The Karoo is a compelling site through which to explore these issues, given its particular history, environment and contemporary social challenges. Adding to this mix are several globally networked developments that are promising major benefits locally and nationally, but also reframing established relationships to land, environment and place. These include the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope, possible shale-gas mining (‘fracking’), and various renewable energy and conservation initiatives.

The programme is organised around a set of individual, core-team and collaborative research projects. The commitment is to research that is empirically grounded, theoretically informed and alert to the importance of cross-disciplinary and comparative work. The Research Chair is based in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. The Research Chair is funded by the Department of Science & Innovation (DSI), administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and based in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Stellenbosch University.