Conference spotlights social sciences at universities

Prof Ari Sitas of the Department of Sociology and co-chair of the Ministerial Task Team on the future of the humanities and social sciences in higher education in South Africa, spoke at an Open Planning Forum, hosted by deputy vice-chancellor Prof Crain Soudien and the Institutional Planning Department on 26 March.

Today, Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande and concerned scholars from around the country and abroad will gather in Pretoria to discuss the future of the humanities and social sciences in higher education in South Africa.

Under the theme The Future of Humanities and Social Sciences in South African Universities, the conference is part of Nzimande's initiatives to rejuvenate and strengthen social sciences and humanities in SA's Higher Education system since he became Minister in 2009. It will run until 30 March.

Following his appointment, Nzimande set up a Ministerial Task Team, led by UCT's Professor Ari Sitas and Dr Sarah Mosoetsa of Wits University, to examine existing initiatives in South Africa and elsewhere, to explore innovative programmes and make recommendations for deepening the study of human and social sciences in South African universities.

Earlier this week, at a UCT Open Planning Forum hosted by deputy vice-chancellor Prof Crain Soudien, Sitas laid out some of the outcomes he expects to come from the work of the task team and from the conference.