Postdoctoral Research Fellowships 2020/2021
Alex Halligey
Doctor
Alex Halligey
Alex Halligey has a PhD in Drama and Urban Studies from the University of Cape Town and a Master’s degree in Performance Studies from New York University. Her research is concerned with theatre and performance as research tools and conceptual lenses for exploring the relationship between people and the built environment. Her monograph on her PhD research regarding this subject, Participatory Theatre and the Urban Everyday: Place and Play in Johannesburg, was published by Routledge in 2020.
David Maahlamela
Doctor
David Maahlamela
David wa Maahlamela, an award-winning author of four books, holds MA in Creative Writing and PhD in African Languages from Rhodes University. Named twice on the Mail & Guardian Top Young South Africans list, he previously served as a council member for National Arts Council as well as National English Literature Museum (Amazwi). His works appeared in over-fifty journals and publications nationwide and beyond. He currently chairs the Pan South African Language Board. His interests include literature, languages, and translation.
Prinola Govenden
Doctor
Prinola Govenden
Dr Prinola Govenden has worked in various capacities most recently as a Teaching Fellow for Wits Media Studies, Visiting Scholar at University of Oslo, Researcher at the Press Freedom Commission. Her PhD (Media Studies) from Wits University is recognised by the Golden Key International Honours society as ranking in the Top 15% of academic achievers globally. Her JIAS research focuses on problematising South African print media transformation within the themes of Decolonising blackness representation; De-westernising media theories; Developing media-specific policy and regulatory frameworks.
Rejoyce Hlengiwe Phetha
Doctor
Rejoyce Hlengiwe Phetha
Dr Rejoyce is a Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Johannesburg. She holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Kwazulu-Natal. Phetha obtained her Master degree in International Relations from the University of Kwazulu-Natal, BA degree, B Soc Science Honours; all from the same University.
Qualifications
Ph.D. University of UKZN, MSoc Science (International Relations) UKZN, BSoc Science Honors (UKZN), BA (Cultural and Heritage Tourism), UKZN.
Vidette Bester
Doctor
Vidette Bester
Dr Vidette Bester began her doctoral journey at the University of Johannesburg in 2017 and completed her PhD in 2019. Her study explored artisanal mining in South Africa, and the role that mining companies could play in developing the sector. She is currently doing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS) under the mentorship of Professor Uys from UJ’s Sociology Department. She will be concentrating on artisanal mining and the role of women in this sector.
Joseph Makanda
Doctor
Joseph Makanda
Dr. Makanda Joseph is professional researcher in identity politics, forced migration, conflict, active citizenship as well as a practitioner in peacebuilding and security with proven experience in research, training, project management and policy development. Makanda’s publications and research interests include issues on post-election violence, peacebuilding, community participation, civil society and indigenous knowledge systems. Makanda holds a PhD in Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies; a Master of Social Science degree in Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies (Cum Laude); a Bachelor of Social Science Honours (Cum Laude) as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (Cum laude). An alumni of Leif Egeland Social Sciences Scholarship, Makanda is also a member of the South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS).
Mbuso Nkosi
Doctor
Mbuso Nkosi
I am a versatile researcher and I have worked in the fields of labour studies, industrial policy, economic development, agrarian studies, archives, and social theory. I have served as the editor of the Global Labour Column (GLC) and the South African Labour Bulletin (SALB). As a Postdoctoral Fellow at JIAS, I will be writing a ‘historical present’ book on farmworker killings in potato farms in Bethal, Mpumalanga from the 1950s. The book builds on my PhD thesis on the meaning of land.
Nadeem Mahomed
Doctor
Nadeem Mahomed
Nadeem completed a BA and LLB degrees at Wits. He has clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa and is an attorney. His doctoral thesis titled “On the Margins of Faith: A Critical Historical Study of the Minority Ahmadi Muslim Community of Cape Town” addresses the lack of scholarly works concerning the history of the Ahmadi Muslim community located in Cape Town.
Daniella Rafaely
Doctor
Daniella Rafaely
Daniella Rafaely is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Study. She studies social interaction, social categories and common-sense knowledge using a range of discursive methodologies including conversation analysis and discursive psychology. Her research focuses on child homicides in South Africa, utilizing a range of everyday settings in order to examine the methods by which morality is reproduced as a social institution in everyday interactions.
Moorosi Leshoele
Doctor
Moorosi Leshoele
Moorosi holds a PhD in Development Studies from University of South Africa (UNISA), a Masters degree in Public Policy Management from Wits University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Psychology from University of Cape Town (UCT). He is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Study (JIAS). His research interests and niche areas are; political philosophy termed ‘Sankarism’, Pan Africanism, pre-colonial African history, Afrocentricity, Endogenous Development, and Regionalism. Email: moorosileshoele@gmail.com or mleshoele@uj.ac.za
Madalitso Zililo Phiri
Doctor
Madalitso Zililo Phiri
Dr. Madalitso Zililo Phiri is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ), Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS). He is a Malawian citizen and a South African permanent resident, with a transnational upbringing having lived in Mozambique for over ten years. He is currently working on a book manuscript building on his doctoral dissertation tentatively ‘The Colour of Inequality in South Africa and Brazil: Making Sense of Transformative Social Policy’ under contract with Brill Academic Press. Phiri’s publications include book chapters, refereed journal articles and opinion pieces in the Palgrave Handbook on African Political Economy, Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS), Africa Insight, Innovation and Development, the South African Journal of International Affairs (SAJIA), the African Journal of Conflict Resolution (AJCR), Black Agenda Review, and The Thinker. He pursues a research program that encompasses three complementary lines of inquiry, Comparative Social policy in South Africa and Brazil, Race and the Political Economy of Development in Africa, and Black Political Thought. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Sociology from the University of South Africa (UNISA); a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Development Studies, a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in International Relations and a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Politics and Sociology, all from the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. He is also a three time Fellow (2014-2017) through the Next Generation of Social Science in Africa, funded by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York, United States. He was previously a Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) DSI/SARChI Chair in Social Policy, Pretoria, South Africa. Prior to that he worked as a researcher for the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Cape Town, South Africa between 2011 and 2012. He is proficient in English and fluent in his native Chichewa, and competent in Portuguese.
Position: Post Doctoral Research Fellow (PDFR), Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS), University of Johannesburg (UJ), Johannesburg, South Africa.