Rachel Lara van der Merwe

Rachel Lara van der Merwe is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Arts in the Netherlands and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of Free State. With a PhD in Media Research and Practice from the University of Colorado Boulder, Dr. van der Merwe combines academic scholarship with practical media production experience.

Her research program critically examines the intersection of digital screen media, national identity, ecopolitics, and coloniality—particularly within South Africa and the Global South. Dr. van der Merwe's work explores how various processes of mediation through technology, language, or the body reveal deep human anxieties over identity and belonging in postcolonial contexts. Her upcoming monograph "We are not South African" critiques the nation as an ongoing medium of coloniality, while her current project "Gaming the Nation" investigates video games' role in national identity formation with focus on the South African video game industry.

Dr. van der Merwe's scholarly output reveals consistent engagement with decolonial theory, critical race theory, and media studies, particularly examining how digital technologies mediate questions of identity, belonging, and colonial structures in the Global South. Her publications span analyses of post-apartheid identity, digital media in Africa, video game studies, and decolonial critiques of media scholarship.

• Dissertation Award Runner-up, Global Communication and Social Change Division (2022)
• ICOG Research Grant (2020)
• IAMCR Section & Working Group Project Grant (2019)
• Gerald Bean Memorial Scholarship (2018)
• Lilly Graduate Fellow (2016)

As an educator, Dr. van der Merwe teaches courses including Thinkers & Theories: Decolonial Media Theories & Intersectionality, Research Seminar: Critical Approaches to Audiovisual Analysis, and Media Platforms and Industries at the University of Groningen. Her teaching reflects her research interests, emphasizing critical approaches to media analysis and decolonial perspectives. Dr. van der Merwe's scholarly fingerprint demonstrates significant engagement with topics including the Republic of South Africa, Popular Culture, Post-Apartheid studies, Video Games, and the politics of representation in digital media.