Danelle Van Zyl-Hermann

Danelle Van Zyl-Hermann is a PostDoc and Researcher in the Department of History at the University of Basel, affiliated with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She works under Prof. Tischler on the Swiss National Research Foundation-funded project 'African Contributions to Global Health – Circulating Knowledge and Innovations'. Her academic journey includes a PhD from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, an MPhil from Leiden University, and undergraduate studies at the University of Stellenbosch.

• PhD, African History, University of Cambridge (2010–2014)
• MPhil, History of European Expansion and Globalisation, Leiden University
• Bachelor’s in History, Politics, German, and Performing Arts, University of Stellenbosch

Her research spans social histories of race, class, and labor in South Africa and health and healing in Kenya. She has published in journals such as Ethnic and Racial Studies, Social History, and History in Africa, and her forthcoming monograph with Cambridge University Press explores white workers during South Africa’s democratic transition. Her recent work investigates local knowledge in Kenyan public health, examining interactions between indigenous healers, state institutions, and global actors like the WHO.

Her publications reflect a shift from apartheid-era labor politics to postcolonial health systems, emphasizing subaltern agency and global power dynamics. Key themes include identity formation, neoliberalism, national populism, and decolonial knowledge circulation.

• Gates Cambridge Scholar
• NRF Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow
• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (ESKAS)

Danelle has taught African history courses and co-edited Rethinking White Societies in Southern Africa (Routledge, 2020). She has no listed advisees but contributes to academic mentoring. She is involved in interdisciplinary research teams focused on African history and global health, with future work likely expanding on health knowledge circulation in Africa.