Research
A long-form research programme situated at the intersection of moral philosophy, political theory, and South African intellectual life.
The AVReQ programme at the University of the Western Cape convenes scholars working on the philosophical, legal, and political dimensions of historical and ongoing violence. My contribution focuses on the conceptual architecture of reparation: what we are doing when we repair, and what we presuppose about persons, time, and community in order to do it.
Most public debate frames reparations as a question of policy — who pays, how much, to whom. My research asks the prior questions: what kind of moral object is a historical harm? What is the temporal structure of an obligation that survives its original parties? And what would it mean for a reparative act to succeed?
A second strand examines whether the liberal idea of public reason can survive contexts of deep, sustained moral disagreement. I am interested in the texture of actual public arguments — in newspapers, in classrooms, in commissions — and in what philosophy can learn from watching them closely.
I teach courses on ethics, political philosophy, and the history of African and Continental thought. Syllabi and reading lists can be referenced through formal academic channels.