Curriculum Vitae

Download my full CV:

Download CV (PDF)

Research Profile

I am a creative writer and researcher whose work explores memory, identity, and historical consciousness through archival research, oral testimony, and literary nonfiction. My practice centers creative research, that is, I conduct sustained research into various historical contexts and themes to inform and deepen my creative work. My current focus is preparing my doctoral memoir, Being When Meant Not to Be, for publication; this work examines the Herero and Nama genocide through personal narrative, archival investigation, and intergenerational family testimony. Beyond this project, I am committed to collaborative life-writing: documenting the lived experiences of relatives and mentors whose stories have been erased or overlooked. These include narratives of survival, resilience, and the long aftermath of colonialism and apartheid in southern Africa. My broader interests include gender-based violence, climate and land dispossession, and the ethics of representing marginalized communities in creative work. I am fluent in English, Afrikaans, Otjiherero, Khoe-Khoegowab, and some Oshiwambo, which allows me to conduct primary research and oral interviews in Namibia without reliance on interpreters. This is a crucial methodological advantage when documenting community narratives. My research practice is grounded in decolonial approaches to narrative, the ethics of representation, and interrogations of the archive. I produce creative knowledge through literary forms; I welcome scholarly engagement with my work.

Education

PhD in English (Creative Nonfiction)

Binghamton University, State University of New York, USA | August 2025

Creative Dissertation: Being When Meant Not to Be: A Memoir of Genocide and Its Repercussions

MA in English (Fiction)

Binghamton University, State University of New York, USA | May 2019

Bachelor of Education (Biology and English)

University of Namibia | May 2011

Key Publications

  • Kandukira, M. (2023). "Basters." Global Memories of German Colonialism. Hamburg University Press.
  • Kandukira, M., & Heywood, L. (2023). "Spook Asem." Center for Humans and Nature.
  • Kandukira, M. (2022). "Pieces of Me." Praxis: Journal of Gender and Cultural Critiques.
  • Kandukira, M. (2022). "Juicy." HerStry.
  • Kandukira, M. (2020–2021). "Molding Clay Faces." Windmill: The Hofstra Journal of Literature and Art.

Fellowships & Awards

  • 2024 — Graduate Excellence Award in Research, Binghamton University
  • 2023 — Francis Newman Endowment for Research Support
  • 2023 — Link Fellowship for Creative Writing
  • 2022 — Kaschak Fellowship for Social Justice
  • 2021–22 — Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellowship
  • 2021 — Global Memories of German Colonialism Fellowship, Hamburg University
  • 2018–19 — Fulbright Junior Staff Development Grant

Research Experience

Doctoral Researcher

Binghamton University, USA | August 2020 – August 2025

I conducted auto-ethnographic research drawing on archival methods, historiography, and oral interview methodology, grounded in engagement with scholarship in memory studies, postcolonial studies, and African history. My research served my creative practice. I produced a literary memoir informed by rigorous scholarly engagement rather than academic articles.

Areas of Teaching Competence

  • Creative Nonfiction Writing
  • Academic Writing and Argumentation
  • Literary Theory and Literary Criticism
  • Introduction to Creative Writing

Research Interests

  • Memory Studies and Memorialization in creative practice
  • Postcolonial approaches to life-writing and creative narrative
  • African Oral Literature: archival ethics and creative documentation
  • Auto-ethnographical methodology in literary memoir
  • Digital Humanities and digital storytelling

Download Full CV