Dr Nompumelelo Zodwa Radebe

Title: “Our geniuses reside in our languages: Using indigenous languages in teaching and learning to nurture African excellence”.

Nompumelelo Zodwa Radebe is a Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Department in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of South Africa (Unisa). Prior to her teaching career, she worked as a researcher for various institutions in South Africa including the University of Pretoria (Centre for Study of AIDS), the Medical Research Council, and the University of Cape Town (Children’s Institute). She is a Deputy Head of the Athens Institute’s Anthropology & Demography Unit, Greece (2024-2027). She is also a member of the African Decolonial Research Networks (ADERN). In 2017 she was a visiting student researcher at UC Berkeley in the Department of Ethnic Studies. In 2021 she won an award in Teaching and Learning Festival at the University of South Africa on curriculum transformation. She is a fellow for the Teaching Advancement at Universities (TAU) which is part of the Ministerial Statement on the University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP). Her publications include a co-authored book titled Still to be Named: An Exploration of African Epistemologies using Simphiwe Dana’s selected works and an edited book titled: Azibuye Emasisweni: Reclaiming our Space and Centering our Knowledge. Edited by Zethu Cakata; Nompumelelo Z. Radebe and Magobe B. Ramose. Her research interest is in exploring African epistemology to expand on theories that address global challenges. Drawing from her anthropological expertise, she uses isiZulu to theorise and provide evidence of the African ways of knowing and being in the world.