College of College of Graduate Studies

Unisan earns doctoral degree in African Studies

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Dr Tebogo Kgope

Unisan, Dr Tebogo Kgope from the College of Graduate Studies, recently obtained her doctoral degree in African Studies from the University of Venda. Kgope’s pursuit of a doctoral degree in African Studies was inspired by the imbalance of knowledge information and production, which is evident in the overreliance on Western knowledge and assumptions about the inferiority of African, indigenous knowledge and information. Kgope’s area of research for her thesis was the re-membering processes and thought patterns that sought to elevate African knowledge.

However, her journey to complete the study was filled with challenges and triumphs. The challenges inspired her to persevere, while her triumphs were a source of constant motivation. She maintains her immense appreciation for Unisa, believing it has been a foundation for strengthening her work.

Through her experience, she believes academics need support to access the state and the broader world of governance. This also includes influencing policies that need to be implemented. She argues this is particularly important because African knowledge is not applied in higher learning institutions.

Kgope’s interest is in exploring ancient African literature. In this regard, she leads the Indigenous Knowledge Guild of Credo Mutwa - one of the College of Graduate Studies engaged scholarship projects. Through this project, she intends to advocate for the indigenous body of knowledge. Kgope says that Baba Credo Mutwa’s knowledge has significantly impacted her, and she hopes to honour him by applying what she learned to the project. Furthermore, Kgope intends to make societal contributions by redressing various societal injustices. She believes some of them can be addressed by applying African knowledge systems.

* By Hanli Wolhuter, Communication and Marketing Specialist and Musa Buthelezi, Intern, College of Graduate Studies

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Publish date: 2022-09-07 00:00:00.0

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