Maria Prozesky

Maria Prozesky is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand specializing in decolonial pedagogy and literary education. Holding a PhD from the University of Auckland alongside MD, MA, and Baccalaureus Artium degrees, she supervises postgraduate research on academic literacy, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and literature curriculum decolonization within South African higher education contexts.

Her research program critically examines literary reading as socially responsive practice and relational knowledge-making, with significant contributions to decolonial curriculum design. Key projects include developing multiliteracies learning environments as 'decolonial nexuses,' analyzing African speculative fiction as indigenous remembering, and reimagining digital literacy through post-COVID South African lenses. Her work consistently bridges medieval literature scholarship (particularly Julian of Norwich studies) with contemporary educational transformation.

Prozesky's publication record demonstrates sustained scholarly impact across education and literary studies, with 15 major works since 2006. Recent output (2020-2025) focuses on decolonial praxis in literacy education, critical digital pedagogy, and indigenous knowledge reclamation through creative writing. Her research directly informs curriculum development initiatives addressing South Africa's unique educational challenges.

As a supervisor, she mentors students through collaborative knowledge production frameworks, emphasizing contextually responsive research that challenges Eurocentric paradigms. Her work with writing centers and academic support programs operates as 'third spaces' integrating university resources with community knowledge systems. Current projects include transformative assessment design using group portfolios and developing indigenous poetry pedagogy through performance practices.