and two Research Focus Areas:
and:
Enrolling for a language course
is a career-enhancing move!
The success achieved by many students who enrolled for modules in the
various languages offered in the School of Languages at the
Potchefstroom campus in the past is concrete proof of this view.
Knowledge of language and literature not only provides your with
a knowledge of how people from other cultures and users of other
languages think and see the world, but also makes you aware of the
multiple interpretations that one can attach to a utterance or text, and
hence sensitizes you to the importance of good and correct communication
in every day life.
Moreover, the study of literature and language provides you with the
critical thinking skills to deal with today's fast-changing work
environment.
The School of Languages offers a variety of programmes, which are
tailor-made for certain needs and target groups.
On the one hand there is the programme
B.A. Language and Literature (a three-year course general course
with wide application for students in the private as well as public
sector, among which are the diplomatic corps, the field of language
practitioners (such as translators, interpreters, text editors),
teachers, as well as journalism, etc. The programme B.A. in
Language Technology (a four-year course) aims to train language
technologists by combining the world of computers and linguistics. This is a niche programme with international alliances and this
campus is the only on in SA offering this programme.
In view of the increasing importance of Human Language
Technology, this is a wonderfully useful course.
The following languages form part of these programmes:
Afrikaans
and Dutch, English, French,
German,
Latin, Setswana and
isiZulu. Language-related modules included in the programmes are:
Ancient
Culture, Creative
Writing
(the only undergraduate course in SA) and
Translation
Studies.
For more information on programmes and modules see the webpage:
www.puk.ac.za/fakulteite/lettere/SKT
or send an e-mail to sktwamc@puk.ac.za
School of PhilosophyDealing with meta-theoretical and philosophical issues in Science is
central to the University's understanding of the nature of tertiary
education and the responsibility of a university.
Within that context the School of Philosophy's mission is
two-fold.
Its first responsibility is to train excellent philosophers and to
produce high quality research in selected philosophical disciplines.
To reach these objectives the School offers teaching at all
undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Research is focused on the theme
of human dignity in the South African context and on making philosophic
inputs to a small number of interdisciplinary research projects
initiated by other faculties.
The second area of responsibility is supporting all other schools of the
University in developing the philosophical capacity of their academic
staff and students. Special
attention is given to supporting schools in identifying relevant
philosophical and ethical issues, providing for them in the curriculum
and empowering teaching staff to deal with them in class
authoritatively.
The director of the School is Prof. PJJS Potgieter (018-2991891)(sgwpjjsp@puk.ac/za)
School
of Social and Government StudiesThe School is the home of subjects such as Sociology, Social
Anthropology, History, Political Studies and Public Management and
Administration.
There are several post-graduate formal programmes such as the following:
B.A. Degrees in Humanities, Development and Management (Human Resource
Management and Industrial Relations) and Development and Management
(Business Management and Tourism).
Honours courses are available in Public Management and Governance and
History, while masters'programmes are offered in Public Management and
Governance (course-work) as well as Public Management and Governance
(research option), in Public Management and Administration, History,
Sociology and Political Studies (for dissertations).
Formal Certificate Programmes, delivered via distance and contact
education, include the following: Certificate in Public Management;
Certificate Municipal Management; Certificate in Disaster Management;
Certificate in Financial Management.
Non-Formal Programmes include capacity-building programmes such as
Disaster Management, Project Management, Human Resource Management,
Councillor Development, Performance Management and Policy Development.
The director of the School is Prof. WJ van Wyk (018-2991626) (pwswjvw@puk.ac.za)
Niche programmes of the School of Communication Studies
The School of Communication Studies offers three undergraduate
programmes, viz. the three and four-year degrees in Communication
Studies, as well as the four-year degree in Graphic Design (this is the
only university that offers this degree).
The three-year BA with Communication subjects offers a broad base in
which all the sub-sections of communications are dealt with, viz. mass
communication, interpersonal, small-group, organizational,
intercultural, developmental and persuasive communication.
This teaching is contextualised so as to be applicable within the
following professional fields: journalism, corporate work, developmental work, video
production and corporate media.
The four-year degree is a continuation of the third year and offers
professionally focussed training in the fields of journalism, video
production, corporate management communication and developmental
communication.
The combination of Graphic Design and communication makes this programme
unique in the sense that learners not only learn to master the technical
skills needed to become good designers but they are also able to study
the world of corporate communication, in which marketing and liaison
work play an important role.
This many-faceted training makes the student who has completed the
course a very competitive entrant into the job market.
The director of the School is Prof. PJ Schutte (018-299 1645) (kompjs@puk.ac.za)
The School of Music, situated in the beautiful Conservatoire on the
banks of the Mooi River, offers two distinct kinds of programmes.
On the one hand the School offers the traditional four-year Baccalaureus
Music degree, intended for students who have had a high level of
formal music training. Students can specialize in various instruments, most notably
singing, piano, violin, cello and organ.
Students are also trained in Music Pedagogy, Music
Administration, Music Therapy and of course Theory of Music.
On the other hand, the School some years ago introduced the University
Diploma in Music. This is a
two-year diploma intended for students who did not have prior formal
training at all, or not at a sufficient level. Students do not need university exemption for this course,
and they can, after the two years, progress to the BA - Music and
Society. The course is
intended to impart skills in singing, basic mastery of instruments
(keyboard, recorder and guitar) and choir conducting.
The school director is Jaco van der Merwe (018-299 1699)(muspjvdm@puk.ac.za).
Research focus area:
Sustainable social development
Situated in the Faculty of Arts the central vision and mission of the
focus area is to render, through the use of social scientific knowledge
and methods of social development processes, a meaningful contribution
to the improvement of a sustainable quality of life of especially
vulnerable South African communities, more specifically in the North
West Province.
The focus area draws upon the expertise of academics in various
disciplines, such as: sociology, history, social anthropology,
philosophy, communication studies, public management and political
studies.
Research in the focus area is guided by the following objectives:
- To contribute
to the sustainable social development of people and
communities-in-development;
- To generate
scientifically accountable and implementable knowledge about social
development processes;
- To guide and
influence relevant policy and promote the implementation thereof;
- To train
scientifically orientated students to become researchers who will be
able to make directed interdisciplinary contributions in the field
of sustainable social development;
- To train
professionally oriented students to become practitioners with
interdisciplinary expertise in the challenges of sustainable social
development and who can make direct professional contributions;
- To contribute,
through expert philosophical and other knowledge, to the
inter-disciplinary expertise in the field of sustainable development
(but also to serve as foundation for approaches in other different
areas like social work, law and the health sciences).
>>> Research projects in the focus area are currently
grouped together into five sub-programmes, according to the themes
addressed:
>>> Values and ethics in development;
>>> Politics, governance, democratisation and the media in
a developing society;
>>> Social aspects in the management of natural resources
for sustainable development;
>>> Organisational management for sustainable development;
and
>>> Social dynamics.
The director of the Focus Area is Prof. Annelie
Naude© (018-299-1750)(vsoamen@puk.ac.za)
The
Research Focus Area:
Languages and Literature in the South African Context consists
of three sub-programmes.
Language and Technology: Sources and Applications
concentrates on Human Language Technology (HLT). Linguistic resources
such as text and speech corpora are collected and enriched with
annotation. Enabling technologies for the processing of the resources
are developed, for example morphological parsers and speech recognition
systems.
The ultimate goal is to develop technological products for the
empowerment of the entire community such as spelling and grammar
checkers for South African languages, computer-based packages for
learning second languages, and speech-based applications such as
dictation and telephone banking systems.
Research in the
Languages in Contact sub-programme
examines educational as well as socio-economic challenges in the South
African linguistic ecology, and aims to develop appropriate
interventions to empower language users. A key focus of the work is on
the variation within South African Englishes, particularly Black South
African English (BSAE), and the implications of these varieties for
language attitudes and discrimination, language acquisition and language
teaching
The research projects in
South Africa: Literature, Space and Identity in Local and Global
Contexts focus on how space, a changing multicultural
construct, and historical perspectives and literary processes impact on
the formation of personal and cultural identity in twentieth-century and
contemporary texts from South Africa and other postcolonial literatures
as well as metropolitan centres, as well as in children's'literature.
http: //www.puk.ac.za/navorsing/eng/languages.html
The director is Prof. AM de Lange (018299-1555)
(ntlamdl@puk.ac.za)
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CONTACT
The faculty is headed by the
Acting Dean of Arts, Prof. Attie de Lange
Dean Faculty of Arts
Private Bag X6001
Potchefstroom Campus,
North-West University
Potchefstroom
2520
018 299 1555
Email:
ntlamdl@puk.ac.za
Website:
www.nwu.ac.za
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