Dr L Koenig-Visagie

Qualifications

• PhD History of Art (University of Leeds, UK)
• MA Visual Studies (University of Pretoria)
• BA Honours Visual Studies (University of Pretoria)
• BA Languages with Journalism and a specialisation in Visual Arts (University of Pretoria)

Currently teaching

• ARH2603 Visual Culture 1 (Semiotics)
• ARH4801 Memory and Identity
• HRHMV81 Research Report on the Arts

Fields of academic interests

Supervising Master’s and Doctoral students working in my fields of specialisation.

Field of Specialisation

• Histories of Art
• Contemporary South African Art
• Visual Culture Studies
• Feminist Interventions in the Histories of Art
• Feminist Theories and Methodologies,
• Gender Studies
• Masculinity Studies
• Postcolonial and Decolonial Theories and Methodologies
• Close/Critical Reading
• Content Analysis
• Barthesian Semiotic Analysis
• Foucaultian Discourse Analysis
• Textual Events
• The Efficacity of Meta-conceptual Performativity of Discourse (as developed by Jennifer Tennant Jackson)
• Rancièrean Analysis
• Arendtian Narrative Analysis (as developed by Olivia Guaraldo)
• Agonistics (Chantal Mouffe)
• In-depth Interviewing
• The Constructivist Grounded Theory Method (Kathy Charmaz and Antony Bryant)
• Qualitative Analysis and Coding
• Practices and Discourses in Arts Publication, and Distance Education.

Journal articles

• Koenig-Visagie, LH. 2011. Subversive semiotics and ironic anchorage on Vrye Weekblad covers: A visual analysis. Communicatio 37(1): 41-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/02500167.2011.559477
• Koenig-Visagie, LH & Viljoen, S. 2011. Gender representation on Christian book covers: a case study. Verbum et Ecclesia 32 (1): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v32i1.487
• Koenig-Visagie, LH. 2012. The Representation of Gender in the Afrikaans Corporate Church. Fundamental Difference, in Viljoen, S & Caarstens, J (eds). Sacred Selves. Essays on gender, religion and popular culture. Cape Town: Griffel.
• Koenig-Visagie, LH & Van Eeden, J. 2013. Gendered representations of fatherhood in contemporary church imagery. Verbum et Ecclesia 34(1), Art. #760, 12 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve. v34i1.760
• Byrne, DC, Murray, J & Koenig-Visagie, LH. 2013. Reconceptualising Gender Studies in an Open Distance Learning Environment. Distance Education 34(3): 339-352. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2013.835775
• Koenig-Visagie, LH. 2022. Active, adventurous and heroic: The visual construction of masculinity in the Afrikaans corporate church. Gender Questions 10(1): 1-34. https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-8457/10304

Paper presentations

• “A Postcolonial reading of front covers of Vrye Weekblad” presented at Past the Last Post: The Posts in (South) Africa, the 24th Annual Conference of the South African Visual Arts Historians (SAVAH) at Stellenbosch University, 4–6 September 2008
• “Gender representation in Christian book covers: A case study”, co-authored, with Prof. Stella Viljoen presented at the 25th Annual Conference of the South African Visual Arts Historians (SAVAH) at the University of Pretoria, 9–11 July 2009, and at the 4th Annual Conference of the UNISA Myth Study Group entitled Myth and Superstition: Dreams, Signs, Symbols, at Breakwater Lodge, Cape Town, 28–29 September 2009.
• “The Representation of Gender in Contemporary Church Imagery. Fundamental Difference” presented at the Annual South African Communication Association (SACOMM) Conference hosted by the University of South Africa, 29 August–1 September 2011, and at the 2nd International Conference on The Image, hosted in San Sebastian, Spain, 26–27 September 2011.
• “Gendered representations of family in contemporary church imagery: religious beliefs and representational practice in dialogue” presented at the Annual Conference of the International Association for Communication and Media Research (IAMCR) hosted by UKZN in Durban, 15–19 July 2012.
• “Reconceptualising Gender Studies in an Open Distance Learning Context”, co-authored with Prof. Deirdre Byrne and Prof. Jessica Murray, presented at the Gender Studies at the Interface of the Humaniora conference at the University of Johannesburg, 15–17 August 2012, and at the UNISA ODL (Open Distance Learning) Conference, 5–7 September 2012.
• “Masculine iconographies of power: the representation of men and masculinity in the Afrikaans corporate church” presented at the Work/Force Masculinities in the Media conference at Stellenbosch University, 13–14 September 2012.
• “The role of gender in the South African art world, or: ‘How to read an economic report like a feminist art historian?” presented at the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies’ (FAHACS) Annual Postgraduate Transfer Symposium on 23 September 2014 at the University of Leeds, and at the UNISA Institute for Gender Studies’ Indaba on 17 February 2015.
• “‘Doing it for daddy’: Reading two textual events in the transformation debate in the South African art world” presented at the Feminist Readings 2 conference on 15 April 2016, at FAHACS, University of Leeds.
• “From ‘whats’ to ‘whos’: Interviews as a response to racial and gendered categorisation in the contemporary South African art world” presented at 4th International Conference on Gender Studies hosted by the Centre for Research in Humanities and Social Sciences in Leeds, UK, 19 January 2020.
• “From whats to whos: Grounded Theory interviewing as a response to the avatarisation and folding away of gender/race in the South African art world” presented at UNTOLD STORIES: recognising, understanding, and reimagining the untold and hidden narratives through visual art the Annual Conference of the South African Visual Art Historians, hosted by North-West University in Potchefstroom, 29 September–2 October 2021, and at UNISA’s Department of English Studies’ Gender, Identity and Embodiment Seminar Series, entitled Engagements with Gaps, Ambiguities and Contradictions, 17 November 2022.

Professional positions, fellowships & awards

• Editor-in-Chief of de arte journal.
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarship award for Doctoral studies at the University of Leeds, UK.
• UNISA Academic Qualification Improvement Programme (AQIP) grant for PhD Studies.
• United Kingdom Gender and Education Association (GEA) grant, as part of the steering collective of the international Feminist Readings Network held with scholars from various universities in the network.
• UNISA Master’s and Doctoral Support Programme (MDSP) grant for Master’s studies.
• National Research Foundation (NRF) Bursary for Honours studies.
• Three awards of Academic Honorary Colours by the Student Representative Council of the University of Pretoria.
• Member of the Golden Key International Honours Society.
• Member of SAVAH (South African Visual Arts Historians).
• Member of SAAGS (South African Association for Gender Studies).