Decolonisation as Democratisation

Global Insights into the South African Experience
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7969-2600-5
Verlag: HSRC Press

Buch, Englisch, 248 Seiten, Paperback

Cognisant of the globalising context in which we find ourselves, as intellectuals we ought to ensure relevance in what we teach. This orientation, that prizes pedagogic relevance, has been raised as an objection to the decolonial call, being – at times – used to resist democratic change in the South African University. The contributions in this volume highlight the implications of the global relevance discourse through revealing the impact of decontextualised curricula. Similarly, institutional democratization and decolonisation ought not to be a turn to fundamentalist positions that recreate the essentialisms resisted through calls for decolonisation. As a critical response to such resistance to democratisation, this book showcases how decolonisation protects the constitutionally enshrined ideal of academic freedom and the freedom of scientific research. We argue that this framing of decoloniality should not be used to protect interests that seek to undermine the transformation of higher education. Concurrently, however, it is critical of decolonial positions that are essentialist and narrow in their manifestation and articulation. The text suggests what is intended by a curriculum revisionist agenda that prizes decolonisation through bringing together academics working in South Africa and the global academy. This collaborative approach aims to facilitate critical reflexivity in our curriculum reform strategies while developing pragmatic solutions to current calls for decolonisation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Kolonialismus, Imperialismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kolonialgeschichte, Geschichte des Imperialismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Bildungssystem
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Philosophie der Erziehung, Bildungstheorie

Über Autor(innen)

Siseko H. Kumalo, holds a Master of Arts (Cum Laude) in Political Philosophy from the University of Pretoria’s Department of Political Sciences. He received his formative training from Rhodes University where he read in Political and International Studies, Anthropology and Philosophy. His research and teaching interests centre around themes of education decolonisation in the South African academe. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Decolonising Disciplines, a journal dedicated to decolonising disciplinary knowledge across faculties in higher education. His research aims to substantively engage Indigenous epistemes in the South African university through focusing on the intellectual contributions of Indigenous intellectuals such as SEK Mqhayi, WW Gqoba and Mazisi Kunene. Siseko serves on the Literary Association of South Africa’s Executive Committee and is a Mandela Rhodes Scholar (2017).