellows at the Centre, although the highlight was Professor Charles van Onselen’s latest book, The Cowboy Capitalist: John Hays Hammond, The American West and The Jameson Raid. The launch elicited a deeply engaged response from the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Cheryl de la Rey, who praised Professor Van Onselen’s attention to detail, a rare ability to surface our entanglement in the wider world history, and a uniquely detective approach to a historical narrative. Professor van Onselen was also awarded the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Annual Medal in Social Sciences and Humanities, an award conferred annually on a scholar who has made an outstanding contribution towards research in the Social Sciences and Humanities.

Message from the Director

James OgudeCAS Director

“The uniqueness of this Centre rests on the fact that it is a multidisciplinary

research entity whose mandate is to enhance collaboration between

disciplines and scholars from diverse backgrounds.”


Another highlight during this period was the appointment of Professor Frans Swanepoel to the board of two leading research initiatives in Africa dealing with food security on the continent and closely linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely, the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Advocacy Network (FRANSPAN) and the International Steering Committee of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).

In September 2017, we appointed Professor Susan Nicolson as a Senior Research Fellow. Professor Nicolson is a highly regarded Entomologist nationally and internationally, and we are proud to have her in our fold of eminent scholars.

There is no doubt that these research awards and appointments to leading research entities not only speak to the intellectual profile of our Research Fellows, but also to the depth of scholarship at the CAS. These forms of recognition also improve the profile of our University as it strives to extend its research networks locally and internationally, while equally contributing to the broader societal challenges that face our continent.

Finally, thanks to the energies of our fellows, affiliated faculty and our Post-Doctoral fellows who, as this report will show, continue to grapple with a range of exciting research topics. We invite you to read this report and you will discover a rich culture of scholarship and a range of research initiatives beginning to take root within the Centre. Not least, my sincere thanks to our Advisory Board, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University and Chair of the board, Professor de la Rey, and the Executive Committee for all your gentle guidance and strategic support this far as the Centre strives to consolidate its research profile.

“I am, nevertheless, confident that we have the necessary building blocks for achieving our objective, and the range

of research projects at the Centre, which include the Human Economy programme, the Ubuntu Project, the Humanities for the Environment and

the Social Insects Research Group, are all undergirded by a strong inter-disciplinary ethos across cognate and

non-cognate disciplines.”


Events in the Centre in 2017

Professor James Ogude, Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo and Mashupye Maseumule at the launch of Dr Sihle Moon’s book in May 2017.

Dr Masitha Hoeane speaking at the launch of Mama Mudu’s Children.

Professors James Ogude, Charles van Onselen and Vasu Reddy with Vice Chancelor Professor Cheryl de la Rey at the launch of The Cowboy Capitalist.

2 March 2017Book Launch: The Quantum Gamble by Professor Jan BoeyensDiscussants: Professor Peter Comba (University of Heidelberg, Germany) and Dr Jannie Pretorius

23 March 2017Book Launch: Chinua Achebe’s Legacy: Illuminations from Africa by Professor James Ogude and Fela: This Bitch of a Life by Carlso MooreDiscussants: Professor Dan Ojwang (University of Witwatersrand)

24 March 2017Play: Mama Mudu’s Children by Masitha HoeaneSpeaker: Professor Bhekizizwe Peterson (University of Witwatersrand)

29 March 2017Seminar: A Human Economy study of Religion, Money and Morality in South Africa: Buddhism and African Traditional Religion in JohannesburgPresented by:Dr Bosco Bae

17 May 2017Book Launch: Political Economy of State-Making in Post-Apartheid South Africa by Dr Sihle MoonDiscussants: Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo and Professor Mashupye Maserumule (Tshwane University of Technology) 18 July 2017Book Launch: Black Workers White Supervisors: The Emergence of the Labour Structure in South Africa by Dr Morley NkosiDiscussants:Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo

26 July 2017Book Launch: People, Money and Power in the Economic Crisis edited by Professor Keith Hart and Professor John SharpDiscussants:Professor Peter Vale (Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Studies) and Professor John Comaroff (Harvard University)

2 August 2017Seminar: Food Future: Speculative Fiction and Film, Ethnobotanical Knowledges and Urban Resiliences Presented by:Professor Joni Adamson (Arizona State University)


Professor Vasu Reddy (Dean of Humanities) addressing the Humanities for the Environment Annual Conference.

Professor John Sharp at the launch of People, Money and Power in the Economic Crisis.

Professor Peter Vale (Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Studies) speaking at the launch of People, Money and Power in the Economic Crisis.

4 - 6 August 2017Conference: Consortium for Humanities for the Environment Annual Meeting

10 August 2017Book Launch: The Rise of Africa’s Middle Class: Myth, Realities and Critical Engagements by Professor Henning MelberDiscussants:Dr Jason Musyoka

5 October 2017Book Launch: The Cowboy Capitalist: John Hays Hammond, the American West and the Jameson Raid by Professor Charles Van Onselen Discussants:Vice Chancellor Professor Cheryl de la Rey, Professor James Ogude, Professor Vasu Reddy and Dr Jimmy Pieterse

13 October 2017Seminar: Disrupting Africa – The Rise and Rise of African InnovationPresented by:Nnamdi Oranye

“The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship was established

in 2013 and is located in Old College House in the heart of

the Hatfield Campus. Its central purpose is to provide a locus for undertaking and debating new ideas in an environment that

facilitates interaction between senior scholars, eminent visiting scholars, postgraduate students

and postdoctoral fellows.”


Advisory Board

Professor Cheryl de la ReyChair

Professor Stephanie Burton Professor Robin Crewe Professor Hendrik Geyer

Professor David Theo GoldbergProfessor Sir David King Professor Njabulo Ndebele

Professor James Ogude Professor Charles van Onselen Dr Jason Musyoka


“The Centre brings together and provides the required

intellectual home for senior scholars, post-doctoral fellows and postgraduate students to

conduct scholarly debates across disciplines.”


Executive Committee

Professor James Ogude Chair

Professor Stephanie Burton

Professor Jean Lubuma

Professor Vasu Reddy


Staff and Research Fellows

Professor Johan Bergh Professor Robin Crewe Professor Keith Hart

Professor Niko SauerProfessor Julian Müller Dr Jannie Pretorius

Professor John Sharp Professor Charles van Onselen Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo

“Their work is conducted in a setting where it can be used to address important social issues within

a multidisciplinary perspective. Of particular emphasis will be the contribution of the Humanities

and Social Sciences to the debates.”

Professor Frans Swanepoel


Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr Bosco BaeHuman Economy Programme

Dr Sean MalieheHuman Economy Programme

Dr Sihle Moon1

Dr Jason MusyokaHuman Economy Programme

1 Dr Moon was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology in mid-2017.

“The Human Economy programme explores economy from the vantage point of people’s

concrete activities and aspirations, while taking in the human predicament as a whole.”

Research Fellows at Large

Professor Ivan Horak Professor Banie Penzhorn Professor Chabani Manganyi


Support Staff

Mrs Cecilia BailieAdministrative Assistant

Mrs Kirsty NepomucenoProject Coordinator

Mrs Cecelia SamsonAdministrative Assistant

Mrs Ayanda SihlahlaManagement Assistant

“One of the key roles of the Centre is to enable unique and important collaborations, providing time and space for the very best creative and scientific thinking to take place and to foster partnerships and networks

which will engender growth, especially in humanities and

social sciences.”


African Observatory for Humanities for the EnvironmentProfessor James Ogude

From 4 - 6 August 2017, the African Observatory at the Centre in conjunction with the Faculty of Law and the Faculty

of Humanities hosted the annual conference of Humanities for the Environment, including international representatives from other observatories such as: North America, Europe, Australia-Pacific, Circumpolar, East Asia and South America. In the week leading up to the conference, Professor Joni Adamson from Arizona State University and the North American Observatory presented two events. The first event was the screening of a powerful documentary titled “The River (El Rio)” whose spectacular images bring the audience’s attention to ecological wisdom about the spiritual belief systems of the Amazonians. This was followed by a public lecture on “Food Futures: Speculative Fiction and Film, Ethnobotanical Knowledges and Urban Resilience”.

The conference was launched by the Dean of Humanities, Professor Vasu Reddy, who opened the conference by emphasising the importance of crossing disciplinary boundaries to investigate the interface between the human and non-human environments, and to code the human

experience within their environment. He reiterated the importance of the Humanities for the Environment in challenging our assumptions and our definitions of human nature in our environment. The keynote speaker was Professor Jacob Dlamini from Princeton University. His address was titled “Who needs national parks?” and questioned the veracity of national parks as the true sites of biodiversity and ecological balance. Further presentations by African Observatory researchers and international partners filled the two day event, and topics ranged from neo-liberalisation of nature, digital environmental humanities, and dreams of a post-earth. International participants presented papers intended for a special journal edition of Humanities published later in 2017.

In this special edition, published by the Humanities Journal, African Observatory member Melanie Murdoch published a paper titled Transformative Environmental Constitutionalism’s Response to the Setting Aside of South Africa’s Moratorium on Rhino Horn Trade, which was also presented at the conference.

Professor Jacob Dlamini (Princeton University) delivering the keynote address on the opening day of the Humanities for the Environment annual conference.

Professor Vasu Reddy (Dean of Humanities) providing opening remarks at the start of the conference.

Professors Jacob Dlamini (Princeton University), Vasu Reddy (Dean of Humanities) and conference host James Ogude with international delegates form the Humanities for the Environment Observatories around the world.

The African Observatory for the Humanities for the Environment is a multidisciplinary project aimed at encouraging humanities-based research on the challenges posed by global warming and environmental degradation, especially on the African continent.


Human Economy ProgrammeProfessor John Sharp and Professor Keith Hart

Professor John Comaroff (Harvard University) speaking at the launch of People, Money and Power in the Economic Crisis at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship.

The Human Economy Programme is an Andrew Mellon Foundation funded programme, which was initiated in 2012 with the goal of bringing back human concerns in economic studies.

The year 2017 was the penultimate year of the second cycle of funding, which started in mid-2015. This second cycle of the programme was focused on two

projects that guided research by postdoctoral fellows and doctoral students: the first being “Money in the making of world society” and the second being “Building a human economy in southern and central Africa”. Four postdoctoral fellows and six doctoral students were recruited in 2015 to engage in the projects.

Significant Achievements in 2017

In June 2017 former Human Economy postdoctoral fellow, Dr Vito Laterza alongside Professor Sharp compiled papers

presented at an international workshop at the University of Pretoria in 2014, and published them in a special issue of the UK-based journal Review of African Political Economy under the titles “Extraction and beyond: peoples’ economic responses to restructuring in southern and central Africa”.

In August 2017, the fifth volume in the Berghan Book’s Human Economy Series was published, titled Money in the Human Economy. The book was edited by Professor Hart and Professor Sharp. During this period, the paperback edition of Volume of the Berghan Human Economy Series was launched, and speakers at the launch at the Centre included Professor

Sharp, Professor John Comaroff (Harvard) and Professor Peter Vale (JIAS, University of Johannesburg).

A workshop mooted in 2017 is scheduled to take place in 2018 and will include the participation of two scholars from the Nordic Africa Institute and one from the Catholic University in Bamenda, Cameroon. The theme of this workshop will be “The struggle for economic democracy in Africa”, and the intention is to compile papers for the publication of an edited volume.

The Human Economy Blog, started in 2015, continues to be active and to stimulate debate online. The related Human Economy Associates Group was also very active, with Professor Hart leading debate in the group in 2017.


Human Economy Doctoral Students

In 2017, five doctoral students continued with their pursuit for graduation by the end of 2018.

Three of the five students have completed their field research and have begun writing up their chapters under

the direction of their supervisors, with the remaining two still conducting fieldwork with the aim of starting their writing process in 2018. The students, their topics and supervisors are listed below:

Josiah TaruDr Fraser McNeill (Anthropology and Archaeology)His research is focused on prominent charismatic church in Harare and the ways in which it mediates its congregant’s relationships with money.

Maureen KademaungaProfessor John Sharp (Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship)Her research is focused on Chinese retailers in Harare.

St Jose InakaProfessor Debbie Bonnin (Sociology)His research is focused on issues pertaining to the labour market in Kinshasa and Katanga.

Mike Chipere-NgazimbiDr Detlev Krige (Anthropology and ArchaeologyHis research is focused on the use of mobile money in Bulawayo and Binga.

Ferron PedroDr Fraser McNeill (Anthropology and Archaeology)Her research is focused on the attempts being made to unionise casual workers in Gauteng.

Human Economy Postdoctoral Fellows

Sean MalieheDr Maliehe continued his research on mobile money in Lesotho and South Africa. In November 2017 he was commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to prepare a report on the demand for mobile money in rural Lesotho. Dr Maliehe published an article based on his PhD research in the journal African Economic History in 2017, and further published a chapter in Volume 5 of the Human Economy Series, Money in the Human Economy. He is continuing work on turning his doctoral thesis into a monograph.

Jason MusyokaDr Musyoka received a formal invitation from Wits University Press to submit a revised version of his doctoral thesis on the black middle class in South Africa with the intention to publish it as a monograph in 2018. While working on this, Dr Musyoka has translated his academic research into op-ed articles that have been published during the course of 2017 in variety of South African media, including online media and the mainstream media such as the Mail and Guardian, City Press, News24 and The Conversation.

Bosco BaeDr Bae embarked on a research project entitled “Money and Religion” in South Africa. His field research sites are in Sandton and the adjacent Alexandra Township in Johannesburg. His first focus is too look at the impact of Buddhist teachings on the wealthy, and his second focus is the role traditional healers play in mediating Alexandra residents’ relationship with money. He published an article in the journal Methods and Theory in the Study of Religion in 2017.


Ubuntu ProjectProfessor James Ogude, Professor Julian Muller, Professor Maxi Schoeman and Professor Christoff Heyns

The project was divided into four clusters, to gain multiple interpretations of the concept of Ubuntu across different

academic disciplines and from different areas within South Africa and the African continent. The first cluster is currently completing three manuscripts: Ubuntu and the Reconstitution of Community (Indiana University Press, in press), Ubuntu and Personhood (African World Press, in press) and Ubuntu and the Everyday (in preparation). The first two of these are at an advance stage of publishing, with the final manuscript to be completed in 2018.

The second cluster is led by Professor Julian Muller and is also at an advance stage of publishing a manuscript, titled Ubuntuville: Unfolding Narratives of Ubuntu in Southern Africa (Routledge Publishers), with final publication expected in 2018.

The third cluster is tasked with compiling a classification of violations of the right to life and to collate relevant reports from across Africa. The cluster is led by Professor Christoff Heyns, and in 2017 they worked towards finalising the chapters for inclusion in the final commissions of inquiry report and a book manuscript. The planned book will also include work on law enforcement and extractive industries, with an aim to submit the manuscript to the publishers in 2018.

The fourth cluster, led by Professor Schoeman, is focusing on highlighting the links between Ubuntu, the responsibility to protect and social cohesion.

The Ubuntu Project is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation since 2014. Titled “The Meaning and Value of Ubuntu in Human and Social Development in Africa”, the project was originally planned for three years, to conclude in March 2017, but it has been extended into 2018 to allow for the completion of several manuscripts and publications.

Professor Bheki Peterson, publisher Rose Francis (African Perspectives) and Professor James Ogude at the launch of the Ubuntu play.

A student reading from the play during the launch of the play.

Professor Bheki Peterson at the launch of the Ubuntu theme play, Mama Mudu’s Children.

Significant Achievements in 2017The Ubuntu play, Mama Mudu’s Children, was published in both English and Sotho by African Perspectives in September 2017, with the book launch hosted by the Centre at the University of Pretoria. The play has further been translated into Swahili and is also expected to be published in 2018, extending the message of Ubuntu in the play beyond the borders of South Africa, and beyond the English-speaking community. The play was performed at the Soweto Theatre on 27 April 2017 to a resounding audience reception.

Unifier Dyer, a research fellow of the Ubuntu project, presented a paper titled “Expressions of Resistance: the Spirit of Ubuntu in Black Consciousness” at a panel on “Ubuntu Philosophy and Practices” at the African Studies Association conference in Chicago in November 2017. Dr John Eliastam, another associate of the project, attended a conference in Gaberone, Botswana in August 2017, titled “Botho/Ubuntu: A dialogue with the Dalai Lama on Spirituality, Science and Humanity.” In September 2017, Professor James Ogude gave a lecture at the University of Texas, Arlington touching on “African Literature, Postcolonial Ecologies and Ubuntu.”

Dr Masitha Hoeane, author and director of the play during the launch.


Social Insects Research GroupMembers: Professor Robin Crewe, Professor Sue Nicolson, Professor Christian Pirk and Dr Fabien Demares, Dr Hannelie Human and Dr Abdullahi Yusuf

In 2017, work on the manuscript Dark Side of the Hive in collaboration with Robin Moritz of the Martin-Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg was completed.

The manuscript was accepted by Oxford University Press, New York, and has been prepared for publication in 2018.

Professor Moritz spent a period of time, from 9 to 21 February 2017, in Pretoria working on the book and assisting with a project on genetic diversity in local honey bee colonies. In addition, from 27 June to 7 July 2017, Professor Moritz spent time with members of the group and attended the Joint Symposium of Zoological and Entomological Societies.

In addition to Professor Moritz, the group invited Dr Clare Spottiswoode from the University of Cape Town and Cambridge University to present a seminar on her work describing reciprocal communication in the honeyguide/human mutualism and to explore opportunities for collaboration.

Professor Crewe’s postdoctoral fellow, Dr A A Yusuf, spent most of the year with Professor Moritz gaining expertise in techniques in Molecular Ecology (population of genetic honey bees). The field of work in South Africa required to collect the material for this work was conducted in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Professor Crewe conducted fieldwork in Namibia from 26 to 30 April that was organised by the Centre of Microbial Ecology and Genomics (CMEG). This fieldwork was conducted in collaboration with Dr Christian Peeters of the CNRS in Paris and Dr Serge Aron of the Free University of Brussels on the desert ant Camponotus detritus.

Professor Crewe supervised the completion of Ms Chamanti Liang’s master’s dissertation, and Ms Fiona Mumoki’s doctoral thesis which should be defended in 2018. Dr A A Yusuf completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the end of 2017, and has been appointed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Zoology and Entomology.

During 2017, Professor Crewe served as the Chair of the Board for the INSiAVA (Pty) Ltd., as a scientific advisor for MARTI TB Diagnostics (Pty) Ltd., and as a board member for SERA (Pty) Ltd. and SERA Fund Managers (Pty) Ltd. He further served as chair to the following South African organisations: Committee on Scholarly Publication in South Africa (ASSAf), National Scholarly Book Publishers Forum (ASSAf), Scholarly Journal Editor’s Forum (ASSAf), second ASSAf report on research publishing in SA (to be completed in 2018), and the Strategy Projects Committee of the South African Council for the Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP).

Professor Crewe is a member of the executive committee of SACNASP as well as board member. Internationally, Professor Crewe is a council member of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), a board member of Network of African Academies of Sciences (NASAC) and co-chair of the Inter-Academy Partnership (IAP) working group “Harnessing science, engineering and medicine to address Africa’s challenges”.


Research by Fellows in 2017

Johan BerghIn 2017, Professor Bergh published Paul Kruger: Toesprake en Korrespondensie van 1881-1900 through Protea Book House in Pretoria. He continued research on this subject, and is focusing on a translation of the publication into English, however looking at a wider period of correspondence between 1850 and 1904.

Jannie Pretorius In 2017, Dr Pretorius continued to focus on Natural Sciences and Engineering related disciplines. Dr Pretorius conducted research in developing a technique to solve the chemical 3-dimension structures of solid crystalline compounds, and developing a computer simulation software system to predict the decay of a catalyst bearing material over time, due to the exposure reactor extreme temperatures exceeding 140 degrees. His research activities were largely linked to advanced software development, with a focus on an IBM-University of Pretoria joint venture in Computational Sciences and the Chemical Server Instrument for UP.

Niko Sauer In 2017, Professor Sauer started work on a manuscript provisionally titled Dynamically Interactive Boundary Conditions and Implicit Evolution Equations, which he continued into 2018. He continued work with Dr Wha-Suck Lee in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University on the project Equations of Evolution, and published a paper titled Intertwined Evolution Operators with Dr Lee. Professor Sauer also continues to supervise students in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, currently overseeing the research of Masters Student Simba Dziwa.

“The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship has made significant strides in fulfilling its mandate of creating a conducive environment for interdisciplinary

research and participation, and counts among its achievements the different collaborative research Initiatives currently housed in its confines which are true to

its initial focus on the humanities and social sciences.”


Frans Swanepoel Professor Frans Swanepoel was appointed to the Centre in October 2016. During 2017 he established the Agricultural Transformation in Africa (ATA) programme, funded by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security and Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN). Effective 1 December 2017, Dr Willeke de Bruin joined the programme as a post-doctoral fellow. During 2017, Professor Adipala Ekwamu from RUFRORUM and Professor Patrick Caron from Cirad were appointed visiting fellows and collaborated on the ATA programme. During 2017, Professor Swanepoel was appointed as a board member to FANRPAN, technical advisory committee member at RUFORUM and as a steering committee member of the GATES-funded African Women in Agricultural Research and Development Programme based in Nairobi, Kenya. He was appointed by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) to chair a consensus panel to Revitalise Education and Training (AET) in South Africa. The panel concluded its work and the report was officially launched during September 2017. Three government departments (DAFF, DST and DHET) commended the report recommendations during the launch and concluded that they look forward to the high impact potential on policy towards an integrated and seamless AET system for the country.

Professor Swanepoel was appointed as Deputy Chair of the Australia-African University Network (AAUN). The Africa forum of the AAUN was held in Cape Town on 3 December 2017.

Professor Swanepoel was also elected as Chairperson of the scientific programme committee of the 3rd International Conference on Global Food Security held from 4 - 6 December 2017.

Following this highly successful conference he has been appointed to the scientific committee for the 4th conference to be held in France during 2019.

Professor Swanepoel presented keynote addresses at two conferences: The SA Society of Animal Science’s (SASAS) 50th conference during September in Port Elizabeth; and the IV International Symposium on Postharvest Pathology held in May 2017. He was appointed by the World Bank and RUFORUM to the steering committee to develop a $250 million initiative to Strengthen Higher Agricultural Education in Africa (SHAEA) over five years. The programme will be implemented in six countries, including Mozambique, Malawi, Cameroon, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya starting in 2019.

Professor Swanepoel pictured in Malawi as part of the technical task team focused on Science Education and Technology being championed in Africa by the African Union.

Dr Aldo Stroebel (NRF); Professor Cheryl de la Rey (Vice Chancellor); Professor John Hearn (University of Sydney); Christian Acemah (Ugandan National Academy of Sciences); Professor Frans Swanepoel and Dr Thandi Mgwebi (DVC U, Tshwane University of Technology) at the AAUN Forum 2017.

Professor Roseanne Diab (CEO of ASSaF); Dr Shadrack Moephuli (CEO of ARC); Professor Frans Swanepoel and Professor Himla Soodyall (ASSaF Council) at the launch of the Consensus Study on revitalising agriculture education and training.


Charles van OnselenIn August 2017, Jonathan Ball Publishers of Cape Town, published Professor van Onselen’s The Cowboy Capitalist: John Hays Hammond, the American West and the Jameson Raid (ISBN No: 978-1-86842-783-3, hard cover, pp. 556). The book was well-received by academic as well as popular critics in the press, sold well and will be re-printed, in paperback, in 2018.

Professor van Onselen is currently attempting to make progress on an extended, new, project that examines the nature of the historical relationship between Anglophone, urban, industrial and Protestant South Africa and Lusophone, rural, commercial and Catholic Mozambique between 1880 and 1955.

The cover of Professor van Onselen’s 2017 publication The Cowboy Capitalist: John Hays Hammond, the American West and the Jameson Raid.

Vice Chancellor Professor Cheryl de la Rey speaking at the launch of The Cowboy Capitalist by Professor Charles van Onselen.

“Van Onselen offers a gripping narrative, a witty voice dripping with matchless

sarcasm, and unparalleled knowledge of the early Rand’s history.”

Alex Lichtenstein, The Johannesburg Review of Books

“Once again, Charles van Onselen offers us a remarkable book. The Cowboy Capitalist

is a brilliant contribution to historical scholarship as well as a reminder of van Onselen’s master storytelling and riddle

solving.”Steven Hahn, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Nation

under Our Feet, New York University

“In The Cowboy Capitalist... Van Onselen does something quite new, which is wholly to change one’s perception of a significant event in South African and global history,

the Jameson Raid.”Times Literary Supplement

Professors James Ogude, Charles van Onselen and Vasu Reddy with Vice Chancelor Professor Cheryl de la Rey at the launch of The Cowboy Capitalist.


Postdoctoral fellows

Sihle MoonIn 2017, Dr Moon was formally appointed to the Centre from the Human Economy Programme. His appointment was temporary as he was subsequently appointed Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology in July 2017. During this time, he launched his book Political Economy of State-Making in Post-Apartheid South Africa at the Centre, with Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo and Professor Mashuype Maserumule providing commentary.

Dr Sihle Moon speaking at the launch of his book in May 2017.

“This research work opens up an opportunity for further scrutiny of South Africa’s development challenges, from the dawn of democracy into the future. Scholars, policy-

makers and students must seriously explore this book and make contributions that can help South Africa to

continue advancing a people-centred political economy and development agenda.”

Prof Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo, Chairman of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA)


External Research Fellows

Professor Ivan HorakIn 2017, Professor Horak continued to study parasites of domestic and wild animals in southern Africa with emphasis on ticks, their taxonomy, distribution, hosts, and disease transmission. Four of his six publications in 2017 are inventories of ticks on rhinos, horses, three species of tortoise and of wildlife in Namibia. The other two publications emanate from research conducted in conjunction with a master student of Professor Conrad Matthee at Stellenbosch University on the Hyalomma (bont-poot) ticks. With a previous postgraduate student from Kenya, Professor Horak is currently researching the ticks of elephants in sub-Saharan Africa and the ticks of rhinos in Kenya.

Professor Banie PenzhornProfessor Penzhorn continued to research on piroplasms (Babesia and Theileria species) and other haemoparasites of dogs and cats in South Africa, as well as in wildlife in general. He submitted two manuscripts and published three papers on his research, while supervising two doctoral students and a master student. Professor Penzhorn was invited to present at the Symposium on Teaching Veterinary Parasitology at the biennial World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP) in September 2017 and invited by Bayer Animal Health to attend the 12th CVBD World Forum in Athens, Greece in March 2017. Professor Penzhorn continues to be involved in various international and local institutions, including the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Namibia, the Veterinary Council of Namibia, the South African Veterinary Council and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

“Their work is conducted in a setting where it can be used to address important social issues

within a multidisciplinary perspective. Of particular emphasis

will be the contribution of the Humanities and Social Sciences to

these debates.”


Highlights from 2017

Professor Chabani Manganyi Book on ehe Alan Paton Longlist for 2017Professor Chabani Manganyi’s 2016 memoir, titled Apartheid and the making of a black psychologist, was listed for the Sunday Times Alan Paton non-fiction longlist for 2017.

Professor James Ogude Appointed as Director of CASProfessor Ogude was appointed the new Director of the Centre in January 2017, taking over from Professor Robin Crewe, who continues his research as a fellow of the Centre. Professor Ogude has been the Deputy Director of the Centre since May 2013. Prof Ogude, who has received a B rating from the NRF, is the author of five books and one anthology of African stories. He has also published more than 50 articles on African literature and popular culture in Africa in local and international peer-reviewed journals. His research interests include the African novel and the postcolonial experience in Africa. More recently, his research focus has shifted to popular cultures and literature in Africa, with special focus on African cities and the role of the arts in the making of identities. He is currently the Principal Investigator of a University of Pretoria research project on the African philosophy of Ubuntu.

Professor Frans Swanepoel Appointed to the Farnpan and Award BoardsIn 2017 Professor Swanepoel was appointed as a board member at two leading initiatives in Africa that address the challenge of food and nutrition security from policy and gender perspectives. Professor Swanepoel was appointed as the member representing the research sector on the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Advocacy Network (FARNPAN) Board. Professor Swanepoel was also appointed to the International Steering Committee of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) program in January 2017. Professor Swanepoel’s high level appointment to these prolific initiatives is an opportunity for the University to extend its academic network in the area of food security, and opens up the possibility for further partnerships through which the University can translate its cutting-edge research into tangible societal impact.

Professor Charles van Onslen Presented with HSRC AwardThe Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) awarded the annual Medal in Social Sciences and Humanities to Prof Charles van Onselen in 2017. This prestigious award is conferred annually on a scholar who has made an outstanding contribution towards addressing some of the country’s most pressing social issues through his or her research and publications in any discipline and field in the social sciences and humanities. During his acceptance speech at the award ceremony, Prof Van Onselen explained that the social science disciplines play a crucial role in determining how issues such as class, race, culture, and inequality can either help to bind us or divide us. According to him, the key to understanding these formidable and elusive interactions in society lies not so much in the natural or biological sciences, but rather in the core disciplines of the humanities and the social sciences.

Cover of Professor Manganyi’s memoir, published in 2016.

Professor Charles van Onselen speaking at the HSRC event in honour of his award.


Professor Emil Roduner (University of Stuttgart)February 2017 - October 2017Hosted on behalf of the Department of Chemistry

Professor Wolfgang Seibel (University of Konstanz, Germay)13 February 2017 - 17 February 2017Hosted on behalf of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation

Professor Robin Moritz (Martin Luther University, Halle Wittenberg, Germany)10 February 2017 - 11 February 20173 July 2017 - 7 July 2017Hosted on behalf of the Social Insects Research Group (SIRG)

Professor Gary Dowsett (La Trobe University, Australia)6 March 2017 - 18 March 2017Hosted on behalf of the Centre for Sexualities, AIDs and Gender

Professor Keith Hart (Human Economy Programme)27 March 2017 - 5 April 2017 20 July 2017 - 27 July 2017International Coordinator of the Human Economy Programme

Professor Wolfgang Seibel (University of Konstanz) presenting at the Centre on Donald Trump: Aggravator of Catalyser of the EU Crises?.

Professor Emil Roduner presenting at the inter-disciplinary spring course on solar energy and photosynthesis in October 2017 held at the University.

Visiting Professors


Human Economy ProgrammeBooksHart, J. K. (ed). 2017. Economy for and against democracy. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books. [Human Economy Series Volume 2, paperback edition].

Hart, J. K. (ed). 2017. Money in Human Economy. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books. [Human Economy Series Volume 5].

Rakopoulos, T. 2017. From Clan to Co-Ops: Confiscated Mafia land in Sicily. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books. [Human Economy Series Volume 4].

Edited CollectionsLaterza, V.; Sharp, J. and Beresford, A. (eds). 2017. Extraction and Beyond: People’s Economic Responses to Restructuring in southern and central Africa. Review of African Political Economy (Special Edition), 44(152).

Chapters in BooksInaka, S-J. 2017. “Congolese Middle Class Migrants’ Labour Market Incorporation in Pretoria”. In Nshimbi, C. C. and Moyo, I. (eds). Migration, Cross-Border Trade and Development in Africa. Johannesburg: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kademaunga, M. 2017. “Thriving Chinese Migrant Entrepreneurship in a Deteriorating Socio-Economic Environment in Zimbabwe”. In Nshimbi, C.C. and Moyo, I. (eds). Migration, Cross-Border Trade and Development in Africa. Johannesburg: Palgrave Macmillan.

Maliehe, S. 2017. “Money and markets for and against the people: the rise and fall of Basotho’s economic independence, 1830s to 1930s”. In Hart J. K. (ed). Money in Human Economy. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books.

Journal ArticlesBae, B. 2017. “Belief and acceptance for the study of religion”. Methods and Theory in the Study of Religion, 29: 57-87.

Maliehe, S. 2017. “The rise and fall of African indigenous entrepreneurs’ economic solidarity in Lesotho, 1966-1975”. African Economic History, 45(1): 110-137.

Laterza, V. and Sharp, J. 2017. “Extraction and beyond: People’s economic responses to restructuring in southern and central Africa”. Review of African Political Economy, 44(152): 173-188.

Popular PublicationsMusyoka, J. 2017. “Free education: A time bomb for Ramaphosa”. City Press: Voices, 24 December 2017: 3.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “Zimbabwe’s crisis may be a catalyst for change”. City Press: Voices, 19 November 2017: 5.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “Poverty debate must include black middle”. City Press, 5 November 2017.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “South Africa’s future is a human economy, not a political fix”. Mail and Guardian, 7 November 2017. Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-11-07-00-south-africas-future-is-a-human-economy-not-a-political-fix.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “Illegal mining about survival, not criminality”. Mail and Guardian, 28 July 2017. Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-07-28-00-illegal-mining-about-survival-not-criminality.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “State capture fails the black middle class”. Mail and Guardian, 22 June 2017. Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-06-22-00-state-capture-fails-the-black-middle-class.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “South Africa’s middle class is three salaries away from poverty”. Mail and Guardian, 26 May 2017. Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-05-26-00-south-africas-middle-class-is-three-salaries-away-from-poverty.

Publications


Musyoka, J. 2017. “The path towards a ‘human economy’ needs no help from elitist agendas”. Mail and Guardian, 16 May 2017. Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-05-16-the-path-towards-a-human-economy-needs-no-help-from-elitist-agendas.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “The state is sick and, while it’s ill, it can’t fix the economy”. Mail and Guardian, 14 February 2017. Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-02-14-00-yes-south-africa-needs-radical-transformation-of-the-state.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “The path towards a ‘human economy’ needs no help from elitist agendas”. The Conversation, 13 May 2017. Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-path-towards-a-human-economy-needs-no-help-from-elitist-agendas-77044.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “Why SA desperately needs a middle class beyond the state to realised growth aims”. The Sunday Times, 22 October 2017.

Musyoka, J. 2017. “Mid-term budget speech: We need a new way of thinking about the economy”. City Press, 27 October 2017. Available at: https://city-press.news24.com/Voices/mid-term-budget-speech-we-need-a-new-way-of-thinking-about-the-economy-20171027.

Ubuntu Project: The Meaning and Value of Ubuntu in Human and Social DevelopmentProfessor Julian MullerBester, A. and Muller, J. C. 2017. “Religion, an obstacle to workplace spirituality and employee wellness”. Verbum et Ecclesia, 38(1): 1-9.

Research and Post-Doctoral FellowsJohan BerghBergh, J. 2017. Paul Kruger: Toesprake en korrespondensie van 1881-1900. Protea Boekhuis.

Robin CrewePirk, C. W. W., Crewe, R. M. and Moritz, R. F. A. 2017. “Risks and benefits of the biological interface between managed and wild bee pollinators”. Functional Ecology, 31: 47-55.

Okosun, O. O., Pirk, C. W. W., Crewe, R. M. and Yusuf, A. A. 2017. “Glandular sources of pheromones used to control host workers (Apis mellifera scutellata) by socially parasitic workers Apis mellifera capensis”. Journal of Insect Physiology, 102: 42-49.

Sihle MoonMoon, S. 2017. Political Economy of State-Making in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Trenton, New Jersey : Africa World Press.

Jannie Pretorius Izadi, H., Focke, W., Maharaj, R., Pretorius, J. and Loots, M. 2017. “A promosing azeotropic-like mosquito repellent blend”. NATURE Scientific Reports, 7(10273).

Niko SauerLee, W. S. and Sauer, N. 2017. “Intertwined evolution operators”. Semigroup Forum, 94: 204-228.

Frans SwanepoelJournal Articles Gasparatos, A., Takeuchi, K., Elmqqvist, T., Fukushi, K., Nagao, M., Swanepoel, F., Swilling, M., Trotter, D. and von Blottnitz, H. 2017. “Sustainability science for meeting Africa’s challenges: setting the stage”. Sustainability Science, 12(5): 635-640.

Popular Publications Swanepoel, F. 2017. “Agricultural training in South Africa badly needs an overhaul. Here are some ideas”. The Conversation, 8 November 2017. Available at: https://theconversation.com/agriculture-training-in-south-africa-badly-needs-an-overhaul-here-are-some-ideas-85272. (Republished by eNCA and Mail and Guardian).

Swanepoel, F. 2017. “Science has the power to boost farming in Africa. But a lot has to change”. The Conversation, 18 June 2017. Available at: https://theconversation.com/science-has-the-power-to-boost-farming-in-africa-but-a-lot-has-to-change-78489. (Republished by eNCA). Charles van OnselenVan Onselen, C. 2017. The Cowboy Capitalist: John Hays Hammond, the American West and the Jameson Raid. Jonathan Ball Publishers.


Sibusiso Vil-NkomoAristigueta, M. P., Maserumule, M. H. and Vil-Nkomo, S. 2017. “Complexity of Governance: Perspectives from Multiple Continents”. Journal of Public Administration, 52(1). [Editors of the issue].

External Research FellowsProfessor Ivan HorakSands, A.F., Apanaskevich, D.A., Matthee, S., Horak, I.G. and Matthee, C.A. 2017. “The effect of host vicariance and parasite life history on the dispersal of the multi-host ectoparasite, Hyalomma truncatum”. Journal of Biogeography, 44: 1124–1136.

Horak, I.G., Boshoff, C.R., Cooper, D.V., Foggin, C.M., Govender, D., Harrison, A., Hausler, G., Hofmeyr, M., Kilian, J.W., MacFadyen, D.N., Nel, P.J., Peinke, D., Squarre, D. and Zimmermann, D. 2017. “Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. XLIX. Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting white and black rhinoceroses in southern Africa”. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 84(1), 11 pages. doi: 10.4102/ojvr.v84i1.1301

Horak, I.G., Heyne, H., Halajian, A., Booysen, S. and Smit, W.J. 2017. “Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. L. Ixodid ticks infesting horses and donkeys”. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 84(1), a1302. https://doi. org/10.4102/ojvr.v84i1.1302

Horak, I.G., Pearcy, A. and Lloyd, K.J. 2017. “Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. LI. Ticks infesting leopard tortoises Stigmochelys pardalis, hingeback tortoises Kinixys zombensis and angulate tortoises Chersina angulate”. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 84(1), a1303. https://doi. org/10.4102/ojvr.v84i1.1303

Turner, W.C., Küsters, M., Versfeld, W. and Horak, I.G. 2017. “Ixodid tick diversity on wild mammals, birds and reptiles in and around Etosha National Park, Namibia”. African Journal of Ecology, doi: 10.1111/aje.12369

Sands, A.F., Apanaskevich, D.A., Matthee, S., Horak, I.G., Harrison, A., Shahid Karim, E.F., Mohammad, M.K., Mumcuoglu, K.Y., Rajakaruna, R.S., Santos-Silva, M.M. and Matthee, C.A. 2017. “Effects of tectonics and large scale climatic changes on the evolutionary history of Hyalomma ticks”. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 114: 153–165.

Professor Banie PenzhornPenzhorn, B.L., Vorster, I., Harrison-White, R.F. & Oosthuizen, M.C. 2017. “Black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) are natural hosts of Babesia rossi, the virulent causative agent of canine babesiosis in sub-Saharan Africa”. Parasites & Vectors, DOI: 10.1186/s13071-017-2057-0

Burroughs, R.E.J., Penzhorn, B.L., Wiesel, I., Barker, N., Voster, I. & Oosthuizen, M.C. 2017. “Piroplasms in brown hyaenas (Parahyaena brunnea) and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Namibia and South Africa are closely related to Babesia lengau”. Parasitology Research, 116: 685-692; DOI: 10.1007/s00436-016-5334-5

McDermid, K., Snyman, A., Verreynne, F., Carroll, J., Penzhorn, B. & Yabsley, M. 2017. “Surveillance for viral and parasitic pathogens in a vulnerable African lion (Panthera leo) population in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana”. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 53(1):54-61 (doi: 10.7589/2015-09-248)

Visiting ProfessorsProfessor Emil RodunerMcKenzie, I., Dilger, H., Roduner, E. and Scheuermann, R. 2017. “Comment on ‘Muon spin relaxation study of spin dynamics in poly(triarylamine)’”. Synthetic Metals, 234: 175-176.


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