Dr. Sinfree Makoni

Biography

Sinfree Makoni, originally from Zimbabwe, holds a BA in English (Hons) with a specialty in Linguistics from the University of Ghana, Legon, and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has taught at various universities in Southern Africa, notably the University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Afro-American Studies at the University of Michigan, Makoni currently serves as a Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics and is the Director of the African Studies Program at Pennsylvania State University. He is also an Extraordinary Professor at the University of the Western Cape and North-West University, and a Visiting Professor at Nelson Mandela University. His research interests encompass areas such as Language and Aging, Language Security, Language Policy Planning, Southern Epistemologies, and Decoloniality. He has published extensively, including recent works like 'Innovations and Challenges in Applied Linguistics in the Global South' (2020) and 'Decolonial Voices: Language and Race' (2022). Makoni also serves as an associate editor for a prestigious journal in Applied Linguistics and actively promotes engagement between scholars from the Global North and Global South through his work with the African Studies Global Forum.

Research Interests