Deborah Posel | |
---|---|
Born | 1957/1958(age 65–66) |
Spouse | Max Price |
Academic background | |
Education | University of the Witwatersrand Nuffield College, Oxford (PhD) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Sociology |
Sub-discipline | Political sociology and historical sociology of South Africa |
Notable works | The Making of Apartheid,1948–1961:Conflict and Compromise (1991) |
Deborah Posel (born 1957 or 1958) is a South African sociologist who is professor emeritus at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She was the founding director of two prominent interdisciplinary research institutes,UCT's Institute for Humanities in Africa (founded 2010) and the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (founded 2001). Her academic interests are primarily in the historical sociology of apartheid and the sociology of post-apartheid South Africa.
Born in 1957 or 1958 to two academics –an applied mathematician and a historian –Posel graduated from high school at age 16. [1] She studied philosophy at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and in 1981 began a PhD at Nuffield College,Oxford. Her dissertation was about the historical sociology of apartheid and its origins. [1] After completing the degree,she spent stints at Oxford,at Harvard University,and at institutions in South Africa. [1]
In 2001,Posel founded the interdisciplinary Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER) at Wits in Johannesburg. At its inception,it had received about R25 million in core donor funding for the first five years,which the Mail &Guardian called an "unprecedented" amount. [2] Under Posel as inaugural director,the institute selected five main research areas:money,race,sexuality,crime,and the state. [2] [3]
Posel announced her resignation from WiSER in early 2009. [1] She joined her husband at the University of Cape Town (UCT),where,the following year,she founded the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA),another interdisciplinary institute straddling UCT's law and humanities faculties. Its primary research themes were "being human" and consumerism,and the founding cohort of scholars included Posel,Shamil Jeppie,Jonny Steinberg,and Natasha Distiller. [4]
Posel was Leverhulme Visiting professor at University College London's Institute of Advanced Studies in 2018–2019. [5] As of 2021,she was professor emeritus at UCT and a research professor in sociology at the University of the Free State. [6] She is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. [7]
Posel's PhD dissertation was the basis for her first,widely cited book on the origins of apartheid,The Making of Apartheid,1948–1961:Conflict and Compromise (1991). [1] [8] According to Hermann Giliomee,"Posel's work opened up a new perspective in depicting apartheid as a policy and ideology largely shaped by post-1948 struggles within the Nationalist movement". [9]
In later years,Posel worked on the sociology of post-apartheid South Africa,with research topics including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,consumerism,and sexual violence. [1] [5] Also widely cited are a pair of 2001 articles by Posel about racialisation in South Africa during and after apartheid:"Race as Common Sense:Racial Classification in Twentieth-Century South Africa" in the African Studies Review and "What's in a Name? Racial Categorisations under Apartheid and Their Afterlife" in Transformation. [10] [11]
Posel is Jewish. [12] [13] She is married to Max Price,the former vice-chancellor of UCT, [14] whom she met at Oxford. [1]
The University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg,is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits. The university has its roots in the mining industry,as do Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand in general. Founded in 1896 as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley,it is the third oldest South African university in continuous operation.
The Population Registration Act of 1950 required that each inhabitant of South Africa be classified and registered in accordance with their racial characteristics as part of the system of apartheid.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a public research university in Cape Town,South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College,it was granted full university status in 1918,making it the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest university in Sub-Saharan Africa in continuous operation.
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904,Rhodes University is the province's oldest university,and it is the sixth oldest South African university in continuous operation,being preceded by the University of the Free State (1904),University of Witwatersrand (1896),University of South Africa (1873) as the University of the Cape of Good Hope,Stellenbosch University (1866) and the University of Cape Town (1829). Rhodes was founded in 1904 as Rhodes University College,named after Cecil Rhodes,through a grant from the Rhodes Trust. It became a constituent college of the University of South Africa in 1918 before becoming an independent university in 1951.
Heribert Adam is a German-Canadian university professor and author. Adam is professor emeritus of political sociology at Simon Fraser University,specializing in human rights,comparative racisms,peace studies,Southern Africa,and ethnic conflict. Originally from Frankfurt,Germany,he is a former president of the International Sociological Association's Research Committee on Ethnic,Minority and Race Relations.
Max Price is a former vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. He succeeded Njabulo Ndebele and held this position for 10 years from 19 August 2008 until 30 June 2018.
Rosina Mamokgethi Phakeng is a South African professor of mathematics education who in 2018 became a vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT). She has been the vice principal of research and innovation,at the University of South Africa and acting executive dean of the College of Science,Engineering and Technology at UNISA. In 2018 she was an invited speaker at the International Congresses of Mathematicians. In February 2023 it was announced that she would leave her position as vice-chancellor of UCT and take early retirement. She was succeedded by Professor Daya Reddy on 13th of March 2023
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Shireen Hassim is an South African political scientist,historian,and scholar of gender studies and African studies. She is a Professor in the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand,where she is also affiliated with the Institute for Social and Economic Research. In 2019 she became a Canada 150 Research Chair in Gender and African Politics,beginning a seven-year term in the Institute for African Studies at Carleton University. Hassim was the first black woman full professor of political science in South Africa.
The Wits Centre for Diversity Studies (WiCDS) was launched in 2014 and is based in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Initially started as Intercultural and Diversity Studies of Southern Africa (iNCUDISA) at the University of Cape Town,WiCDS was then established at Wits in 2014 and aims to build capacity to meet the challenges of diverse societies,especially in post-apartheid South Africa through interdisciplinary postgraduate education and research.
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Melissa Steyn is a South African academic based at the University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg. Prior to moving to Johannesburg in 2011,she taught at the University of Cape Town.
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