Marketing as a means to share knowledge
The
knowledge generated within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
stretches across a range of fields such as visual arts, languages,
information science, geography and environmental studies, as well as
political science and history, to name just a few. By sharing knowledge
gained from our research on public platforms, we not only make
information more accessible to the general public - thereby educating
the proverbial man in the street about important social issues in this
country and the world - but help make an impact on society by
influencing decision-makers within government structures as well.
The research that we conduct here is of vital importance to the
development of the greater South African society. For this reason, we
aim to incorporate the scholarship of research, teaching and learning,
and community interaction in all the work that we do in this Faculty.
Examples of where this has happened can be seen in the projects and
initiatives which both our staff and students are involved in. In 2011, a
group of 12 Honours students and staff members of the Sociology and
Social Anthropology Department as well as 10 volunteers from Avian Park
in Worcester spent one week conducting a socio-economic survey amongst
220 households. Thanks to this initiative, the Department was able to
determine the exact socio-economic and health challenges facing this
community and determine who were most affected by it. The data revealed
that the youth in Avian Park was hardest hit by these challenges. This
information is important as it can be used by existing projects in the
community - some of them University projects such as the Ukwanda Rural
Clinical School - or form the basis for new projects focused on
specific community needs.
Sharing data regarding these kinds of
projects - be it through the media, with our peers, government or
non-governmental organisations - we are able to benefit South Africans
living in underprivileged and impoverished communities. By remaining
visible in the general media, we gain access to a public platform which
provides our academic experts with opportunities to comment on important
regional, national and international issues. This exposure indirectly
benefits our Faculty as prospective undergraduate and postgraduate
students are able to determine what fields of specialisation can be
pursued through our degree programmes by what they read about our
experts in the media. This in turn helps us to draw some of the best
undergraduate and postgraduate students in South Africa, the rest of
Africa and abroad.
These are just some of the reasons why
communicating about what we do here is more than just an exercise in
marketing, it's about changing lives and impacting on South African
society.
How to load information on the Faculty's seminar / workshop calendar
If you wish to advertise any seminars, workshops or short
courses on offer to the public, fellow staff and students, and alumni,
please first load the information in English and Afrikaans on the
University website. Once you have done this, send the English and Afrikaans URL addresses to
lynnr@sun.ac.za so that she can create a link to the Seminar / Workshop calendar to the more detailed information.
Typically, a notice on the University website should include the following:
Event name / Title of seminar / workshop: Infanticide in an era of slavery - Yvette Christiansë discusses her novel, Unconfessed
Date: 17 March 2012
Time: 12:00 to 13:30
Venue: Room 427, 4th floor, Arts Faculty building
Enquiries: For more details or to reserve a seat, contact Ms Lynne Rippenaar-Moses at 021 808 2017 or lynnr@sun.ac.za.
Media and marketing enquiries
For any media and marketing enquiries or if you are looking for a specific expert in our Faculty, please contact:
Ms Lynne Rippenaar-Moses (Marketing Officer)
BTech (Journalism) (CPUT); BAHons (English) (UWC)
Phone: 021-808-2017
Fax: 021-808-2123
E-mail
Staff
members who need assistance with the marketing of events (for example
conferences, workshops or seminars), who would like to share interesting
news from their departments or who need advice regarding marketing and
media related matters, can also contact Ms Rippenaar-Moses.
