Dr Asiphe Mxalisa, a Lecturer at Rhodes University’s Centre for Postgraduate Studies offered a great seminar for GIER members. Asiphe is currently completing her PhD in Higher Education, with a focus on Narrative Intersectionality and Gender Experiences among Students.

In this presentation, Asiphe explored how narrative inquiry can serve as a decolonial research methodology, prioritising personal experiences and unpacking the enduring influence of colonial power dynamics on knowledge creation. Drawing on her doctoral study in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, she discussed how this method can empower students to share their stories of gender, intersectionality, and oppression within the higher education system.