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UCT Research Report '11
466
Department of Religious
Studies
(
Including the Institute for Comparative Religion in Southern
Africa, the Research Institute on Christianity and Society in
Africa, and the Centre for Contemporary Islam
)
Head of Department: Associate Professor
Charles Wanamaker until 30.06.2011,
thereafter Professor Abdulkader Tayob
Departmental Profile
The Department of Religious Studies maintains a strong
research profile through its staff and its three research
institutes. The Department houses the Institute for
Comparative Religion in Southern Africa (ICRSA), directed
by Professor David Chidester, which is engaged in
research on religion, religions and religious diversity; the
Research Institute on Christianity and Society in Africa
(RICSA), directed by Professor James Cochrane, which
is involved in research on the social impact of Christianity
in South Africa and the African continent; and the Centre
for Contemporary Islam (CCI), directed by Professor
Abdulkader Tayob, holder of a National Research Chair in
Islam and Islamic Publics in Africa, which has undertaken
interdisciplinary projects, including international research
on Islamic law in Africa, Islamic publics in Africa, and the
presidential legacy project on the manuscript archives of
Timbuktu. Still under the co-direction of Emeritus Professor
Cochrane, the International Religious Health Assets
Programme (IRHAP, previously ARHAP) now with its UCT
Hub office in the School of Public Health and Family
Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences, researches
various issues on the interface between religion and
public health in Africa and beyond. These research
initiatives of the Department have proved to be particularly
important for the research development of the many
postgraduate students employed by them and have also
served to attract overseas researchers to the Department.
The Department features two NRF A-rated researchers,
Professor David Chidester and Emeritus Professor John de
Gruchy, the latter of whom is retired but remains an active
researcher associated with the Department. In addition
the Department publishes the
Journal for the Study
of Religion
, which is accredited by the Department of
Education, the
Journal for Islamic Studies
, and the
Annual
Review of Islam in South Africa
.
Departmental Statistics
Professors
3
Associate Professors
1
Senior Lecturers
1
Lecturers
4
Postdoctoral Fellows
2
Honorary Research Associates
2
Research Staff
5
Administrative and Clerical Staff
3
Total
21
Honorary staff
Emeritus Professors
1
Students
Doctoral
16
Master’s
11
Honours
13
Undergraduate
835
Total
875
Research Fields and Staff
Dr Louis Blond
Continental Philosophy, Contemporary Jewish Philosophy,
Jewish Religious Discourse and Critical Theory
Dr Andrea Brigaglia
Islam in Africa; Sufism, religious literature and scholarly
networks in 20
th
century’s Nigeria, Qur’anic exegesis in
West African languages
Professor David Chidester
History of religions; religion in North America; religion in
South Africa.
Professor James Cochrane (Emeritus from
01.01.2012)
Religion; globalisation; public health; society; Africa; migration.
Emeritus Professor John de Gruchy (Senior
Scholar)
Christian theology, Bonhoeffer; South African Church;
theological aesthetics; reconciliation; public theology;
missionary history.
Dr Annie Leatt
Buddhist studies, theories and practices of post-colonial
secularism, Asian theories of body, personhood and self-
cultivation, political philosophy, critical theory.