July 2000 Institute Participants

Mr. Marius Coetzee has been working in the archival and records management field since 1990, first as an archivist in the National Archives of South Africa, thereafter as Assistant Director in the Eastern Cape Provincial Archives. Currently, he is the University Archivist and Records Manager for the University of the Witswatersrand and is an executive member of the South African Society of Archivists. Mr. Coetzee also serves on their Sub-Committee for Workshops and Conferences and is a member of the Museums: Board of Control Committee at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Mrs. Sandra Lorraine de Wet is the Manager of Documentation at MuseuMAfricA, in Johannesburg where she has responsibility for the collections database, for the digital imaging system, the records office and the Museum's library. MuseuMAfricA will at the beginning of next year become a leading player in the new Heritage Services Department envisaged for Greater Johannesburg, when Johannesburg and the surrounding regions become a unicity. The MuseuMAfricA Documentation Department will become the nucleus for a more broadly based Information Department, with responsibility for collections management as well as information services and products, such as co-ordinated public research centres, a common networked database, an extensive Website, publications, and eventually an electronic document management system. E-commerce, especially as regards the sale of images, is also envisaged.

Ms. Cheryl McKay Dixon is an Assistant Professor of Art at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. At present she is the Art Area Coordinator for Dillard University. Ms. Dixon has worked in a broad range of areas including the Urban Arts Training Program, sponsored by the Arts Council of New Orleans and the Orleans Private Industry Council, and as the Director of the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Ronald Dorris, Associate Professor of African American Studies and English at Xavier University of Louisiana has been involved for the past two years in a project designed to document the history of New Orleans and the Mississippi River Region. Examining the transnational exchange that has taken place through a fusion of respective local, national and international development in the New Orleans area is central to Dr. Dorris's work.

Mr. Prince Mbusi Dube is a printmaker, Education Officer and curator at the Johannesburg Art Gallery and has worked in a range of outreach, exhibition and art curriculum development projects. Some of his recent projects have included organizing the November 1999 painting, printmaking and sculpture exhibit at the University of the Transkei in Umtata.

Ms. Leanne Engelberg is the Assistant Curator at the University of South Africa (UNISA) Art Gallery. She has also worked as Curator of Contemporary Collections at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, and has experience in museum work, exhibition planning and working with archives. In her work at the UNISA Art Gallery, she works in a range of areas including organizing, planning and realizing outreach exhibitions and programs and working as a liaison with the artists, pupils and public.

Dr. Sean Field is the Coordinator and Research Officer for the Western Cape Oral History Project at the University of Cape Town. This project focuses on research, training, dissemination and sound archiving of oral histories. Dr. Field has an active interest in the history, sociology, culture and community development of the Western Cape region. The bulk of his research and related activities has focused on forced removals, restitution, community development, heritage and public memory.

Mr. Turry Flucker is the Project Archivist and Assistant Curator at Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi where he presides over the special collections related to Tougaloo College and the Civil Rights movement, including manuscripts and archival records that are located in various collections on the campus. In addition to assisting in the preservation and maintenance of these records, Mr. Flucker works with the Curator to assist in booking, securing and organizing exhibitions. Mr. Flucker has a wide range of cultural experience including work as a Museum Curator and Archivist at the City of Jackson Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

Mr. C. Anthony Fraser is Assistant Professor of History at Florida Memorial College in Miami, Florida. His work centers on various aspects of the African Diaspora and he has participated in a range of research endeavors at Jamaica’s Institute and National Archive in Kingston and Spanish Town and elsewhere. Mr. Fraser has worked in the Howard Titlton Memorial Library at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana and has gathered oral history data for the University of Miami’s Public History Project.

Mr. Graham Goddard is the Senior Audio-Visual Archivist at the Mayibuye Archives of the Robben Island Museum. Central to his work in the archives is the management of the Photographic Archive of roughly 80,000 images and a Film-Video Archive of more than 5000 recordings. In addition to organizing and facilitating access to these collections, Mr. Goddard assists in the promoting the use of the photographic, film and video collections, ensures the proper physical and intellectual control of these collections, and supervises the work of staff in the Archives.

Mr. Udhandan Govender is currently employed by the KwaZulu-Natal: Department of Education and Culture, Directorate of Arts, Culture, Museum Services and Youth Affairs as Acting Curator of the Durban Cultural and Documentation Centre in Derby Street, Durban. This Centre houses a museum unit, archive and research unit reflecting the history, culture, socio-economic and political developments of South Africans of Indian origin and their interaction with the rainbow nation. As an arts practitioner, administrator and custodian of the museum collections and Curator, Mr. Govender manages the Durban Cultural and Documentation Centre and is responsible for planning and implementing a number of research programs. He is also part of the coordinating team for provincial and international events that affects the arts.

Ms. Neesha Gokool is the Principal Archivist at the Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository of the National Archives of South Africa. The Repository places a high value on educating the public with their archival heritage and in recent years has been involved in events such as seminars and exhibitions to promote awareness about their holdings. At the Archives, Ms. Gokool’s work centers on arrangement and description of the holdings, assisting researchers, control of the photography, library and microfilm collections.

Ms. Dorothea Groenewald currently works as an archive assistant at the University of Pretoria Archive and is actively involved in the establishment of the collection. Founded in 1994, the Archive of the University of Pretoria is currently working to record the changes brought about through the process of transformation and intends to coordinate collections of the various satellite campuses, numerous student bodies and organizations, in its central mission to establish an Archive collection of the history of the university. In addition working as an Education Officer at the Sammy Marks Museum, Ms. Groenewald has presented educational tours on campus as well.

Dr. Louis Grundlingh is a Professor of History in the Department of Historical Studies at Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg. He has been interested in researching and teaching about aspects of the heritage of black South Africans for many years, with his research centering on black South Africans’ participation in the Second World War. Currently, Dr. Grundlingh is working on a full-scale Departmental Research Project in the heritage history of a community at Shiluvana, near Tzaneen in the Northern Province. A fundamentally community-driven project, this endeavor will provide a model for future projects. Additionally, Dr. Gundlingh is involved in the development of a new distance learning course on Heritage and Tourism Development that will be conducted through the Internet.

Ms. Sarah (Jolanda) Hogg is the Principal Archivist at the Cape Town Archives Repository and heads the Customer and Outreach Services. She has extensive experience as an archivist both in the Republic of South Africa and in Namibia where she presented Archival Science lectures at the University of Namibia. In addition to public programming activities, Ms. Hogg manages and controls the current records in the custody of the Cape Town Records Centre.

Dr. Leslie R. James is an Assistant Professor of University and Religious Studies at DePauw University in Indiana. A scholar of the Ethiopian diaspora and of African religious traditions in diaspora, Dr. James’s work has been widely published and well recognized at national and international meetings and conferences. He has worked in the Durban area, leading a group of university students there in both 1999 and 2000. Dr. James’s current research interests focus on South African national identity, history and struggle against apartheid. His research in and about the history of South Africa will be incorporated into Religious Studies, Political Science and History curriculums at DePauw University. Dr. James is also working to strengthen the University’s library holdings and archival resources for its instructional programs and research in these areas.

Mrs. Cheryl Khan is Curator of the Port Shepstone Museum, a small maritime and local museum in Port Shepstone. She has been employed in the museum sector for four years and is currently working to transform the Port Shepstone Museum to a wholly representative museum. As Port Shepstone and the Ugu region is very vast, the potential for growth here is great and depicting the history and heritage of the entire region in the museum holds great benefit for both local residents and tourists. Training new staff in the museum environment will be key as the museum grows. At present, Mrs. Khan works with schools, assisting with worksheets and local history. She also worked in the local community and has begun to document some oral history.

Mr. Luvuyo Lumkile Lalendle was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Musicology and Research Methods at the University of Venda from 1990-1998 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Administration of Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University. As a member of the faculty within the Department of Music at the University of Venda, Mr. Lalendle’s interests focus on integrating programs on cultural heritage into the large curricular transformation taking place at the University. The University of Venda is currently working to develop competency in serving the needs and aspirations of the immediate and largely rural communities with skills and expertise on the documentation and preservation of local and national cultural heritage.

Mr. Trevor M.T.B. Mokeyane is the Deputy Director of Information Services and Heritage in the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. Part of the Departmental Senior Management Team, Mr. Mokeyane is responsible for community library services and serves on the Task Team involved in planning a Sesotho Literary Museum and serves as a member of the Mmabana Cultural Centre’s Interim Board of Trustees.

Mrs. Mieta Motlhabane is an Archivist in the Free State Provincial Archives. In addition to her work in archives and records management, Mrs. Motlhabane has worked extensively to in the field of outreach. She has worked to target schools and tertiary institutions to inform them about the role and functions of the Free State Provincial Archives and arranges for group visits to the Free State Archives for lectures and guided tours. She also helped to launch the National Archives’ Edukit in a Free State high school. During her tenure at the Archives, she has planned and implemented a school visitation project, planned and put together exhibitions, coordinated visitor tours, and has co-presented the Course for Records Managers, whereby officials are empowered to care for official records properly during their stay outside the archives repository.

Mr. Sello Patrick Rankhumise is a Lecturer in the History Department at the University of the North West. As part of the team that teaches a first-year university course on “Historical, Cultural and Natural Heritage,” Mr. Rankhumise mounted a History Field Study where learners are taken to historical sites and shown how these sites can contribute to understanding South Africa’s history, culture and heritage.

Mr. Neo Ramoupi is a researcher in the Robben Island Museum Research Unit, where he has been working on the history of Robben Island. Mr. Ramoupi will be responsible for maintaining the Research Unit website, which will include educational materials on the history of Robben Island, including audio-visual and textual materials that are held in the collections.

Mr. Tony Rodrigues is a Lecturer for Archival Studies at Technikon South Africa and a member of the South African National Committee for this “Bi-National Partnerships for South African National Cultural Heritage Training and Technology Program.” Technikon South Africa has been involved in the training of archivists through distance education since the early 1990s. In his work there, Mr. Rodrigues is Co-Coordinator for the Standards Generating Body for Archival Studies, responsible for the setting of national standards for the training and education of archivist. He is also the Vice-Chairperson of the South African Society of Archivists.

Dr. Yonah Seleti is Director of the Campbell Collections at the University of Natal, and Co-Chair of the South African National Committee for this “Bi-National Partnerships for South African National Cultural Heritage Training and Technology Program.” Through his work at the Campbell Collections, Dr. Seleti is involved in a number of heritage initiatives in partnership with other institutions both within and outside of South Africa. He is involved on a national level in consultation and planning for the Heritage Industry, and actively promotes local engagement in the heritage industry through participation in conferences and workshops and has supervised several projects involving training in preservation and digital technologies.

Ms. Melisia Shinners is Head of the Physical Care and Technical Services Section of the National Film, Video and Sound Archives of the National Archives of Pretoria. Her central responsibilities are the appraisal and identification of cinematographic film as well as the collections control of all the audio-visual material in the National Film, Video and sound Archives. Originally trained in cinematography, she has worked for the National Film Board and has freelanced as a neg-matcher for various film production companies.

Mrs. Ulika Singh is a postgraduate student at the University of Durban-Westville and is reading for a Masters degree in heritage studies and tourism. In addition to running the tutorials for undergraduate students in the cultural heritage and tourism program and providing administrative assistance to the head of the program, Mrs. Singh will design and develop the website for the heritage studies and tourism program at the University.

Ms. Yolisa Soul is the Acting University Librarian at the University of Fort Hare. The University of Fort Hare is currently in the process of restructuring their academic programs in line with their Strategic Plan 2000. Under this plan, the Library and Archive, as a mainline support to the University, is a focal point for development of information technology. Ms. Soul was instrumental in the computerization of the Fort Hare Library and under her leadership, the library is becoming more technologically advanced with the introduction of electronic journals and computer laboratory resources. She also serves as member of the University Senate and Council and has worked to train numerous students who have worked in the Library while studying for their Masters.

Ms. Hallie Stone has worked as a researcher, arts administrator in cultural institutions and as a university level teacher. She is currently completing her coursework for her Ph.D. at Indiana University, with a specific focus on South African culture, performance, cultural identity and gender and has a strong personal commitment to cooperative research in South Africa. In addition to a range of administrative experience in the areas of museums, traditional arts, and performing arts at both the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies and Field School 2000 with Traditional Arts Indiana, Ms. Stone has traveled twice to South Africa pursuing preliminary fieldwork and studying Zulu language and culture and is presently coordinating a regional tour in Indiana for a group of South African musicians in the Fall of 2000.

Mr. Paul Tichmann is the Acting Curator of the Durban Local History Museums’ Old Court House Museum. In addition to running a program of exhibitions in the Old Court House Museum, he is responsible for the accessioning, storage and conservation of the Local History Museums’ collections, emanating from four museum sites and is responsibility for overseeing the computerized accessions/collections management database. The Old Court House Museum also runs an enquiry service which members of the public, researchers, publishers, academics and students can use to obtain historical information and photographic prints. Currently, Mr. Tichmann Chairs the South African Museums Association KwaZulu-Natal Branch which organizes training workshops and seminars for museum workers in the region, markets the region’s museums and facilitates exchange of information among the museums via a regional newsletter.

Ms. Carol Van Wyk is an artifact Archivist for the Robben Island Museum and has an active interest in the processing/controlling of digitized media in the museum environment. Robben Island is still developing a Museum, and digitization of the collections will make it easier for scholars and researchers to make use of the collections. The Museum has identified digitization as an important priority for the future, and like other heritage institutions recognizes the benefits of web development and digital projects, not only as a vehicle for more effective cooperation between South African institutions, but also as a way of ensuring that these valuable collections are made accessible to both the South African and international communities.

Ms. Kerrie Cotten Williams is a History Instructor and Archival Research Associate at Dillard University in Louisiana. She has a range of experience as a researcher and preservation assistant with rare books and manuscripts and has taught university-level courses in U.S. History, African-American History and Expository Writing. In New York, while pursuing her Ph.D. in American History at New York University, she has worked as a docent for the Lower East Side Museum and Big Onion Walking Tours.

Ms. Yvonne Winters is a Museologist at the Campbell Collections of the University of Natal. In addition to collecting and cataloguing the museum holdings of art and ethnographic material, Ms. Winters has worked closely with field-collectors and with traditionalist Zulu, artists and sculptors. She has written numerous articles on topics pertinent to the Campbell Collections in addition to creating exhibition catalogues. Currently, Ms. Winters is working to create a catalogue for a proposed institutional exhibition on “Zulu divination” to be launched in September 2000.

Dr. Phyllis Zungu is a Professor in the School of Languages, IsiZulu Department of the University of Durban-Westville. In addition to serving on a number of committees related to cultural heritage, including the Museum Council, Place Names Council, Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Council at the Provincial Level, Dr. Zungu is heavily involved in a range of Cultural Heritage activities in KwaZulu-Natal and has run a range of African Heritage activities throughout the region. She is involved in beadwork projects, which involve students and rural women and is involved in numerous outreach projects with rural women at Engonyameni, St. Faiths, KwaDumisa, and elsewhere.