Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study

05/06/2026

Democratic Despotism: Finding W.E.B. Du Bois in South Africa

How can the ideas of W.E.B. Du Bois help us better understand contemporary South Africa?

Join us for a JIAS Writing Fellowship seminar with Dr Mosa M. Phadi, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, as she explores how Du Bois’s scholarship can be mobilised to examine class formation, the state, local governance, and the sociological histories of ideas in South Africa.

Drawing on her extensive research and engagement with Du Bois’s work, Dr Phadi reflects on the relevance of his intellectual legacy for understanding democracy, power, inequality, and social change in the South African context.

Event Details:
📅 Date: 11 June 2026
🕒 Time: 15:00 – 17:00
📍 Venue: JIAS, 1 Tolip Street, Westdene, Johannesburg (In-person & Online)

🔗 RSVP link [ https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/Pcx4QbWe08?origin=lprLink ]

05/06/2026

Yesterday, JIAS hosted a thought-provoking seminar, “When Will We Say No? Socio-Cultural Norms that Entrench Gender-Based Violence (GBV),” presented by Professor Shahana Rasool.

The discussion explored the complex realities faced by women experiencing domestic violence and examined the socio-cultural norms, expectations, and barriers that shape help-seeking decisions and responses to abuse.

We thank Professor Rasool for sharing her valuable insights and expertise, and extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who joined us and contributed to this important conversation. Your engagement helps foster meaningful dialogue on addressing gender-based violence and advancing social justice.

01/06/2026

When Will We Say No? Socio-Cultural Norms that Entrench Gender-Based Violence (GBV)

This seminar explores how women experiencing domestic violence navigate the complex process of seeking help and leaving abusive relationships.

Drawing on interviews with women survivors, Professor Shahana Rasool examines why many remain reluctant to utilise formal support systems despite the existence of legislation and services designed to protect and support them. The discussion considers the socio-cultural norms, expectations, and barriers that shape women’s responses to abuse and influence their help-seeking decisions.

Professor Shahana Rasool is a scholar, activist, and academic in the field of gender-based violence. She is a Full Professor at the University of Johannesburg, Vice-President of the Association of Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA), and the African representative on the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). Her research focuses on gender-based violence, social policy, and social justice.

Event Details:
📅 Date: Thursday, 4 June 2026
🕒 Time: 15:00 – 17:00
📍 Venue: JIAS, 1 Tolip Street, Westdene and Zoom (Hybrid)

RSVP link [ https://forms.office.com/r/4jFiD1dyA4?origin=lprLink ]

01/06/2026

JIAS recently hosted a thought-provoking seminar by Professor Donette Francis, 2026 JIAS Writing Fellow.

Drawing on the work of visual artist Charles Humes Jr., the seminar explored how mosaic collages and watercolours can serve as both a call for and an instantiation of repair, challenging histories of accumulation that have shaped Miami’s urban and rural geographies.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this engaging discussion on art, place, and the cultural politics of the African Diaspora.

27/05/2026

JIAS Seminar Reminder

Join us at JIAS tomorrow evening for a hybrid seminar exploring the topic of “Counter-Accumulation as an Aesthetics of Repair”

Thursday, 28 May 2026
17:30 for 18:00 (SAST)
Hybrid (In-person & Online)
JIAS, 1 Tolip Street, Westdene & via Zoom
RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/r/8dK4mGe1CJ

How are Black Miami artists experimenting with form to serve as both a call for, and instantiation of, repair?

Prof Donette Francis is the 2026 JIAS Writing Fellow & the Director for the Center for Global Black Studies at the University of Miami. Her research, teaching, and writing investigate place, aesthetics, and cultural politics in the African Diaspora. She is the author of Fictions of Feminine Citizenship and is currently working on several book projects, including Creole Miami: Black Arts at the Hemispheric Crossroads.

We look forward to an engaging session and hope you can join us.

Counter-Accumulation as an Aesthetics of Repair

This talk begins with the question: How are Black Miami artists experimenting with form to serve as both a call for, and instantiation of, repair?
As part of her work in Black Miami Studies, Professor Donette Francis shapes this seminar around the recent work of the visual artist Charles Humes, Jr. – considering how his experiments with mosaic collages and watercolors counter the accumulative capitalist histories that shape the city’s urban and rural geographies.

Professor Donette Francis is a 2026 JIAS Writing Fellow and the Director for the Center for Global Black Studies at the University of Miami. Her research, teaching, and writing investigate place, aesthetic, and cultural politics in the African Diaspora. Professor Francis is the author of Fictions of Feminine Citizenship: Sexuality and the Nation in Contemporary Caribbean Literature.

Event Details:
Date: Thursday, 28 May 2026
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: JIAS, 1 Tolip Street, Westdene and Zoom (hybrid)

RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/r/8dK4mGe1CJ?origin=lprLink

25/05/2026

Counter-Accumulation as an Aesthetics of Repair

This talk begins with the question: How are Black Miami artists experimenting with form to serve as both a call for, and instantiation of, repair?
As part of her work in Black Miami Studies, Professor Donette Francis shapes this seminar around the recent work of the visual artist Charles Humes, Jr. – considering how his experiments with mosaic collages and watercolors counter the accumulative capitalist histories that shape the city’s urban and rural geographies.

Professor Donette Francis is a 2026 JIAS Writing Fellow and the Director for the Center for Global Black Studies at the University of Miami. Her research, teaching, and writing investigate place, aesthetic, and cultural politics in the African Diaspora. Professor Francis is the author of Fictions of Feminine Citizenship: Sexuality and the Nation in Contemporary Caribbean Literature.

Event Details:
Date: Thursday, 28 May 2026
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: JIAS, 1 Tolip Street, Westdene and Zoom (hybrid)

RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/r/8dK4mGe1CJ?origin=lprLink

22/05/2026

SEMINAR INVITATION

Join the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS) for a seminar on:

AI and African Literary Studies: Data Inequality and Diversification

This seminar explores how African literature remains particularly vulnerable to biases embedded in datasets created in and for the Global North.

Event Details:
Date: 25 May 2026
Time: 16:00 – 18:00 (SAST)
Venue: JIAS, 1 Tolip Street, Westdene
Format: In-person & Hybrid

RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/r/84jXdQJPw1?origin=lprLink

22/05/2026

With 2025 Writing Fellow, Itoro Bassey asking the pertinent question of: What Does It Mean to Be an African Daughter?

Through storytelling, performance and collective reflection, Itoro Bassey explored the emotional interior lives of African daughters navigating inheritance, migration, family loyalty, silence, joy, faith, contradiction and truth-telling.