Q and A

Research for Impact is one of the core strategic themes in SU`s Vision 2020. How does your research relate to that?

My research focuses on biblical and other literature that originated during the Achaemenid-Persian era (539-332 BCE) in the Levant (the area along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea) and elsewhere in the neighbouring West-Asian areas. Two areas of my research deal with issues that are relevant for modern-day debates in society: (i) In the study of the history-writing of the Persian era in Jerusalem, one notices great adaptations, deviations, and even omissions from earlier historical portrayals of Judah and Israel. It emerges from this research that the religious communities of that time had the courage to re-interpret their transmitted historical traditions, in light of changed socio-political and socio-religious circumstances. The dynamics of identity negotiation through re-interpretation of historical traditions that can be observed in this ancient literature, provides valuable insights for any later societies in transition, including the South Africa of the past decades and the present. (ii) The study of language contact and multilingualism during the Achaemenid-Persian period, provides interesting comparative material for modern-day debates about language and multilingualism, including in South Africa. Interestingly, the Persian emperors chose to express their royal imperial ideology mainly in trilingual inscriptions (Old Persian, Babylonian cuneiform, and Elamite), despite the fact that the Aramean language persisted as lingua franca for centuries, since the 9^th century BCE to its standardisation in Achaemenid Persia (and even till today in parts of modern-day Syria). By studying the interacting language landscapes and multilingualism within the socio-political power dynamics of the ancient world, one gains a much better perspective on similar modern-day debates compared to the isolated and parochial debates that we experience in South Africa and on our campus today. Both these areas of my research show how a study of the ancient world can hold great value for investigating identity negotiation through re-interpretation and language dynamics in modern-day societies (including South Africa).

Please give us your impression of the role that research and innovation can play in the betterment of society?

Although universities should always remain spaces for basic and blue skies research (despite all other valid claims on public funding), these institutions should also remain sensitive and responsive to the contexts within which they do their knowledge-production. Both inductive (starting with societal needs in order to inform our theoretical theories) and deductive (starting with our theoretical theories in order to address societal problems) approaches should be valued. In some fields (such as my own) the value and innovation of research are not immediately clear and obvious. I do not provide housing, or job opportunities, or new technology, etc. to the betterment of society. However, the betterment of society should not only rely on research and innovation in the so-called “hard sciences”, but also on those areas that study humanity in all its diversity and facets. For a society to thrive, it should not only rely on technological and economic research and innovations, but also on those areas that study social dynamics, power relations, identity negotiation processes, language dynamics, and similar “softer” sides of human life. The whole spectrum of disciplines thus contribute multidimensionally towards the betterment of society.

What would you regard as the most important aspects to consider to effectively support researchers?

Researchers need time and space for the mind. And these are very scarce commodities in a managerialist university environment.

What do you enjoy most about your job and what are the aspects that you find challenging?

I find it very satisfying to present my research in accessible format to my undergrad students as well as to church communities. It is also very rewarding to provide supervision to postgraduate students from all over the world. What I find most challenging, is to facilitate historical consciousness among our students, and even in some areas of the scholarly guild.

What is the biggest piece of advice that you would give early-career researchers?

Try to find a focus or niche in your discipline as soon as possible. And learn to say “no” to all requests that boost your self-esteem, but do not fall within your focus or niche. Or to put it otherwise, in order to be a good researcher, one should become a specialist, not a generalist. Determine your own research agenda, instead of serving the agenda of other researchers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the way we work. What, from your point of view, is the most pertinent change and how will this affect your work in the future?

On a personal note, the Covid pandemic caused the postponement of a 6-month research period in Germany in 2020, and as I write, it is still not clear whether that will materialise during 2021. The pandemic probably (for good or bad) made us all more flexible in our research planning. Furthermore, it has highlighted the many exciting online modes of interacting with international scholars. I do not think that it will replace face to face conferences and meetings, but we will certainly travel less (which is not a bad thing for the environment!)

What do you do for fun (apart from research!)?

Although I have no aspirations to qualify for the Olympics (or even for the primary school athletics team!), I enjoy jogging. It clears the mind and stimulates creativity.