Seminar

Events Search and Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

Today

Latest Past Events

ACMS SEMINAR: Hearing the City

ACMS Seminar Room 2163, South East Wing, Second Floor, Solomon Mahlangu House, University of the Witwatersrand East Campus

Presenter: Dr Brian Murahwa Title: Hearing the City: Pentecostalism, Urban Soundscapes and the Politics of Audibility in Johannesburg's Inner City Discussant: Carina Tenewaa Kanbi Date: Wednesday, 17 June 2026 Time: 12:30 – 13:30 (GMT+2) Venue: ACMS Seminar Room (2163), Solomon Mahlangu House (2nd floor), East Campus, Wits University (directions) Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/3dwkccpp, Meeting ID: 957 8662 4514, Passcode: 012731 RSVP: Email Jaclyn.Modise@wits.ac.za Abstract: This article examines Johannesburg’s inner city as a complex auditory landscape where religious actors, informal economies, transport systems, and street life intersect, creating overlapping acoustic territories. Sound influences spatial order, social interactions, and belonging. Over the past two decades, the city has integrated new 'sounds' from Pentecostal Churches, whose growth has surged amid rising urban insecurity and uncertainty. The use of high-powered sound systems in Pentecostal churches has elicited mixed reactions – joyous for Pentecostals and an affront to other urban actors. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, this article argues that the use of boisterous sound systems by Pentecostal Churches should not be dismissed as mere nuisances or ‘noise’, but rather, should be understood as forms of spatial production embedded within broader urban struggles over visibility, audibility, legitimacy, and survival. This study proposes ‘sonic justice’ as an alternative framework […]

ACMS SEMINAR: Home Beyond Borders

ACMS Seminar Room 2163, South East Wing, Second Floor, Solomon Mahlangu House, University of the Witwatersrand East Campus

Presenter: Dr Lydia Moyo Title: Home Beyond Borders: Belonging and Identity among Zimbabwean Venda-Speaking Migrants in South Africa Discussant: Dr Paddington Mutekwe Date: Wednesday, 27 May 2026 Time: 12:30 – 13:30 (GMT+2) Venue: ACMS Seminar Room (2163), Solomon Mahlangu House (2nd floor), East Campus, Wits University (directions) Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/3dwkccpp, Meeting ID: 957 8662 4514, Passcode: 012731 RSVP: Email ntokozo.yingwana@wits.ac.za Abstract: This article explores how Zimbabwean Venda-speaking migrants in Pretoria, South Africa, construct and negotiate meanings of home under conditions of prolonged and precarious migration. Drawing on qualitative data from 30 participants collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically using Atlas.ti, the study shows that home extends beyond a fixed geographical place to include emotional attachment, memory, cultural practice, and social relationships. Participants use embodied practices such as food and music to sustain belonging across borders while maintaining connections to Zimbabwe. Although migration was often initially viewed as temporary, prolonged residence fostered forms of rootedness in South Africa alongside enduring transnational ties. The article argues that homemaking among precarious migrants is both portable and spiritually anchored through everyday cultural reproduction, ancestry, land, and burial sites, contributing to debates on transnational belonging and identity. About the researcher/presenter: Lydia Moyo is a […]

ACMS SEMINAR: Growing Up Across Borders

ACMS Seminar Room 2163, South East Wing, Second Floor, Solomon Mahlangu House, University of the Witwatersrand East Campus

Presenters: Prof. Jane Freedman and Dr Aron Hagos Tesfai Title: Growing Up Across Borders Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026 Time: 12:30 – 13:30 Venue: ACMS Seminar Room (2163), Solomon Mahlangu House (2nd floor), East Campus, Wits University (directions) Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/3dwkccpp, Meeting ID: 957 8662 4514, Passcode: 012731 RSVP: Email ntokozo.yingwana@wits.ac.za Abstract: Growing Up Across Borders (GRABS) is a project at the Université Paris 8 that explores how migration, mobility, and urban life shape the health, wellbeing, and everyday experiences of young people across Southern Africa. Bringing together research, dialogue, and community engagement, the project focuses particularly on the ways mobile and migrant youth navigate access to healthcare, social support, education, and opportunities within contexts of inequality and precarity. By centring young people’s lived experiences across borders, the project aims to generate evidence that informs more inclusive policies, responsive health systems, and youth-centred approaches to social justice and development. About the presenters: Prof. Jane Freedman is the leader of the European Research Council (ERC) funded Growing Up Across Borders (GRABS) project. She is a professor at the Université Paris 8 and a member of the Paris Centre for Social and Political Research (CRESPPA). Her research has focused for many years […]