BSocSc (Hons) Cape Town MSocSc Cape Town MPhil Cantab PhD Candidate Cape Town

Doctoral Research Fellow at HUMA- Institute for Humanities in Africa 2020 –

Accelerated Transformation in Academia Programme Inaugural Fellow 2020 –

Areas of Interest:

Social Metaphysics and Ontology, Ethics, Phenomenology, Existentialist Philosophy, Social Epistemology, African Philosophy, Political Philosophy.

Current Courses:

PHI1010S: Ethics

Office:

Humanities Building 3.10.6

Research Biography:

Olerato’s research interests lie primary in social ontology, epistemic injustice and African philosophy. His PhD focuses on whether an individual’s freedom to determine who they are can be reconciled with adequately belonging to the social identities. His work focuses primarily on an analysis of Hegelian social philosophy, Heideggerian ontological phenomenology, Charles Taylor's social ontology and Sartre’s Existentialism. In the past, he has also researched the ethics of personal authenticity, developing a virtue-centred conception of authenticity. He also has an interest in epistemic injustice, and studies its manifestations as they affect the lives of marginalized groups. His work in African philosophy focuses on whether escaping the colonial library is possible.

Academic Publications:

Mogomotsi, O.K. 2021. Analysing Authenticity: Explaining What it is to be True to Yourself and Why this is Good, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Philosophy.

Academic Presentations and Guest Lectures:

Conference Presentation: “Impostor Syndrome and Epistemic Injustice”, Epistemic Injustice Workshop, UJ African Centre for Epistemology and the Philosophy of Science, Johannesburg, March 2021

Conference Presentation: “On Being Authentically African”, African Studies Association in Africa 2022 Biennial Conference, Cape Town, April 2022

Seminar Presentation: “Personal Authenticity and The Narrative Self: Introducing the SENUS”, UCT Philosophy Seminar, Cape Town, December 2021

Guest Lecture: “Contestations in Defining an Authentic African Intellectualism”, UCT Department of Philosophy, Cape Town, September 2021

Public Engagement:

Panel Discussion: “Pan-Africanism in Current Times”, UCT-DIRCO Africa Month Celebration Panel Discussion.  University of Cape Town Faculty of Humanities.

Interview: “Black History Month Profiles: Olerato Mogomotsi”, Trinity Hall Cambridge.