Liela Groenewald 

Ms Liela Groenewald
Lecturer in the UJ Department of Sociology
Department of Sociology
Faculty of Humanities 

Biographical

Having lived in six urban centres on three continents, Liela Groenewald calls Johannesburg home. Her current research is on informal settlement and its implications for urban citizenship. She is a doctoral candidate supervised by Prof Simon Bekker, chief African investigator and coordinator of a collaborative international project on African cities, and Prof Tina Uys, principal researcher of an NRF-funded project on citizenship and social capital in South Africa and India. Previously, Liela published news, analysis and opinion pieces as a local government journalist and editor. Following this, she conducted research in various poverty-stricken contexts. She was appointed in the Centre for Sociological Research in 2004, and subsequently as a lecturer in the UJ Department of Sociology.

Qualifications

Current: D Litt et Phil in Sociology, UJ (expected completion 2012)
MA Sociology, RAU
Certificate in Advanced Social Research Methodology, RAU
BHons Journalism, Stellenbosch University
BA, University of Pretoria

Research interests

Political Sociology, Urban Studies and Media Studies
The local state, Informal settlement, Race

Teaching experience

Has taught Power, the State, Globalisation; Inequality; Race; Gender; Sociology of Work; Family; Conflict Studies; Social Science Research Methodology; and English for the purpose of studying the social sciences 

Academic citizenship

Participant in International Research Group (GDRI) on Cities in Africa, 2008 - present
Participant in Citizenship and Social Capital research project, 2007 - 2011
Reviews articles for: Social Dynamics, Development Southern Africa
Member of the International Sociological Association, 2004 – present
Member of the South African Sociological Association, 2000 - present
SASA council member, 2006 - present
Convenor: SASA working group on Urban Sociology, 2007 - present
SASA Web editor, 2007 - present
SASA Treasurer, 2006 – 2008

Recent papers and publications

This list is limited to papers prepared since April 2002 and excludes and earlier publishing record as local government journalist.

Groenewald, Liela. 2011. 'Progress toward Millennium Development Goals? Strategies for Housing and Informal Settlement in Gauteng, South Africa'. Development Southern Africa 28(5): 641-652.

Groenewald, Liela. 2008. 'Race and gender: From double burden to acute advantage'. Sociological Bulletin 57(3): 371-387.

Groenewald, Liela. 2008. 'Urban citizenship debates in South African settings: a case for subsidiarity'. Paper presented at the Citizenship and Social Capital project publication workshop, The Farmhouse, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Groenewald, Liela. 2008. 'Housing delivery plans in Gauteng province: potential implications for informal settlements'. Paper presented at the Group de Reserche International: African Cities workshop on Informality and Access to Services in Cities of Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Also presented at the South African Sociological Association conference on Society, Power and the Environment: Challenges for the Twenty-first Century, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Groenewald, Liela. 2007. 'Informal Settlement and Its Implications for Urban Citizenship: The Case of Johannesburg and Tshwane'. Proposal for a DLitt et Phil degree accepted by the Higher Degrees Committee of the UJ Faculty of Humanities on 20 September 2007.

Groenewald, Liela. 2007. 'Recent Debates on Urban Citizenship in Africa - Towards a Typology'. Paper presented at the South African Sociological Association conference on Sociology and Social Reconstruction in South Africa, North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Groenewald, Liela. 2004. 'A Match Between Race and Reason? The Influence of Demographics on an Understanding of Racism'. Paper presented at the South African Sociological Association conference on Ten Years Into Democracy: Challenges Facing South Africa, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Also presented at RAU Sociology Seminar, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Groenewald, Liela. 2004. 'Experiencing Racism'. MA dissertation, University of Johannesburg.

Groenewald, Liela, 2003. 'Constructing Common Cause: A Brief History of "Race"'. Paper presented at the RAU Sociology Seminar, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Groenewald, Liela. 2003. 'One Size Does Not Fit All: Health Services and Local Government'. Policy, Issues and Actors 16(1). Also presented at the South African Sociological Association conference on The Quality of Social Existence in a Globalising World, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.