Young Scholars Divining the Future of Anthropology

More than a celebration of the past, this conversation is an invitation to reflect on the future of anthropology in South Africa & across the African continent.

As part of the Wits Anthropology Department's centenary celebrations, this special roundtable brings together alumni who studied anthropology at Wits and have since gone on to build distinguished academic careers at universities across South Africa and beyond.

The discussion will reflect on the department's intellectual legacy and the diverse trajectories of alumni who have carried anthropology into various academic departments and institutions. Panellists will share insights from their academic journeys, revisit their experiences in the department, reflect on how anthropology has shaped their intellectual and professional journeys, and consider how the discipline continues to inform their teaching, research, and public scholarship. They will also consider the challenges and opportunities facing anthropology in a rapidly changing world. 

Inspired by Francis Nyamnjoh's reflections on anthropology in his essay Blinded by Sight: Divining the Future of Anthropology in Africa, the roundtable takes up and grapples with the idea of "divining futures" as a scholarly practice. This involves reading the signs of the times in which we are immersed and using those insights to imagine, anticipate, and critically engage possible futures. Drawing on historical perspectives, personal trajectories, and experiences within different universities and departments, panellists will explore how anthropology has changed, where it stands today, and what directions it might take in the years ahead.

More than a celebration of the past, this conversation is an invitation to reflect on the future of anthropology in South Africa and across the African continent. Together, the panellists will consider the questions, challenges, and opportunities that may shape the discipline over the next hundred years.

Speakers

Dr Gabby Dlamini

• Affiliation: Anthropology lecturer at Nelson Mandela University 
• Role: Discussant

Dr Nompumelelo Zodwa Radebe 

• Affiliation: Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of South Africa (UNISA)
• Role: Discussant

Dr Leyya Hoosen

• Lecturer in the Political Studies Department at the University of Witwatersrand.
• Role: Discussant

Dr Anjuli Webster

• Affiliation:  Senior Lecturer, Department of History, University of Zululand
• Role: Discussant

Dr Edmore Chitukutuku

• Affiliation: Anthropology Lecturer at Sol Plaatje University.
• Role: Discussant

Dr Mutsawashe Mutendi 

• Affiliation: Anthropology Lecturer at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand. 
• Role: Moderator

Associate Professor Julia Hornberger

• Associate Professor of Anthropology and Head of Department at the University of the Witwatersrand. 
• Role: Moderator

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