Decolonisation in Universities

Grant Parker, Tarryn Kock, Yusuf Sayed, Ursula Hoadle, Shireen Motala, Piet Naude, Mlungisi Dlamini, Mahmood Mamdani, Lis Lange, Lesley Grange, Jess Auerbach, Jaamia Galant, Crain Soudien, Brenda Schmahmann, André Keet, Achille Mbembe, Jonathan D. Jansen

Description

Shortly after the giant bronze statue of Cecil John Rhodes came down at the University of Cape Town, student protestors called for the decolonisation of universities. It was a word hardly heard in South Africa’s struggle lexicon and many asked: What exactly is decolonisation? This edited volume brings together the most innovative thinking on curriculum theory to address this important question. In the process, several critical questions are raised: Is decolonisation simply a slogan for addressing other pressing concerns on campuses and in society? What is the colonial legacy with respect to curriculum and can it be undone? How is the project of curriculum decolonisation similar to or different from the quest for postcolonial knowledge, indigenous knowledge or a critical theory of knowledge? What does decolonisation mean in a digital age where relationships between knowledge and power are shifting?
The book combines strong conceptual analyses with novel case studies of attempts to ‘do decolonisation’ in settings as diverse as South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Mauritius. Such a comparative perspective enables reasonable judgements to be made about the prospects for institutional take-up within the curriculum of century-old universities.
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Introduction and Overview: Making sense of decolonisation in universities – Jonathan D Jansen

Part 1: The arguments for decolonisation

Chapter 1 Decolonising universities – Mahmood Mamdani

Chapter 2 The curriculum case for decolonisation – Lesley Le Grange

Part 2: The politics and problems of decolonisation

Chapter 3 On the politics of decolonisation: Knowledge, authority and the settled curriculum – Jonathan D Jansen

Chapter 4 The institutional curriculum, pedagogy and the decolonisation of the South African university – Lis Lange

Chapter 5 What counts and who belongs? Current debates in decolonising the curriculum – Ursula Hoadley and Jaamia Galant

Part 3: Doing decolonisation

Chapter 6 Scaling decolonial consciousness? The reinvention of ‘Africa’ in a neoliberal university – Jess Auerbach and Mlungisi Dlamini

Chapter 7 Testing transgressive thinking: The “Learning Through Enlargement” Initiative at UNISA – Crain Soudien

Chapter 8 Between higher and basic education in South Africa: What does decolonisation mean for teacher education? – Yusuf Sayed and Shireen Motala

Part 4: Reimaging colonial inheritances

Chapter 9 Public Art and/as Curricula: Seeking a new role for monuments associated with oppression – Brenda Schmahmann

Chapter 10 The Plastic University: Knowledge, disciplines and the decolonial turn – André Keet

Chapter 11 Decolonising knowledge: Can ubuntu ethics save us from coloniality? (Ex Africa semper aliquid novi?) – Piet Naude

Chapter 12 Future knowledges and their implications for the decolonisation project – Achille Mbembe

Afterword: Minds via Curricula? – Grant Parker

Contributors

Index

Sujets

• Political Science
• EDUCATION
• Histoire
• Higher
• Theory
• History

Informations

• Publié par: WITS University Press
• Date de parution: 01 août 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 5
• EAN13: 9781776143375
• Langue: English

Extrait

Decolonisation in Universities
Decolonisation in Universities
The Politics of Knowledge
EDITED BY Jonathan D. Jansen
Published in South Africa by:
Wits University Press
1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Johannesburg 2001
www.witspress.co.za
Compilation © Editor 2019
Chapters © Individual contributors 2019
Published edition © Wits University Press 2019
Images and figures © Copyright holders
First published 2019
http://dx.doi.org.10.18772/22019083351
978-1-77614-335-1 (Paperback)
978-1-77614-336-8 (Web PDF)
978-1-77614-337-5 (EPUB)
978-1-77614-338-2 (Mobi)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978.
All images remain the property of the copyright holders. The publishers gratefully acknowledge the publishers, institutions and individuals referenced in captions for the use of images. Every effort has been made to locate the original copyright holders of the images reproduced here; please contact Wits University Press in case of any omissions or errors.
Project manager: Elaine Williams
Copyeditor: Colin Bundy
Proofreader: Alison Lockhart
Indexer: Elaine Williams
Cover design: Hothouse South Africa
Typesetter: Newgen
Typeset in 10.5 point Minion Pro
Contents
List of Figures
Acronyms and Abbreviations
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Making Sense of Decolonisation in Universities
Jonathan D. Jansen, Stellenbosch University
PART 1 : THE ARGUMENTS FOR DECOLONISATION
CHAPTER 1
Decolonising Universities
Mahmood Mamdani, Makerere University and Columbia University
CHAPTER 2
The Curriculum Case for Decolonisation
Lesley Le Grange, Stellenbosch University
PART 2 : THE POLITICS AND PROBLEMS OF DECOLONISATION
CHAPTER 3
On the Politics of Decolonisation: Knowledge, Authority and the Settled Curriculum
Jonathan D. Jansen, Stellenbosch University
CHAPTER 4
The Institutional Curriculum, Pedagogy and the Decolonisation of the South African University
Lis Lange, University of Cape Town
CHAPTER 5
What Counts and Who Belongs? Current Debates in Decolonising the Curriculum
Ursula Hoadley and Jaamia Galant, University of Cape Town
PART 3 : DOING DECOLONISATION
CHAPTER 6
Scaling Decolonial Consciousness? The Re-Invention of ‘Africa’ in a Neoliberal University
Jess Auerbach, Open University of Mauritius, Mlungisi Dlamini and Anonymous
CHAPTER 7
Testing Transgressive Thinking: The ‘Learning Through Enlargement’ Initiative at UNISA
Crain Soudien, Human Sciences Research Council
CHAPTER 8
Between Higher and Basic Education in South Africa: What Does Decolonisation Mean for Teacher Education?
Yusuf Sayed and Tarryn de Kock, University of Sussex, Shireen Motala, University of Johannesburg
PART 4 : REIMAGING COLONIAL INHERITANCES
CHAPTER 9
Public Art and/as Curricula: Seeking a New Role for Monuments Associated with Oppression
Brenda Schmahmann, University of Johannesburg
CHAPTER 10
The Plastic University: Knowledge, Disciplines and the Decolonial Turn
André Keet, Nelson Mandela University
CHAPTER 11
Decolonising Knowledge: Can Ubuntu Ethics Save Us from Coloniality? ( Ex Africa Semper Aliquid Novi? )
Piet Naudé, Stellenbosch University
CHAPTER 12
Future Knowledges and Their Implications for the Decolonisation Project
Achille Mbembe, University of the Witwatersrand
AFTERWORD
Decolonising Minds via Curricula?
Grant Parker, Stanford University and Stellenbosch University
Contributors
Index
List of Figures
CHAPTER 3
Figure 3.1: Curriculum as knowledge regime
Figure 3.2: The economic transaction
Figure 3.3: The knowledge transaction
CHAPTER 9
Figure 9.1: Marion Walgate’s Cecil John Rhodes (1934), bronze, on the upper campus of the University of Cape Town prior to its removal in 2015 .
Figure 9.2: Monument with three stones conceptualised by Jan van Wijk for the former Rand Afrikaans University (1975) on the Kingsway Auckland Park campus of the University of Johannesburg .
Figure 9.3: The granite boulder with sand-blasted text that includes definitions of English words in Wilhelm Boshoff’s Kring van Kennis (Circle of Knowledge) (2000) .
Figure 9.4: Anton van Wouw, Marthinus Theunis Steyn (1929), bronze, on the left and Johann Moolman, C.R. Swart (1991), bronze, on the right .
Figure 9.5: The preparation of works for Cigdem Aydemir’s Plastic Histories (2014): Left: Van Wouw’s Marthinus Theunis Steyn shrink-wrapped in plastic and prior to being spray-painted pink; top right: Cigdem Ayemir (front) organising the shrink-wrapping of Van Wouw’s Marthinus Theunis Steyn ; bottom right, Moolman’s C.R. Swart in the process of being spray-painted pink .
Figure 9.6: View of Intersection by Ledelle Moe, Isabelle Mertz, et al. (photographed in 2017) in relation to Steynberg’s J.H. Marais (1950), stone, on the Rooiplein of Stellenbosch University .
Acronyms and Abbreviations ANC African National Congress ASC Africas Core CAPRISA Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa CAS Centre for African Studies CHE Council on Higher Education CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology DE Development Education EASE East African Society and Environment EFF Economic Freedom Fighters HBU historically black university HEI higher education institution HRE human rights education HWU historically white university IDS Institute of Development Studies IKS indigenous knowledge systems IMF International Monetary Fund ISA Income Sharing Agreement ITE initial teacher education NQF National Qualifications Framework NRF National Research Foundation OBE outcomes-based education PEZ Political Economy of Zimbabwe RAU Rand Afrikaans University #RMF Rhodes Must Fall SACE South African Council for Educators SACHED South African Committee for Higher Education SAQA South African Qualifications Authority SARChI South African Research Chairs Initiative UCT University of Cape Town UFH University of Fort Hare UFS University of the Free State UJ University of Johannesburg UNISA University of South Africa UP University of Pretoria UWC University of the Western Cape Wits University of the Witwatersrand
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Making Sense of Decolonisation in Universities
Jonathan D. Jansen Stellenbosch University

The student protests starting in 2015 added a new term to the lexicon of South African universities – decolonisation. It is of course a word with a long history dating back to the anti-colonial struggles of the 1950s and extending to the postcolonial period to signal ongoing efforts to ‘undo’ the legacies of colonialism. But decolonisation had never been a prominent or sustained component of the struggle discourse under or after apartheid. The discursive terminologies of the struggle included terms like anti-apartheid education, liberation pedagogy, reconstruction and development education, and of course that ubiquitous referent, transformation. Literally overnight, the word decolonisation rolled off the lips of activists, bannered everyday protests and initiated across mainly the formerly white campuses seminars, conferences and committees to determine meanings and methods for changing universities – their complexions, cultures and curricula.
This book brings together the best curriculum minds in South Africa to make sense of decolonisation as a signal moment in the century-old history of higher education in South Africa. What does the word even mean? Why does it emerge at this moment, more than 20 years into democracy? Where does the press for decolonisation come from – intellectually, socially, culturally and politically? How does it relate to associated concepts such as Africanisation or indigenous education or postcolonial education? Is decolonisation the appropriate response, substantively and strategically, to the complex of problems gripping the education system in South Africa? Does the term decolonisation carry much validity in a country last formally colonised more than 100 years ago? Or is decolonisation simply a byword for proxy discontents in education and society? And what does decolonisation imply for the nature, purposes and politics of curriculum?
THE CONCEPTUAL ORIENTATION OF THE BOOK
In the literature, decolonisation is a concept that has been applied broadly to various things, from changes to the artworks of a university to the social transformation of entire nations. The specific focus of this book, however, is primarily on decolonisation as applied to the university curriculum; that is, as a knowledge project.
The question of knowledge as framed in this book is a political subject and therefore the decolonisation thesis is interrogated from the viewpoint of The Politics of Knowledge , as reflected in the subtitle of this volume. There is in fact a long and continuing tradition of scholarship on the politics of knowledge in political studies more broadly (Neave 2006; Dominguez Rubio and Baert 2012) and in curriculum studies more specifically (Apple 1979; Lim and Apple 2016).
The starting point of this tradition is that knowledge is never neutral. Who produces knowledge, what knowledge is produced and what knowledge is ‘left out’ are central questions of inquiry within the politics of knowledge. This is what Michael Apple (1993) calls ‘the selective tradition’ or what Elliot Eisner (1985) once referenced as ‘the null curriculum’ – that what is ‘left out’ in the choice of knowledge is consequential for both social and disciplinary learning. Those knowledge choices, critical theorists would argue, are political decisions vested in authorities like the government in power, commercial textbook publishers and international funding agencies (Littoz-Monnet 2017).
Knowledge and power are therefore inextricably linked, whether in global interstate relations