This forms part of the rotational Oldenburg and Mandela partnership, which marked 25 years in 2022, since its collaboration starting in 1997. The Centre for interdisciplinary Women and Gender Studies at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg will host the delegation.
Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola, who holds the DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in African Feminist Imagination, will present a keynote address on “Decolonising Gender Studies, Confronting Intellectual Apartheid”.
Affiliates of the Centre and the Chair, Siphokazi Tau and Qhama Noveve will facilitate a workshop on “African feminisms and the impact on Higher Education Transformation” and Simran Juglal and Tumi Mampane, a workshop on “Feminist Imagination and Cultural Practices in South Africa”.
This Summer School forms part of the commitment of the Centre and the Chair to capacitate postgraduate students, knowledge exchange and exposure for both German and South African students. The partnership between the two Gender Studies centres is part of the internationalisation efforts, building capacity for students on both ends and networking.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime, to engage with our counterparts in Germany and expand our networks in terms of the African and Global South Feminist and Gender agenda,” said Siphokazi Tau.
“As a researcher at the Centre for Women and Gender Studies (CWGS), the trip to Oldenburg University will be a fantastic way to not only promote the internationalisation of Mandela University but also to engage with German scholars, researchers, and academics on the socio-economic and political issues that plague both South Africa and Germany” Simran Juglal said.
Meanwhile, Professor Babalwa Magoqwana, the interim director of the Centre, together with colleagues from Unisa and UJ, will present a paper on “African maternal legacies of knowledge under feminist pedagogies” at the International Sociological Association World Congress in Australia.
This comes after the team from the Centre for Women and Gender Studies team was awarded the HSRC-USAF (Human Science Research Council -Universities South Africa) Team Award on Social Justice Category 2022, in its approach to gender justice research, engagement and student capacitation.