Sarah Nuttall is a South African academic and

cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social theory, social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the socia ...

who is professor of

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...

and cultural studies at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

. She was director of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research from 2013 to 2022. She has published widely about post-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa, including on topics in

literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...

cultural theory Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices ...

urban theory Urban theory describes the economic, political and social processes which affect the formation and development of cities. Overview Theoretical discourse has often polarized between economic determinismMarx, K. (1976) Capital Vol 1Harmondsworth: ...

, and

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, Epistemology, knowledge, Ethics, values, Philosophy of ...

Academic background

Born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, Nuttall is the daughter of Jolyon Nuttall, a journalist and newspaper manager; his father, in turn, was Neville Nuttall, a columnist, teacher, and close friend of

Alan Paton Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' and ''Too Late the Phalarope''. Family Paton was born in Pietermaritzbur ...

's. Nuttall completed a bachelor's degree at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

and a master's degree at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. Come of age at the height of

, she was involved in anti-apartheid student politics while at university. In 1994, she completed her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, where was supervised by Kate Flint, mentored by

Liz Gunner Liz Gunner (born 1941) is an academic who specializes in South African literature and culture, and particularly radio. She is a visiting research professor at the University of Johannesburg and a professorial research associate at the School of ...

, and funded by a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world ...

Academic positions

Between 1997 and 2001, Nuttall was a lecturer in the English department at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

. In 2001, she moved to the

(Wits) to join the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER) as a senior researcher, a position she held until 2010. During this period, in 2003, the ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cult ...

'' named Nuttall as one of five academics expected to "emerge as key figures in our public life over the next 10 years", in Nuttall's case as a "literature specialist... pushing the boundaries of social and cultural analysis". In 2011, Nuttall left Wits and WiSER to return, briefly, to Stellenbosch; she was appointed director of WiSER in early 2013. She said that at WiSER she would attempt to "desegregate the conversations, bringing in people around the table and making sure the conversations are as wide as possible". She served two terms as WiSER director, leaving the office at the and 2022. She retained her research position at the institute and remained a professor of literary and cultural studies at Wits. She also has an appointment at the

European Graduate School The European Graduate School (EGS) is a private graduate school that operates in two locations: Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Valletta, Malta. History It was founded in 1994 in Saas-Fee, Switzerland by the Swiss scientist, artist, and therapist, ...

and is a member of the

Academy of Science of South Africa The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) is the national science academy in South Africa. It was started in 1996, and encompasses all fields of scientific work. Its legal foundation is the ''Academy of Science of South Africa Act'', Act 6 ...

Scholarship and publications

Nuttall's 2009 monograph, ''Entanglement: Literary and Cultural Reflections on Post-apartheid'', is a collection of essays about post-apartheid South Africa, loosely connected by the theme of "entanglement", which Nuttall defined as "a critical sub-terrain of latent potential in the post-apartheid context". Describing the post-apartheid moment as a "world of surfaces", Nuttall argued that articulating and interpreting that moment required horizontal rather than symptomatic readings, renewed interested in literalism, eschewing the "apartheid optic", and giving texts "surfaces" akin to

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile ar ...

. Nuttall edited ''Beautiful Ugly: African and Diaspora Aesthetics'' (2007), a collection of essays on African aesthetics, which won the 2007 Arnold Rubin Outstanding Publication Award. She has also co-edited several collections, including ''Negotiating the Past: The Making of Memory in South Africa'' (1998) with

Carli Coetzee Carli Coetzee is a research associate and Africanist at the African Studies Centre of the University of Oxford focusing on African literature and African popular cultural studies. In 1988 she obtained a Master's degree in Afrikaans literature and ...

, about the production of memory in post-apartheid South Africa; and, with

Liz McGregor Liz McGregor is a South African author and a journalist who worked for leading South African newspapers such as the ''Sunday Times'' and the ''Rand Daily Mail''. Some of the books written by McGregor include and ''Load-shedding: Writing On and ...

, ''At Risk'' (2007) and ''Load Shedding'' (2009), two collections of essays about contemporary life in South Africa. With her husband,

Achille Mbembe Joseph-Achille Mbembe, known as Achille Mbembe (; born 1957), is a Cameroonian historian, political theorist, and public intellectual who is a research professor in history and politics at the Wits Institute for Social and Economy Research at the ...

, she has written about

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

as an Afropolis, and Nuttall and Mbembe co-edited ''Johannesburg: The Elusive Metropolis'' (2008), an influential book about the city.

Personal life

Nuttall and Mbembe met in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

in 1997; met again when Nuttall was at Stellenbosch, while Mbembe was in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

writing ''

On the Postcolony ''On the Postcolony'' is a collection of critical essays by Cameroonian philosopher and political theorist Achille Mbembe. The book is Mbembe's most well-known work and explores questions of power and subjectivity in postcolonial Africa. The boo ...

''; and worked together at WiSER. They live in Johannesburg and have two children.

References

External links

*
Sarah Nuttall
at Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research
"The mortality of Nelson Mandela"
in the ''Mail & Guardian'' (2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuttall, Sarah Living people People from Durban Year of birth missing (living people) University of Natal alumni University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of Stellenbosch University Academic staff of the University of the Witwatersrand South African Rhodes Scholars South African literary critics Literary theorists 21st-century South African women writers 21st-century South African writers Members of the Academy of Science of South Africa