Meet the staff

Staff

Lucia Schoombee



Head of Division: Research Support

Lucia holds a B.Bibl degree and has accumulated almost 20 years of experience in librarianship. Since 1992 she has worked as head of the Lending, Circulation, Planning and Marketing, and Web Services and Marketing divisions at Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service successively. She has also been involved in leading various Library committees including web management, marketing, new students orientation and has for the past three years co-ordinated the Library’s annual symposium. In 2010 she attended the Research Library Academy which is aimed at developing research skills among South African librarians. Subsequently, in 2011, she participated in a three-month Carnegie-funded programme in the USA where she was hosted by the University of Washington.

Marié Roux

 

Librarian: Research Support

Marié's work experience includes working at the Short Loans and Interlibrary Loans sections of the Library and Information Service. From 2003 she was responsible for the coordination of management information and quality assurance and was also involved with certain marketing and communication tasks such as the publications of the Library and Information Service. She holds honours degrees in Library and Information Science as well as Afrikaans and Dutch. In 2008 she attained a MA degree in Afrikaans and Dutch literature. Her research topic was about representation and identity in postcolonial literature. Marié attended the Research Library Academy in 2010 organised by the Research Libraries Consortium in South Africa. She was the editor of LIASA-in-Touch, the official periodical of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) from 2008-2012.

Research Assistants

Clarissa Graham



Clarissa is working on a dissertation regarding the role of trade unions in South Africa's foreign policy process. She hopes to graduate this year with a MA in International Studies and to pursue a career in political analysis and research. She holds a BA in International Studies and has a keen interest in South African politics and political interest / pressure groups.

With regard to her skills set, she is experienced in MS Office packages Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote. She uses Mendeley Reference Manager and is happy to provide assistance regarding the programme. She is also familiar with Stellenbosch University's Harvard referencing style. In addition, she has completed various workshops, e.g. how to create alerts on Google and other electronic databases, how to store large documents and files, scientific writing and how to improve your literature search strategy.

Jonathan Westhead



Jonathan completed his undergraduate degree with a major in Ancient Cultures in 2011 and is currently completing his MA degree which studies the impact of gesture language on ideology, specifically in relation to images from the ancient Mesopotamian empires. He currently works as a research assistant in the department of Ancient Studies and has previously worked in the department's libraries. 

Jonathan is able to assist with any queries relating to finding information, editing documents and Microsoft Word.

Makhosazana Sika

Makhosazana obtained her Master's degree from Stellenbosch University (SU) in March 2012. She is a PhD candidate in Soil Science. Her research is primarily focused on the use and application of a soil conditioner known as biochar (charred biomass), which is similar to crushed charcoal. the findings obtained from the study are aimed at contributing to the fundamental understanding of biochar interactions in soils, and how they can be practically applied in different field situations.

Makhosazana was trained and worked as a part-time consultant at the Writing Lab (unit of the Language Centre, SU) in previous years. She is therefore able to give assistance in academic writing. She also has knowledge on the Endnote, Mendeley and Refworks reference management systems.

Karel Bruwer



Karel graduated with an Honours degree in Drama (2010), specialising in both stage performance and theatre studies. Having been an avid amirer of film, Karel decided on a Master's degree in film studies. His field of research in this discipline includes adaptation studies, with specific focus on the transposition of the novel into film, as well as the practice of cultural ideology within national cinema. The primary sources for Karel's Master's thesis are the film adaptations of J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace and Marlene van Niekerk's Triomf by the American director Steve Jacobs and British director Michael Raeburn, respectively.

Karel has worked at the J.S. Gericke Library since 2011, first employed at the Circulation Desk before moving on (or rather, down) to the Research Commons. Besides assisting master's and doctoral students and researchers in the Research Commons, Karel also has an accommodating and supportive character, and understands the emotional challenges of the post-graduate research endeavour.

Lunette Louw



As an undergrad, Lunette took Ancient Cultures as an extra subject out of pure curiosity. She liked it so much she added Ancient Greek and Latin to her degree as well, and changed her major to Ancient Cultures. She recently completed her Masters cum laude in the field, with ancient philosophy and religion as her main areas of interest. Her research dealt with the question of Socratic irony and redefined the concept through a careful examination of both ancient and modern sources. The purpose of this was to establish how Socrates used irony to bring his interlocutors to a realisation of a deeper truth after thoughtful reflection. She is currently furthering this research in her PhD dissertation, focussing especially on the questions raised by modern philosophers on the character and philosophy of Socrates.

Lunette is able to assist with strategies for finding information, referencing, and writing and editing your thesis.