Excelsia College

School of Social Work

Social Science Lecturer

Dr Tony Nyundu

PhD, MPhil

Contact Details

Telephone Number

02 9000 9604

Email

tony.nyundu@excelsia.edu.au

Biographical details

Dr Tony Nyundu is a Sociologist with special research interest on social movements, student protests, and global comparative studies on neoliberal higher education. He is currently lecturing Sociology for Social Workers, Critical Thinking and Reflection, and Research and Evaluation in Social Work Practice at Excelsia College in Sydney, Australia. Prior to his move to Australia later in 2017, Dr Nyundu was a lecturer in the Sociology department at the University of Johannesburg (2016), and at the University of South Africa (2017). He was a research coordinator for an international project called ‘Inclusive Identity’ with over 15 high schools in Johannesburg, under the department of Industrial Psychology at the University of Johannesburg and Tilburg University in the Netherlands (2015 and 2016). He was a research associate at The South African Research Chair in Social Change (Johannesburg), an associate at Mjaji Research and Development (Johannesburg), and an associate at Qualia Analytics LTD (England).

Profile of Dr Tony Nyundu

Education

Tony has a PhD in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Newcastle – with a thesis titled ‘“Fees Must Fall” in a Neoliberal University?’: A Socio-Political Interrogation of the 2015-2016 Student Protests and the State’s Responses in South Africa”. He holds a Master of Philosophy in Sociology and a Honours degree in Sociology from the University of Johannesburg. He completed his BA degree in Human Resource Management, majoring in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Johannesburg.

Awards and Honours

Tony was awarded a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Scholarship at the University of Newcastle for his PhD studies (2017-2021). For his Master’s degree, he was awarded both a National Research Foundation (NRF) Scholarship & Internship, and a Master’s scholarship from the Research Chair in Social Change at the University of Johannesburg (2013-2015). He was awarded a Merit Bursary by the Faculty of Humanities for his Honours’ degree at the University of Johannesburg (2012). In 2015, Dr Nyundu received a Golden Key International Honour for academic excellence.

Current Projects

Tony is currently working on his Multidisciplinary Podcast called The Visions & Tones, and he is also working on a few scholarly publications from his PhD research.

Associations

Tony is a research associate in the department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Selected publications

Nyundu T and Hosseini S.A Hamed. (2023 – forthcoming book chapter). Higher Education under Neoliberalism: A perspective from South African Student activists. Routledge.

 

Nyundu, T. 2019. “Sangomas Are after People’s Money”: Family and Community Discourses Around the South African Youth, Journal of Commonwealth Youth and Development, 16(2): 1-10.

 

Nyundu T, Naidoo, K and Chagonda T. 2015. “Getting Involved On Campus’: Student Identities, Student Politics, and Perceptions of The Student Representative Council (SRC)”. Journal of Sociology & Anthropology, 6(1): 149-161.

 

Nyundu T & Smuts L. 2016.  A different kind of AIDS: Folk and lay theories in South African townships, South African Review of Sociology, 47:4, 132-136

 

Nyundu T and Naidoo K. 2016.’Traditional Healers, Their Services and the Ambivalence of the South African Youth’.  Journal of Commonwealth Youth and Development, 14(1): 144-155.

 

Research Report

Phakathi S., Malabela M., Nyundu T and Siweya P. 2016. Making a Living: The Safety Practices, Risks and Challenges of Informal Artisanal Miners in the Community of Blaauwbosch in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Australian Aid.

 

Conference Papers

‘Understanding a place of Sangomas in the Lives of Young Men: A Sociological study of Chiawelo, Soweto’ – South African Sociological Association (SASA), 2014 and 2015.

 

‘Understanding a place of Sangomas in the Lives of Young Men: A Sociological study of Chiawelo, Soweto’ –The South African Research Chair in Social Change, 2013 and 2014.

‘Fees Must Fall in a Neoliberal University in South Africa’ – The African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific (AFSAAP) 42nd Annual Conference, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, November, 2019.