Humanities Academics Present Research at University of Vienna

Humanities Academics Present Research at University of Vienna

Professor Maheshvari Naidu, academic in the School of Social Sciences and former Academic Leader of Research and Higher Degrees in the School, and Dr Thandeka Ndaba presented their recent research at the 14^th Constructed Environment Conference at the University of Vienna.

The Constructed Environment Research Network is an international network of scholars, researchers, and practitioners. The historic city and architecture of Vienna formed the perfect backdrop to intellectual exchange among a diverse group of scholars.

Ndaba, a post-doctoral Fellow in the College of Humanities with a background in Gender Studies and Naidu who is a social-cultural anthropologist, worked on the socio-linguistic heritage of the Zanzibari community in KwaZulu-Natal.

As a Black African female who is also a practicing Muslim, Ndaba said she found that working with the Black Muslim Zanzibari community resonated with her.

Naidu said that the study adopted a post-colonial lens and examined community socio-linguistic practices around the reclamation and perpetuation of the indigenous Makua language which was enacted largely through the concentration of mosques and community centres frequented by the Zanzibari indigenous Makua-speaking community. The Makua language was also a vehicle of identity and territorial belonging.

The Constructed Environment was the ideal conference for Ndaba’s debut said Naidu as it offered a dedicated “Emerging Scholar” category where she could network with an intellectual peer group.

Naidu added that Ndaba was the only African emerging scholar from Africa at the conference, with the only other Black academic being from the United Kingdom. ‘Seeing herself as an equal among international scholars was an important step in her academic career,’ she added.

Ndaba said that she found the conference and the experience of presenting extremely empowering and expressed her appreciation to Naidu for facilitating their participation.

Words: NdabaOnline

Photograph: Supplied