Message from the Head of Department, Prof Ntsikelelo Breakfast
Welcome to the Department of History and Political Studies, which offers a range of internationally recognized academic qualifications. The department provides various academic offerings in History and Political Studies. The academics in the department are experts in various areas. Qualifications in these fields (History and Political Studies) have a potential to put our students on the map, locally and internationally. Both academic disciplines are rooted in critical thinking and the logic of argumentation. Further, our academic qualifications are designed to equip our students to understand the relationship between the powerful and powerless, social ills, and promote social justice. We are in an active and ongoing intellectual process as a department to transform our curriculum and promote both decolonisation and Africanisation. The latter is aligned to the vision of the Faculty of Humanities Revitalisation project and ‘Vision 2030’ at Nelson Mandela University.
Mandela University’s School of Visual and Performance Arts has produced 14 honours graduates in visual art and 12 masters’ graduates, eight in visual arts and four in music, during the University’s Autumn Graduation.
In a moment that braided together memory, scholarship and homecoming, Professor Gabeba Baderoon – one of South Africa’s most acclaimed literary voices – was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature by Nelson Mandela University.
On Friday, 10 April, the graduation stage at Nelson Mandela University brought together two familiar voices in the media space – Ayabonga Kekana and Mzwandile Ntshona, not as broadcasters, but as graduates of the Department of Media and Communication.
Nelson Mandela University has officially launched the Humanities Creative Media Lab, a student-driven creative media agency designed to prepare graduates for the world of work.