Sindiso Mnisi Weeks
Assistant Professor, School for Global Inclusion and Social Development,
University of Massachusetts Boston; and
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Public Law,
University of Cape Town
Assistant Professor, School for Global Inclusion and Social Development,
University of Massachusetts Boston; and
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Public Law,
University of Cape Town
Experience
University of Cape Town
Adjunct Associate Professor,
Jan 2018 – Present
Department of Public Law: affiliated with the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) in Security and Justice, the Centre for Law and Society, and the Land and Accountability Research Centre.
University of Massachusetts Boston
Assistant Professor,
Sep 2014 – Present
Public Policy of Excluded Populations, School for Global Inclusion and Social Development: teaching human rights-based approaches to social justice, cultural competence, managing social change, and advanced research.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Adjunct Professor / Lecturer,
Sep 2013 – Aug 2014
Legal Studies Program, Department of Political Science:taught "Law and Society in Africa".
University of New Hampshire School of Law
Resident Scholar,
Sep 2013 – Jul 2014
Writing fellowship for completion of book manuscript: Access to Justice and Human Security.
University of Cape Town
Senior Researcher,
Aug 2009 – Dec 2013
Centre for Law and Society (formerly Law, Race and Gender Research Unit): Rural Women's Action-Research project (RWAR).
University of Cape Town
Senior Lecturer,
Jan 2011 – Jan 2013
Department of Private Law: Taught "African Customary Law"
University of Oxford
Candidate for DPhil in Law, Oct 2005 – Aug 2009
Centre for Law and Society: Conducted research on the ‘The Interface between Living Customary Law(s) of Succession and South African State Law’.
Constitutional Court of South Africa
Law Clerk,
Jan 2005 – Jul 2005
Researcher to the Deputy Chief Justice, Dikgang Moseneke.
- Current Projects
These are some of the projects I am presently working on.
Dis/Empowering Rights Paradox
in South Africa's Legal Culture
My recent work has included a focus on the ways in which rights can have paradoxical consequences in the everyday circumstances of those who lead precarious lives due to their economic, social and political exclusion. I presented my working paper, "Disempowering Rights: The Unintended Consequences of Rights Discourse(s) in South Africa's Legal Culture Clash", at the Harvard African Studies Workshop (organised by Profs. John and Jean Comaroff) on March 5th, 2018, with Prof. Lucie White serving as discussant.
You can find further details of the event here.
Access to Justice and Human Security
(Routledge, 2018)
The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) in Security and Justice, Centre for Law and Society, and Land and Accountability Research Centre at the University of Cape Town hosted a conversation between myself, Former Chairperson of Commission on Gender Equality of South Africa and Senior Research Associate, Centre for Law and Society, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town (South Africa), Nomboniso Gasa, and Professor of Criminology, School of Sociology and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Nottingham (United Kingdom), Bill Dixon, on what models of access to justice that consider human insecurity could look like in rural South Africa.
Boston Human Rights City Initiative
School for Global Inclusion and Social Development students and my colleague, Dr. Gillian MacNaughton and myself, discuss the Boston Human Rights City Initiative and other cities participating in the National Human Rights Cities Alliance. The goal of the Initiative is to leverage the Boston Human Rights City resolution to build a culture of human rights in the City of Boston.
The Initiative is comprised of a network of community-based organizations, academics, students and other individuals dedicated to implementing the resolution. The first meeting of the Initiative was held on April 27, 2017, at the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development, at which time a nine-member steering committee was formed. Learn more about this ongoing project here.
Academic PublicationsI have published several academic articles and book chapters, as well as contributed to a widely used textbook on African Customary Law in South Africa.
You can purchase this innovative textbook, African Customary Law in South Africa: Post-Apartheid and Living Law Perspectives (OUPSA, 2015), from Oxford University Press or Amazon. You can also download some of my journal articles here.
Challenging Oppressive LegislationWhile I was a senior researcher at the Law, Race and Gender Unit (now Centre for Law and Society) at the University of Cape Town, I worked with colleagues, the Legal Resources Centre and local community-based organisations to ensure that people living in rural villages would have an opportunity to speak out against the proposed passage of the controversial Traditional Courts Bill, which legal experts consider unconstitutional. Our collaborative efforts ultimately led to the Traditional Courts Bill lapsing in parliament and not being passed. This work is ongoing as the improved Traditional Courts Bill of 2017 proved vulnerable in August 2018 to Parliament's amending it to make its content just as bad as the 2008/2012 Bill.
This video describes our efforts on this issue. It was produced, shot and edited by Nawaal Deane and directed by myself. You can also listen to a podcast on the same subject here.
Public Education and Social Justice Activism
I have written numerous articles for publication in popular media sources, challenging law and society on a range of topics, and conducted a number of media interviews.
You can find these together here and in the News Archive below.
WHAT I BELIEVE IN
"Justice is what love looks like in public."– Cornell WestEducation
University of Oxford
Law (Socio-Legal Studies), DPhil / PhD, 2007–2009
Oxford was the first University in the English-speaking world. It has more than 22,000 students. 41 per cent of its academic staff, and one third of its students, are citizens of countries outside the UK.
University of Oxford
Legal Research (Socio-Legal Studies), MSt / MPhil, 2005–2006Oxford was the first University in the English-speaking world. It has more than 22,000 students. 41 per cent of its academic staff, and one third of its students, are citizens of countries outside the UK.
University of Cape Town
Law, LLB / J.D., 2003–2004
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa. The language of instruction is English.
University of Cape Town
Law, Philosophy and Language, BA, 2000–2002
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa. The language of instruction is English.Let's Chat!
