Arlene Archer co-ordinates the Writing Centre at the University of Cape Town and teaches in Applied Language Studies, Higher Education Studies, Film and Media. She has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from UCT. Her research employs a multimodal perspective to re-look at key concerns and concepts of an 'academic literacies' approach to teaching and research in Higher Education, looking at the relations between writing and other communication modes such as gesture, images, verbal language, colour, layout. She has published in journals such as Language and Education, Teaching in Higher Education, English in Education, Social Dynamics, British Journal of Educational Technology, Education and Change, Visual Communication.
Gadija Arend is the administrative assistant of the Writing Centre and enjoys interacting with the multitude of students that cross her path on a daily basis. In addition, Gadija enjoys outdoor life in all its forms from gardening to endurance sports such as running. She loves meeting new people and socialising.
2011 Consultants
Kirsten Morreira has been at UCT since 2000, completing Bachelors, Honours and Masters degrees in Linguistics, and tutoring and lecturing in the Linguistics section at UCT, as well as teaching at Stellenbosch University and the University of the Western Cape. She is currently working on her Linguistics PhD on the accents and attitudes of black South African youth who have been educated in the former white school system. Her interests are in all social aspects of language use, thus sociolinguistics in general; and more explicitly, sociophonetics.
Gemma Oberth is a PhD student in the Political Studies Department. Her research focuses on the HIV and AIDS policies of countries within the SADC region. She has experience that ranges from teaching in Philippi high schools to tutoring first year politics students at UCT. She comes all the way from Canada, eh, and while she prefers +30°C to -30°C, she'll always choose the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Stormers.
Aditi Hunma is a PhD student specialising in the Applied Language and Literacy stream of Education. She is particularly interested in the writings of international students in their first year of study at UCT. Her Writing Centre experience has provided her with much insight into students' needs and the multiple writer identities they need to juggle, especially in their first year. She runs writing workshops for UCT students as part of her research.
Natashia Muna is a PhD student in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, with a strong background in Zoology. She is particularly interested in eusocial species and her current research is an holistic study of a local termite species, looking at the behaviour, genetics and chemical communication within and between different colonies. She loves writing, tutoring, inspiring students and Bob Dylan.
Maureen Akinyi is a second year Master's student whose research focuses on modifiers of an inherited form of blindness known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. Apart from her project, she is also passionate about student academic writing and ways in which to get students to engage with and improve their own writing. She also enjoys long walks on the beach!
Sibabalwe Oscar Masinyana is a Linguistics Masters student, whose work focuses on the sociolinguistic aspects of Xhosa. He graduated with a BA degree in Film and Media Production (2005) and an Honours degree in Linguistics (2007) at the University of Cape Town. He is also a creative writer and he is currently working on a collection of essays, a novel and a volume of poetry.
Shanali Govender is a Masters student in the Department of Linguistics but is secretly a sociologist with right- wing tendencies. She is a former high school teacher with eight years experience. She is a passionate educator, keen on empowering students and creating a space in which this is possible.
Zed Retief is a second year Masters student completing his dissertation on Rudyard Kipling's Boer War writing. He is especially interested in colonial and postcolonial theory and the dynamics of ideology and identity. His time is currently divided between consulting in the Writing Centre, tutoring in the English Department and making outrageous claims like that he invented the question mark.
Lyndsey Melissa Petro (aka the Duchess) is currently doing her Masters in Sociology. Her research interest is in perceptions and experiences of continuity and change in post-apartheid South Africa. With a passion for student development, Lyndsey is also a tutor in the Sociology department, working on developing engaging learning experiences.
Gillian de Villiers is embarking on a drug discovery PhD to find active compounds against parasitic worms. Although registered at UCT's Chemistry Department, she is based at the Medical School's Institute for Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine. Between her Masters and PhD, she worked mostly on developing vaccines and is now progressing towards drugs. She works at the Writing Centre because of her love of English, and to spend some time outside the lab. When not practising the alchemy of molecular biology, or circling spelling mistakes in red, she may be found in the inter-denominational Christian choir Origin, reading voraciously, or silversmithing jewellery .
Duncan Lishman is a Masters student in the School of Economics at UCT. An avid believer in the power of economic thinking, he also head tutors the first-year micro and macroeconomics courses in the School. When not studying or tutoring economics, he enjoys talking about the subject to anyone who is willing to listen. He believes that it is not only what we write about that is important but also how we write it.