Jess
Auerbach
Jahajeeah
Research Areas
Jess’s research falls into five main areas:
African digital infrastructure: her current project follows fibre optic cables through the Indian and Atlantic ocean and includes an exploration of all aspects of the digital system, from AI through to cable repair ships.
Angolan and Mauritian socio-economic transformation: long-term ethnographic research in both countries has resulted in a deep knowledge of social, political and economic realities and possibilities. Her ethnography on the Angolan middle class is widely taught and can be downloaded for free in Portuguese.
Curriculum transformation, 21st century teaching and global collaboration: work in several African, European, North and South American universities, disciplines and knowledge paradigms has led to a deep interest in curriculum transformation and 21st century teaching as well as the ethics and power dynamics of global collaboration.
Inclusive Innovation: directing the MPhil in Inclusive Innovation at the University of Cape Town has allowed for an exploration of inclusion and innovation in the South African and global contexts.
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Public interventions in crisis: during the Covid-19 pandemic Jess undertook research on positive social transformation, recorded in the book The Archive of Kindness.
