Rhodes University RESEARCH REPORT A Year in Review RESEARCH REPORT A publication of the Rhodes University Research Office, compiled and edited by Tarryn Gillitt, Jill Macgregor, Thumeka Mantolo and Jaine Roberts. Research Office Director: Jaine Roberts [email protected] Cover Photo: Tel: +27 (046) 6038756/7572 Dr Hleze Kunju and Dr Sally Matthews Cover Photos: Snow Harris www.ru.ac.za Design, Layout & Image Cropping: Sally Dore CONTENTS FOREWORD 01 Dr Sizwe Mabizela, Vice-Chancellor INTRODUCTION 03 Dr Peter Clayton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research & Development 05 TOP 30 RESEARCHERS WORLD-CLASS RESEARCHER 06 Distinguished Professor Tebello Nyokong 09 PHD GRADUATIONS AT THE 2017 GRADUATION CEREMONY 16 PHD GRADUATIONS AT THE 2018 GRADUATION CEREMONY VICE-CHANCELLOR’S BOOK AWARD 20 Professor Gary Baines - Head of the History Department VICE-CHANCELLOR’S DISTINGUISHED SENIOR RESEARCH AWARD 23 Professor Russell Kaschula - School of Languages and Literatures VICE-CHANCELLOR’S DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH AWARD 25 Dr Sally Matthews - Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political and International Studies VICE-CHANCELLOR’S DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH AWARD 28 Associate Professor Ferdi Botha - Department of Economics and Economic History AFRICAN LANGUAGES 31 Dr Hleze Kunju EDUCATION 34 Associate Professor Emmanuel Mfanafuthi Mgqwashu - Deputy Dean: Faculty of Education & Head of Department: Education P-RATED RESEARCHER IN LINGUISTICS 37 Dr William Bennett - Department of English Language and Linguistics THE HISTORY OF RHODES UNIVERSITY 40 Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul Maylam - Department of History RHODES UNIVERSITY RESEARCH REPORT 2017 43 DEPARTMENT INDEX 44 Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching 153 Department of Management and Learning 156 Department of Mathematics (Pure & Applied) (CHERTL) 159 Department of Music & Musicology 48 Community Engagement Division 161 International Library of African Music (ILAM) 51 Library Services 164 Faculty of Pharmacy 54 Department of Accounting 168 Department of Philosophy 56 Department of Anthropology 171 Department of Physics & Electronics 60 Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology 176 Department of Political & International Studies 66 Department of Biotechnology & the Biotechnology Innovation Centre 181 Department of Psychology (RUBIC) 187 Rhodes Business School 69 Department of Botany 190 School of Languages & Literatures 73 Department of Chemistry 193 Department of Sociology 82 Department of Computer Science 197 Department of Statistics 86 Department of Drama 199 Department of Zoology & Entomology 90 Department of Economics & Economic History 92 Faculty of Education 107 Department of English Language & Linguistics 208 AFFILIATES, INSTITUTES & UNITS 109 Department of Environmental Science 115 Department of Fine Art 209 Albany Museum 121 Department of Geography 212 Institute for Environmental Biotechnology (EBRU) 124 Department of Geology 215 Institute for the Study of the Englishes of Africa (ISEA) 128 Department of History 219 Institute of Social & Economic Research (ISER) 131 Department of Human Kinetics & Ergonomics 224 Institute for Water Research (IWR) 134 Department of Ichthyology & Fisheries Studies 228 Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) 140 Department of Information Systems 231 Rhodes University Mathematics Education Project 143 School of Journalism & Media Studies (RUMEP) 147 Faculty of Law 233 South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity 150 Department of Literary Studies in English (SAIAB) 242 Unit for the Humanities at Rhodes University (UHURU) RHODES UNIVERSITY RESEARCH REPORT 2017 FOREWORD Dr Sizwe Mabizela, Vice-Chancellor Many of the goals of our recently completed Institutional Development Plan have to do with retaining and improving our research and scholarly contribution as a university, and ensuring that we not only generate dependable knowledge, but that the knowledge that we create has a positive impact on the social and natural world around us. In summary, our goals are to 6. Provide relevant and appropriate academic infrastructure, equipment and facilities to support our academic project; 1. Maintain and strengthen our general formative degree and offering and the research, teaching, and community- engagement nexus which enables our students to access 7. Promote Rhodes University as an institution for the public powerful knowledge; good in local, provincial, national and international contexts. 2. Enable access to all academically-qualifying students and The plan calls upon all of us to re-imagine our University as provide them with conditions which allow them to flourish one in which sustainability permeates every aspect of our as critical and engaged citizens; academic endeavour, including an elevated sense of awareness 3. Maintain and strengthen our unique institutional niche as and responsibility of our graduates for building sustainable a research-intensive university outside a major urban area; communities. It calls upon us to ensure that we are simul- taneously locally responsive and globally engaged. It calls upon 4. Ensure financial and environmental sustainability practices us to work towards advancing social justice and do all that we through good governance, leadership and management; can to restore the dignity and humanity of those who were 5. Attract, nurture and retain staff of high-calibre and maintain treated as lesser beings by the previous dispensation. And it an inclusive, welcoming, affirming and positive intellectual calls upon us to remind ourselves that our university does not environment; exist in a vacuum. It exists within a social, cultural and economic Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela reading to children at a day care centre for Trading Live for Mandela week. Photo: Rhodes University, Communications & Advancement Division. RHODES UNIVERSITY RESEARCH REPORT 2017 01 FOREWORD | Dr Sizwe Mabizela, Vice-Chancellor milieu, and has an important role to play in lifting the standard Dr William Bennett, who received a Prestigious Award of living of our local community. rating (P-rating) from the National Research Foundation. The ‘Amanzi for Food’ project, a student group in the Rhodes University is very fortunate to SARChI Research Chair in Global Change Social Learning have outstanding, dedicated and Systems Development, which was selected for a ‘pitch’ focussing on innovative education and training for green committed academic and support staff economy development at the “Partnership on Action for a who take a deep and keen interest in the Green Economy Inter-Ministerial conference”, held in Berlin. growth, development and academic Professor Janice Limson and her team who brought success of each and every one of our distinction to the University by winning the best prototype award on show at the National Innovation Bridge held at students. the Gallagher Convention Centre, with a low-cost, biological toolkit for running a remote diagnostic laboratory, which Our intellectual community is well placed to grow with determined allows for the diagnosis of a range of viral, bacterial and pace along our planned trajectory. The Transformation Summit fungal infections. held in 2017 was an opportunity for our community and stakeholders to reimagine our place, purpose and value in The Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award (in the society, and our role in building a better world, and was a age group 40 and below) for 2017 had two (2) recipients, Dr primary data source for informing the Institutional Development Sally Matthews of the Department of Political and International Plan. Studies, and Associate Professor Ferdi Botha of the Department of Economics and Economic History. The Vice-Chancellor’s The results of the 2017 academic year were celebrated during Distinguished Senior Research Award for 2017 went to SARChI a bumper graduation weekend in April 2018, in which a record Chair Professor Russell Kaschula of the African Language 2492 graduates were capped at 6 graduation ceremonies, 42% Studies Section in the School of Languages and Literatures, of whom were Postgraduates, 63% were women, and 16% while the Book Award went to Professor Gary Baines of the were international students. We are proud that ours is a university Department of History for his book entitled “South Africa’s that inspires hope, creativity and imagination. ‘Border War’: Contested Narratives and Conflicting Memories”. The Centre for Biological Control in the Department of Zoology Many other individual academics received widespread national and Entomology was officially launched in 2017 in recognition and international acknowledgement of their work. Their fine of this high profile research focus area of the University. accomplishments are contained within the pages of this report. Many of our outstanding scholars attracted external acclaim. We extend our congratulations and thanks to all of our Among them were: researchers, supervisors, collaborators, funders, donors, and partners who contributed to making 2017 a year in which Professor Michael Neocosmos whose book Thinking research at Rhodes University flourished. Your expertise, integrity, Freedom in Africa won the 2017 International Frantz Fanon dedication, rigour and generosity make Rhodes University the Outstanding Book Award. rich and distinctive intellectual space that it is. Professor Pam Maseko, who was a double winner at the South African Literary Awards. Dr Sizwe Mabizela Vice-Chancellor Distinguished Professor Heila Lotz-Sisitka and Dr Leigh Price, who received the 2017