Team

Chair

Mehita Iqani

Professor Mehita Iqani was appointed to the South African Research Chair in Science Communication at Stellenbosch University from January 2022. Prior to this she was Professor in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she taught, researched and collaborated for almost eleven years. She is the author and editor of several books on media, consumer culture, luxury, waste, and the global south, the most recent of which include Garbage in Popular Culture (2021), Consumption Media and the Global South (2016), Media Studies: Critical African and Decolonial Approaches (2019), African Luxury (2019) and the forthcoming book African Luxury Branding: From Soft Power to Queer Futures (2023). Professor Iqani welcomes enquiries from prospective MPhil, MA and PhD candidates, especially those interested in radically interdisciplinary work exploring the potential of science communication for social justice.

Fumani Jwara

Fumani Jwara is the Communications and Projects Officer at SciCom. His research interests include popular music and music technology, media industries, and queer studies. He is passionate about the interdisciplinary links between the arts, business, social justice, and STEM-oriented fields in providing holistic solutions to address challenges facing South Africa. In 2022, he co-authored “Higher Education Queer Spaces in Southern Africa: Policies and Practices” in the book (Un)Silence LGBTI: Experiences and Identities in Institutions of Higher Learning in South Africa (UNISA Press). Additionally, he has released his debut spoken EP, PATCHY: Audio Sticky Notes To (My) Self (2024), focusing on a personal narrative that stems from a lifelong journey committed to self-care, healing, and living each day as if it were the last.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Rebecca Pointer

Dr Rebecca Pointer (PhD, Wits) is a postdoctoral fellow. Throughout her career, she has been driven by the quest for social justice for vulnerable groups through communications and activism. While initially focused on social justice communication, she has transitioned towards academia where her research interests include political communication, development communication, community & social movement communication strategies, and science communication with a recent focus on ethics.

Christel Antonites

Dr Christel Antonites (PhD, Queensland University of Technology) is a postdoctoral research fellow. Her research uses digital ethnographic and co-design methods to understand, intervene and advocate for greater digital access and literacies as critical elements for social inclusion in South Africa. Her current projects focus on digital mental health and fitness information cultures in South Africa and human-wildlife interactions in urban and peri-urban areas in southern Africa.

Research Fellows

Jessica Webster

Dr Jessica Webster (PhD, Wits) is a research fellow. She is a critical writer and communications strategist with the social and environmental NGO, Water for the Future. Webster has observed the evolution of threats that cause intense suffering to South Africa’s disadvantaged majority and natural ecologies. Her interest explores equity and agency in the face of climate change, informing her contribution to local decolonization of the physical and symbolic landscape and the coming global class revolution.

Nosipho Mngomezulu

Dr Nosipho Mngomezulu (PhD, Rhodes) is a research fellow. Her research explores how young people imagine the postcolonial nation, intimacy and categorical identification as it pertains to racialisation and anticolonial pedagogies. She was recently a UMAPS Visiting Fellow with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She co-founded a podcast network, Off The Record, a network of independently produced and published South African podcasts and co-hosts The Academic Citizen with Professor Iqani.

PhD Fellows

Pontsho Pilane

Pontsho Pilane is a PhD fellow. She is an award-winning writer, editor and media trainer turned communications professional. She has worked with local and international social justice organisations in creating impactful communications strategies rooted in Pan-African feminist principles. Pilane’s PhD critically analyses obesity-related public health research, media and policy texts, challenging the underlying normative ideologies and how they can be harmful, particularly to Black women.

Taryn Mackay

Taryn Mackay is a PhD fellow. Her research is focused on motherhood as a technology of practice that can provide pathways to deeply relational thinking as practised by Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). Mackay’s roots her research and practice in socio-political activism and positioning social justice as the framework for knowledge production.

Thabisile Qwabi

Thabisile Qwabi is a PhD Fellow. Her research interests are in the fields of education and health, with a focus on health communication and community participation. Through her PhD, she hopes to generate insights that can inform effective strategies for empowering communities to take ownership of their health and well-being.

PhD Candidates

Shamiso Banda

Shamiso Banda is a PhD Candidate. Her research seeks insight into how young adults perceive and feel about solution-focused videos which are relevant to the link between declining planetary health, the flawed food system, and humanity’s central role as a change-maker. She hopes her study will provide valuable insights into how the videos affect audiences, how they are received and interpreted, and whether the content is felt to be actionable.

MA Candidates

Madinani Letwaba

Madinani Letwaba is Masters candidate. With a keen interest in digital communications and media, she is exploring the discourse around fashion waste in Africa, particularly as it unfolds on digital platforms. She aims to expand her knowledge about digital storytelling while shedding light on the critical issue of fashion waste. Through her research, she wishes to explore the nuances of digital communication and contribute meaningfully to conversations about sustainability and waste in the fashion industry.

Nobuhle Magadzire

Nobuhle Magadzire is a Masters candidate. Her research focuses on the inclusion of marginalized voices in climate change communication. With a background in Development Studies, she is passionate about working at the intersection of climate change, social justice, and communication. Driven by a commitment to social justice, she strives to challenge dominant narratives and advocate for just, equitable, and sustainable communities. Through her research and advocacy, she hopes to contribute to a more inclusive and effective dialogue around climate change, ensuring that the voices of those most affected are heard and respected.

Caitlyn Hilliard-Lomas

Caitlyn Hilliard-Lomas is a Masters candidate. Her specialisation is in writing, production and editing where she has produced a series of mini-documentaries, hosted a podcast series, and volunteered to write articles for a local newspaper. Her research interests focus on conservation, environmental journalism, and the role of media coverage in promoting conservation, particularly concerning rhino poaching and rhino conservation.

SciCOM is the South African Research Chair in Science Communication. SciCOM is hosted by Stellenbosch University at the Department of Journalism (DoJ).

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