Jeanne-Marie Viljoen

I work on contemporary literature (especially visual narratives such as animated documentaries and comics) that engages with politics. I have a PhD in cultural and literary studies, an MA in philosophy and literarure, an Honours in literatures in English and a BA majoring in philosophy and English literature.
I am a scholar and lecturer at the University of South Australia in the field of contemporary literature and visual culture. My work is about the unique role that arts and aesthetics plays in helping us think through intractable problems in contemporary times because of the ways in which different art forms help us capture what lies beyond language and help us envision situations in which experience may not be immediately visible. This led me to study contemporary interdisciplinary literature (including comics and films) in order to come to grips with problems concerning the representation of marginal groups and stigmatised experiences. My interdisciplinary, African training as well as living and working in contested states with violent histories (such as apartheid South Africa, North Cyprus and Australia) drive my continued engagement with marginalisation and decolonisation.