Mona Hakimi

Mona teaches African Studies and Writing & Rhetoric at ALA to challenge Eurocentric conceptions of the continent and encourage students to write their stories of Africa.

Mona is particularly interested in what it means to decolonise education. She pursues this with her Year Two Writing and Rhetoric students, who interrogate decolonial theory and apply it to their everyday lives. By conducting interviews with their peers on their educational experiences, students build their ability to listen attentively and analyse data effectively. Drawing on the ideas of Julius Nyerere and Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, students propose recommendations for how to decolonise classrooms.

Before Mona started teaching at ALA, she was a Social Anthropology and Theory of Knowledge teacher at Waterford Kamhlaba, the United World College of Southern Africa in Eswatini. Prior to this, she worked in various roles at NGOs that advocated for gender equality.

Mona is part of the Advisory program at ALA and helps run the ALA Fellowship program. ALA Faculty Fellowships are two-year posts for young professionals who have completed their undergraduate studies.

Expertise

Verbal Communication
Writing
Course Development
Social Anthropology

Education

MSc in African Studies – University of Oxford
Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Social Anthropology – University of Cape Town
Bachelor of Social Science in Social Anthropology and Gender Studies – University of Cape Town

Courses

Omang
African Studies I
Writing and Rhetoric I
Writing and Rhetoric II