Philosophizing in Sesotho
Language Focus
Coordinated by Lerato Posholi
Part of the Research Focus Philosophies in Africa
Sesotho is a Southern Bantu language spoken in South Africa, where it is one of the 12 official languages, and in Lesotho, as its national language. It is also spoken in Zimbabwe by a minority group of Basotho people.
For an initial exploration of oral and written sources in Sesotho, our fellow Lerato Posholi travelled to South Africa to conduct research in libraries and archives. She is also in close contact with Professor Rethabile Possa, an expert in Sesotho language and literature. Following her initial research, Posholi decided to focus on maele (proverbs) – particularly those concerning knowledge, wisdom, virtue and well-being. Based on these, she aims to develop a conception of philosophy/philosophizing in Sesotho. She furthermore hopes to analyze how courage is conceptualized and understood in dithoko (praise poems) in Sesotho. She will focus primarily on written texts beginning late 19th century with the seminal text Mekhoa ea Basotho le Maele le Litsomo by Azariele M. Sekese. She will focus primarily on written texts beginning late 19th century with the seminal text Mekhoa ea Basotho le Maele le Litsomo by Azariele M. Sekese. Planned activities include a seminar with Prof. Possa on academic theorizing in Sesotho or about the Basotho people.
Lerato Posholi’s research lies at the intersection of social epistemology, decolonial theory, and higher education studies, with a particular focus on Southern Africa. She holds a PhD in Education and an MA in Philosophy from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Before coming to Hildesheim, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the project “Reversing the Gaze: Towards Post-Comparative Area Studies” at the Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel, Switzerland. During her fellowship at Glophi, Posholi will be working on identifying and analyzing Sesotho sources of philosophizing.
Participating Researchers
Lerato Posholi is currently a fellow within the German Research Foundation project “Philosophizing in a Globalized World” (2025–2028) at the Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Hildesheim.
Before this, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the project “Reversing the Gaze: Towards Post-Comparative Area Studies” at the Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel, Switzerland. She holds a PhD in Education and an MA in Philosophy from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Research Impressions
