Career Summary
Biography
Dr Dorcas Zuvalinyenga is an applied sociolinguist with over 14 years of teaching, research and community engagement in higher and tertiary institutions. Her research is an interdisciplinary study in linguistic landscapes and critical toponymy focusing on identity, power and communication.
She received her Bachelor of Arts Honours in English and Master of Arts in English from the University of Zimbabwe. She tutored at the same university for a couple of years before moving to Bindura where she lectures in the Department of Languages and Communication at the Bindura University of Science Education. Her research interests include linguistic landscapes, language and gender, critical discourse analysis, socio-onomastics, toponymy, English as a Second Language (ESL), language and identity, literary and cultural studies and intercultural communication. She is a member of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia, International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS), English Academy (Southern Africa), Names Society of Southern Africa (NSSA), Australasian Humour Studies Network, The Global Council on Anthropological Linguistics, and Student Leader at the Centre for Africa Research, Engagement and Partnership (CARE-P) at the University of Newcastle.
Keywords
- Computational Linguistics
- Cultural Studies
- ESL
- Gender
- Linguistic Landscape Studies
- Onomastics
- Toponymy
- communication
Languages
- Shona (Mother)
- English (Fluent)
- Nyanja (Chichewa) (Fluent)
- Ndebele (Working)
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 470507 | Comparative and transnational literature | 40 |
| 470208 | Culture, representation and identity | 30 |
| 470411 | Sociolinguistics | 30 |
Professional Experience
Academic appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 1/3/2011 - | Lecturer | Bindura University of Science Education Languages and Communication Zimbabwe |
| 1/9/2006 - 30/9/2008 | Graduate Teaching Assistant | University of Zimbabwe English Department Zimbabwe |
Professional appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 9/6/2021 - 1/10/2021 |
Casual Publications Assessment Assistant - Review literature, data entry, analysis, presentation and publication. - Classify research outputs, review article abstracts, keywords and other information to determine the most relevant codes, assign appropriate Field of Research (FoR) codes, and accurately enter assigned codes into the University's publications management system. - Stakeholder engagement and working closely with senior university management. - Problem solving and judgement, teamwork, and building key relationships. |
Research and Innovation Services, The University of Newcastle Research and Innovation Division Australia |
| 1/9/2005 - 1/9/2006 | High School Teacher | Hermann Gmeiner High School, Bindura, Zimbabwe |
| 1/4/2004 - 1/4/2005 | Research Assistant | Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe |
Teaching appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 1/11/2010 - 28/2/2011 |
High School Teacher English & Shona Teacher for O & A Level Classes |
Frestar Academy Languages Zimbabwe |
Awards
Award
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2020 |
Conference Travel Grant African Studies Group | University of Melbourne |
Scholarship
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2017 |
2017 UNRS Central Scholarship Graduate Research, University of Newcastle |
| 2017 |
University of Newcastle International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (UNIPRS) 2017 International Tuition Fees Scholarship Graduate Research, University of Newcastle |
Manuscript Reviews
| Year | Title | Publication Type | Publisher | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Language Factor and Internet Penetration in Nigeria: A Practical Assessment | Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal (HERDC) | Contemporary Journal of African Studies | Article on language and Internet penetration in Nigeria |
| 2019 | The air belongs to the people: A Critical Analysis of Radio broadcasting and licensing in Zimbabwe | Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal (HERDC) | Routledge Taylor & Francis Group | Reviewed article on media situation in Zimbabwe |
Teaching
| Code | Course | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| EL1030 |
Introduction to the study of Literature University of Zimbabwe An introductory course to the study of literature |
Graduate Teaching Assistant | 1/9/2006 - 30/9/2008 |
| HEL0010 |
Language I University of Zimbabwe An introduction to English as a Second Language course |
Graduate Teaching Assistant | 1/9/2006 - 30/9/2008 |
| HEL0070 |
English and European Literary Genres University of Zimbabwe Literary Studies |
Graduate Teaching Assistant | 1/9/2006 - 30/9/2008 |
| PC508 |
Communication Skills for Tertiary Education Bindura University of Science Education Language Skills for Trainee Lecturers |
Lecturer | 12/1/2015 - 31/7/2015 |
| PC103 |
Communication Skills Bindura University of Science Education Language Skills for Academic Purporses |
Lecturer | 1/3/2011 - 28/4/2017 |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Chapter (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |
Zuvalinyenga D, 'Rituals of revolution?', 98-115 (2021)
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Journal article (5 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |
Zuvalinyenga D, Bigon L, 'Gender-biased Street Naming in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: Influential Factors, Features and Future Recommendations', JOURNAL OF ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES, 56, 589-609 (2021) [C1]
|
Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
| 2020 |
Bigon L, Zuvalinyenga D, 'Urban Pulse-Gendered urban toponyms in the global South: a time for de-colonization?', URBAN GEOGRAPHY, 42, 226-239 (2020) [C1]
This short commentary scrutinizes the contemporary toponymic phenomenon of gendered street naming in the global South with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa's cities... [more] This short commentary scrutinizes the contemporary toponymic phenomenon of gendered street naming in the global South with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa's cities. It reveals the problematic prevalence of masculine street names in comparison to feminine names in the region's urban spatialities and provides a comparative glimpse into similar realities in the global North. The paper offers explanations for this phenomenon as a consequence of the (post-)colonial experiences of many Southern cities and reports on the socio-political implications of this problem. Our recommendation on a toponymic de-colonization in terms of gender is part of a broader aspiration for more just and inclusionary urban management policies, better accommodated to the challenging realities of urban life in Southern cities.
|
Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
| 2020 |
Zuvalinyenga D, '“We shall know a place by its names”: Co-existing place names in Bindura, Zimbabwe', EchoGéo, 53, 1-18 (2020) [C1]
|
Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
| Show 2 more journal articles | |||||||||||
