Bradley Rink (PhD)
geographer, mobilities scholar, urban rambler
Academic Profile
I am a human geographer, focusing my research and teaching on mobilities, place-making, and identities in the context of African cities. I am an NRF-rated (C2) researcher, foregrounding student voices, and highlighting mundane and subaltern mobilities in the everyday movements and circulations of urban life. Through my research, teaching and community engagement, I aim to better understand mobilities and the relationships they articulate between urban dwellers and the cities in which they live.
Research pages and biography:
Awards & Fellowships
Teaching Advancement at Universities (TAU) Fellow - Member of TAU4 Cohort.
The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Wiley Digital Archive Digital Research Fellowship. Digital fellowship awarded for archival research with the RGS-IBG/Wiley Digital Archive, 2021.
CHE-HELTASA National Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award 2017 - Council on Higher Education (South Africa)/Higher Education Learning & Teaching Association of Southern Africa
Faculty Teaching & Learning Award 2017, University of the Western Cape, Faculty of Arts - Emerging Teacher Award
Faculty of Arts Research Award 2016, University of the Western Cape, Faculty of Arts - Best article by a Lecturer/Associate Lecturer
Recent Funded Projects
2024: Volvo Research and Educational Foundation (VREF) Project Title: Investigating young men’s experiences of walking in secondary cities: A comparative study of walking in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
2023: Volvo Research and Educational Foundation (VREF) Project Title: Investigating Young Men’s Experiences of Walking to the ‘bus’ in Low Income Neighbourhoods of Cape Town and London, South Africa Project Leader with team members from Durham University (UK) and Transaid (UK). Amount awarded: SEK 500 000.
2022-2024: Transatlantic Partnership ‘Transatlantic Platform Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in a Post Pandemic World’ Project title: Impact of COVID19 on livelihoods, mobility and accessibility of marginalised groups (ICOLMA). Project partner in collaboration with TU Dortmund (Germany), Federal University of ABC, Sāo Paulo (Brazil), University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Environmental & Geographical Science (Human Geography), 2008
University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Department of Environmental and Geographical Science (Faculty of Humanities)
Thesis: Village People: Quartering De Waterkant in discourse and bricks (Supervisor: Sophie Oldfield)
Master of Arts, Geography, 1998
University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont USA
Thesis: Moments in the Narrative Landscape of the Bishop Hill Colony 1846-1861: A Vision of Landscape as Utopia (Supervisor: Matthew Hannah)
Master of International Administration, 1995
SIT Graduate Institute (School for International Training), Brattleboro, Vermont USA
Thesis: Study Abroad and the Art of the (L)attitude Adjustment
Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude, 1990
Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA
Professional Experience
2021-Present
Associate Professor, University of the Western Cape, Department of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism
Teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate modules;
Research and supervision of postgraduate students;
Faculty and national teaching award recipient
Member of Migration & Mobilities Interdisciplinary Collective in Africa (MMICA)
2018-2020
Senior Lecturer, University of the Western Cape, Department of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism
2015-2017
Lecturer, University of the Western Cape, Department of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism
2011-2014
Lecturer and MPhil Course Convener, University of Cape Town
Joint Appointment: Department of Environmental & Geographical Science; and African Climate & Development Initiative
Taught undergraduate (3 modules) and postgraduate (3 modules) modules in human geography;
Established and convened a transdisciplinary MSc/MPhil degree programme across 5 Faculties;
Supervision of postgraduate students (honours and masters)
2006-2011
Programme Director and Lecturer, Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) and University of Stellenbosch Postgraduate & International Office
Oversight and teaching for CIEE international student mobility programme
NB: Prior to 2006 I held a variety of posts in higher education that were not associated with an academic rank. In all cases I was teaching on- and administering international student mobility programmes in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. Although those roles were formative in my development as a teacher and researcher, they are not detailed in this e-portfolio.