KATHRYN VAN DEN BERG
Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Adriaan Steyn is not only the recipient of the Africa Thesis Award 2017, but is also completing a PhD in African Studies at Harvard University on a full scholarship.
The award was presented to Steyn at the Leiden African Studies Assembly (ASA) Annual Meeting on 7 December 2017 for his MA thesis: A new laager for a ‘new’ South Africa: Afrikaans lm and the imagined boundaries of Afrikanerdom.
Information on the website of the thesis award explains his thesis by stating that: “Adriaan Steyn situates the Afrikaans film industry within a larger – and equally flourishing – Afrikaans culture industry. He argues that the Afrikaans language’s uncoupling from the state has shifted the preservation and promotion of the language into market-driven domains.” Steyn’s thesis will be published and turned into a book by Leiden University (the Netherlands) in the United Kingdom.
Steyn was not only a dedicated member of SU’s academic community, but also a former news editor for Die Matie. He completed his BA degree at SU, and went on to complete his Honours and MA (cum laude).Using his background as a news editor for Die Matie, Steyn is focusing on social issues in South Africa for his PhD.
Steyn will investigate whether obtaining an education in poor, crime ridden communities like Worcester offers the youth in these areas a way out of poverty.
PHOTO: Supplied
