May 15, 2026
Jeske will work with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) for seven months to teach courses and collaboratively develop vocation-focused teaching methods and curriculum that will benefit both UKZN and Wheaton College, and the field of anthropology more broadly.
Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious fellowships that provide scholars opportunities to teach and conduct research abroad while strengthening their professional development and fostering long‑term connections that enhance their careers, campuses, and communities. Jeske will join a network of esteemed Fulbright alumni, which includes 63 Nobel Prize laureates, 98 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 83 MacArthur Fellows.
During her seven-month scholarship, Jeske will address two pressing needs identified by UKZN, which are a demand for accessible, applied, and career-connected anthropology instruction and a need for international collaboration on pedagogical innovation.
“I first discovered anthropology when I lived in South Africa previously, so this feels like an amazing opportunity to give back to the country that formed me in wonderful ways,” Jeske said.
Rooted in her long-standing relationships with Pietermaritzburg colleagues and communities, this work seeks to foster international collaborative pathways that will amplify the value of anthropology and social science education for today’s students locally and globally. This Fulbright project will create culturally informed pedagogical innovations related to vocational formation that will benefit both the host and sending institutions and the greater discipline of anthropology.
Jeske will teach two undergraduate courses, deliver a graduate seminar based on her prior expertise on labor systems in South Africa, and collaborate with UKZN and Wheaton to co-host a faculty workshop focused on vocation-oriented pedagogy. Through the workshop, they plan to identify faculty interested in developing shareable resources for globally adaptive vocation-focused teaching, a need in the field of anthropology. Through sustained engagement with faculty and students, Jeske intends to support the long-term development of a vocationally grounded, globally networked anthropology at UKZN, Wheaton, and beyond.
In addition to teaching, pedagogical innovation, and international collaboration, Jeske’s work will consist of curriculum development and student development.
UKZN and other South African universities face growing enrollment in the social sciences, leaving faculty with heavy courseloads and limited time to address students’ needs for clear vocational direction. Graduates struggle to find employment in the country, which has faced detrimental unemployment rates of 20 percent or higher for more than 30 years. At UKZN, many students enter the anthropology major after not gaining entry into other disciplines, and as a result, they lack a vocational plan. Having researched young people’s employment journeys in South Africa and contributed to numerous publications and workshops for professors teaching about vocation, Jeske has been welcomed to join UKZN’s efforts to refine their program.
“I’m especially excited to get to work with young South Africans,” said Jeske. “My earlier research was on how young people pursue good lives despite the odds stacked against them. This will be an opportunity to work with a university there to help make those odds a little better for young people.”