Ms. Nokuthula Cele

History (South Africa)
Michigan State University

My name is Nokuthula P. Cele, a female History PhD student at Michigan State University. I was born 34 years ago, in Durban, South Africa. I enrolled as a graduate at Michigan State University (MSU) in 1999. My major is African History and my minor fields are Comparative Black History and African American History/Race relations in the US in the twentieth century. In February 2002 I officially finished all the coursework requirements, after which I made arrangements to go to South Africa for dissertation research, which I did. I flew back to MSU on the 1st of September, right now I am in preparation to start writing my dissertation. My wish is to have it written and completed by December 2004. My home is in Margate, one of the most attractive holiday resorts in the southern part of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. I began my university studies in 1991 at University of Natal, in Durban. Since my family could not afford my university studies, I was admitted into the university through a selection program known as Teach Test Teach (TTT). I believe this program had been designed by Kagiso Trust, now TEFSA (Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa) in South Africa to give academic and financial support to students from disadvantaged background.

I completed my first BA degree, majoring in History and Economic History in 1993, after which in 1994 I did a post -graduate teaching diploma, known as HDE (Higher Diploma in Education) in South Africa, at the same institution. In 1995 I moved to University of Durban-Westville (UDW), Durban, where I completed a one year Honors Degree in History in December 1995, and then Masters in History in December 1997. One main reason for this switch was that the research administration at UDW offered opportunities for me to work as a research assistant for certain Professors in Social Sciences. I needed this experience because I had realized that my student life was not going to end at an undergraduate level. This really helped me in terms knowing better rural African commuities and in terms of understanding, integrating, and conceptualizing the role of "indigenous knowledge" as forming a larger part in our Social Science research methodology. I worked mainly with Professor Hemson, then a Professor in Sociology at UDW.

One of the most exciting stories about my life at UDW is that I was the first African female student to complete a Masters degree in History, which, I think, might explain a lot about the history of the university, and the whole question of authority in History as a discipline in South Africa. That however motivated me a lot and made me want to do even more. The History Department at UDW encouraged me to pursue a PhD degree in the discipline, which I did. In 1998 I was appointed as a junior lecturer at UDW. I taught there for a year, and in 1999 I came to the US for doctoral studies. My recent involvement in research made me realize that African communities in general have received very little academic attention in South Africa. My research raised many other questions, for example reconstruction and development, rural economy, health care, the integration and incorporation of African traditional political and economic structures into the mainstream socio-political economy of the country. These are some of the issues that I want to research on thoroughly after completing my studies. And of course doing research in the southern parts of KwaZulu -Natal in South Africa is more encouraging and challenging because such areas have not been studied before. Having begun my studies there from Masters level, my dream is to complete my PhD in less than two years from now, and go back home to do more research.