Associate Professor,Sociology
I have been at UCT since 2011. I specialise in the sociology of the family and I have a Masters degree in Applied Social Research and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin. I am the author of Divorce, Families and Emotion Work (Palgrave, 2017) and (with Chuma Himonga) Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and Succession in South Africa (Juta & Co. 2015), as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters. I was appointed as the NRF Replacement Chair in Customary Law, Indigenous Values and Human Rights for 2018 and 2019. Over the last two years, I have been partnering with four other Universities and global networks on care, money, gender and families. I supervises ten PhD students and two masters students in the department. I am the Co-Editor of Families, Relationships and Societies
My current research centres on two areas:
- Customary Law and Personal Relationships currently editor on a book project entitled Generation, Custom and Power in Families, and
- Intergenerational Relationships and Kin Support. There are three separate projects within this area which examine different aspects of intergenerational relationships and the flows of support (money and care) within and across households, including a focus on inheritance and wills.
In addition to my academic work, I am the mother of two young children who keep me on my toes and remind me to stop and examine the simple everyday things we encounter.