Welcome to the Faculty of Humanities
As Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Faculty and Sol Plaatje University (SPU)! Moreover, I would like to extend a special welcome to students who are joining us on campus for the first time. I congratulate you on your choice of university and more particularly, joining the Faculty of Humanities. Located in Kimberley, Northern Cape Province, the campus is equipped with modern facilities and advanced digital platforms, enabling us to teach and engage with you face-to-face and online. Within this safe and hybrid teaching and learning environment, the Faculty of Humanities is ready to take you on a new journey of academic discovery, facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills. At the centre of the Faculty of Humanities awaits an exciting academic environment where you have a selection of foundation modules and academic disciplines to choose from. You have an opportunity to learn and explore human experiences (past, present and future) through the lenses of:
- Heritage Studies and Archaeology
- Social Sciences,
- and the world of African languages.
Our aim is to inspire a decolonized mindset and teach using a transformed curriculum and pedagogy that is Africa-focused. As such, Humanities education envisage not only to prepare you for the world of work and a future career, but also seeks to equip you with much needed skills which include critical thinking and problem-solving skills, an analytical mindset, the ability to debate issues and facilitate critical dialogues, and finally, the aptitude and emotional intelligence to operate in a culturally diverse and multi-lingual global world. These skillsets, together with a sound academic foundation gained from your selected disciplines, intends to widen your horizons as humanities students and fulfil your career expectations as a university graduate.
The faculty offers career focused Bachelor’s Degree (BA) and Higher Certificate courses. For instance, the popular Higher Certificate in Court Interpreting enables you to provide an important service during court proceedings as court interpreters and translators. Similarly, the High Certificate in Heritage Studies enables you to act as heritage practitioners in South Africa’s diverse cultural and heritage sector. Moreover, the BA degree programme include disciplines such as History, Archaeology, Heritage Studies, Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology which serve as foundation for many careers and further studies. The Department of Languages and Communication Studies offer modules in Sign Language, Creative Writing, Afrikaans, English, Setswana, and isiXhosa, while the Centre for Creative Writing and African Languages, will no doubt unveil a new linguistic world of South African indigenous languages.
As far as post-graduate studies are concerned, the faculty offers MA programmes by Research, and we are looking forward to starting our PhD programmes in the future. The faculty employs experienced and qualified members of staff to teach, mentor and supervise graduate students to completion in the shortest time possible.
If you are not a current student, or even still undecided whether the Humanities is a gateway to pursue a future career of your choice, I encourage you to contact the Faculty of Humanities through the Office of the Faculty Registrar and Head of Departments. Our contact details are available on our faculty website, and we will be glad to assist you.
The Faculty of Humanities at SPU is here to motivate, support and encourage you to successfully complete your studies. We are indeed privileged to welcome you to this student-centred vibrant Faculty and look forward to engaging with you.
Greetings and salutations,
Prof Russel Viljoen
