Decolonising African University Knowledges Volume 1

This timely work investigates the possibility of unyoking and decolonising African university knowledges from colonial relics. It claims that academics from socially, politically, and geographically underprivileged communities in the South need to have their voices heard outside of the global power structure. The book argues that African universities need a relevant curriculum that is related to the cultural and environmental experiences of diverse African learners in order to empower themselves and transform the world. It is written by African scholars and is based on theoretical and practical debates on the epistemological complexities affecting and afflicting diversity in higher education in Africa. It examines who are the primary custodians of African university knowledges, as well as how this relates to forms of exclusion affecting women, the differently abled, the rural poor, and ethnic minorities, as well as the significance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the future of African universities. The book takes an epistemological approach to university teaching and learning, addressing issues such as decolonization and identity, social closure and diversity disputes, and the obstacles that come with the neoliberal paradigm. The book will be necessary reading for academics, scholars, and postgraduate students in the fields of Sociology of Education, decolonising education, Inclusive Education, and Philosophy of Education, as it resonates with existing discourses.

This timely work investigates the possibility of unyoking and decolonising African university knowledges from colonial relics. It claims that academics from socially, politically, and geographically underprivileged communities in the South need to have their voices heard outside of the global power structure. The book argues that African universities need a relevant curriculum that is related to the cultural and environmental experiences of diverse African learners in order to empower themselves and transform the world. It is written by African scholars and is based on theoretical and practical debates on the epistemological complexities affecting and afflicting diversity in higher education in Africa. It examines who are the primary custodians of African university knowledges, as well as how this relates to forms of exclusion affecting women, the differently abled, the rural poor, and ethnic minorities, as well as the significance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the future of African universities. The book takes an epistemological approach to university teaching and learning, addressing issues such as decolonization and identity, social closure and diversity disputes, and the obstacles that come with the neoliberal paradigm. The book will be necessary reading for academics, scholars, and post-graduate students in the fields of Sociology of Education, decolonising education, Inclusive Education, and Philosophy of Education, as it resonates with existing discourses.

This book is intended to contribute to discussions about the fundamental challenge of coloniality haunting humanities and social sciences in universities in Africa, while suggesting ways to de-link from and make a break with the epistemic injustices of embedded Eurocentrism that finds expression in the idea of and the content of academic disciplines as found in the current university system. It seeks to raise the possibility of a liberatory discourse on the intersection of power, epistemology, methodology and ideology in the hope that new epistemic lenses will be found and applied in order to achieve a better understanding of world realities, including realities on the periphery of the world system. It shows that the lenses embedded in the current coloniality of knowledge are in themselves technologies for suppression of horizontal discourses, subversive thought and new imagination. This book is the first to argue openly for epistemic disobedience against the imperialiality of social sciences and humanities conveyed through unthinking epistemology, methodologies, disciplines and research subjects. This book is part of the African World Series, edited by Toyin Falola, Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, University of Texas at Austin.

This book explores the influence of neoliberal globalisation on African higher education, considering the impact of the politics of neoliberal ideology on the nature and sources of knowledge in African universities. Written by African scholars, the book engages with debates around the commodification of knowledge, socially just knowledge, knowledge transformation, collaboration, and partnerships, and indigenous knowledge systems. It challenges the neoliberal approach to knowledge production and dissemination in African universities and contributes to debates around decolonising knowledge production in Africa. The chapters draw on experiences from universities in different sub-Saharan countries to show how the manifestation of neo-colonialism through the pursuit of the hegemonic neoliberal philosophy is impacting on decolonising university knowledge in Africa. Providing a unique critique of the impact of neoliberal higher education in Africa, the book will be essential reading for researchers, scholars, and postgraduate students in the field of Sociology of Education, decolonising education, Inclusive Education, and Education Policy.

Introduction: The Decolonial Moments -- Epistemologies and Methodologies -- Decoloniality and Decolonizing Knowledge -- Eurocentrism and Intellectual Imperialism -- Epistemologies of Intellectual Liberation -- Decolonizing Knowledge in Africa -- Decolonizing Research Methodology -- Oral Tradition: Cultural Analysis and Epistemic Value -- Agencies and Voices -- Voices of Decolonization -- Voices of Decoloniality -- Decoloniality: A Critique -- Women's Voices on Decolonization -- Empowering Marginal Voices: LGBTQ and African Studies -- Intellectual Spaces -- Decolonizing the African Academy -- Decolonizing Knowledge Through Language -- Decolonizing of African Literature -- Identity and the African Feminist Writers -- Decolonizing African Aesthetics -- Decolonizing African History -- Decolonizing Africa Religion -- Decolonizing African Philosophy -- African Futurism.

This book explores the influence of neoliberal globalisation on African higher education, considering the impact of the politics of neoliberal ideology on the nature and sources of knowledge in African universities. Written by African scholars, the book engages with debates around the commodification of knowledge, socially just knowledge, knowledge transformation, collaboration, and partnerships, and indigenous knowledge systems. It challenges the neoliberal approach to knowledge production and dissemination in African universities and contributes to debates around decolonising knowledge production in Africa. The chapters draw on experiences from universities in different sub-Saharan countries to show how the manifestation of neo-colonialism through the pursuit of the hegemonic neoliberal philosophy is impacting on decolonising university knowledge in Africa. Providing a unique critique of the impact of neoliberal higher education in Africa, the book will be essential reading for researchers, scholars, and postgraduate students in the field of Sociology of Education, decolonising education, Inclusive Education, and Education Policy.

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 best minds in 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.

This book discusses the status and importance of decolonisation and indigenous knowledge in academic research, teaching, and learning programmes and beyond. Taking practical lessons from a range of institutions in Africa, the book argues that that local and global sciences are culturally equal and capable of synergistic complementarity and then integrates the concept of hybrid science into discourses on decolonisation. The chapters argue for a cross-cultural dialogue between different epistemic traditions and the accommodation 'Indigenous' knowledge systems in higher education. Bringing together critical scholars, teaching and administrating academics from different disciplines, the chapters provide alternative conceptual outlooks and practical case-based perspectives towards decolonised study environments. This book will be of interest to researchers of decolonisation, postcolonial studies, higher education studies, political studies, African studies, and philosophy.

By foregrounding language practices in educational settings, this timely volume offers a postcolonial critique of the languaging of higher education and considers how Southern epistemologies can be used to further the decolonization of post-secondary education in the Global South. Offering a range of contributions from diverse and minoritized scholars based in countries including South Africa, Rwanda, Sudan, Qatar, Turkey, Portugal, Sweden, India, and Brazil, The Languaging of Higher Education in the Global South problematizes the use of language in various areas of higher education. Chapters demonstrate both subtle and explicit ways in which the language of pedagogy, scholarship, policy, and partcipiation endorse and privelege Western constructs and knowledge production, and utilize Southern theories and epistemologies to offer an alternative way forward – practice and research which applies and promotes Southern epistemologies and local knowledges. The volume confronts issues including integrationism, epistemic solidarity, language policy and ideology, multilingualism, and the increasing use of technology in institutions of higher education. This innovative book will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and postgraduate students in the fields of higher education, applied linguistics, and multicultural education. Those with an interest in the decolonization of education and language will find the book of particular use.

This provocative book is anchored on the insurgent and resurgent spirit of decolonization of the twenty-first century. The author calls upon Africa to turn over a new leaf in the domains of politics, economy, and knowledge as it frees itself from imperial global designs and global coloniality. With a focus on Africa and its Diaspora, the author calls for a radical turning over of a new leaf, predicated on decolonial turn and epistemic freedom. The key themes subjected to decolonial analysis include: (1) decolonization/decoloniality – articulating the meaning and contribution of the decolonial turn; (2) subjectivity/identity – examining the problem of Blackness (identity) as external and internal invention; (3) the Bandung spirit of decolonization as an embodiment of resistance and possibilities, development and self-improvement; (4) development and self-improvement – of African political economy, as entangled in the colonial matrix of power, and the African Renaissance, as weakened by undecolonized political and economic thought; and (5) knowledge – the role of African humanities in the struggle for epistemic freedom. This groundbreaking volume opens the intellectual canvas on the challenges and possibilities of African futures. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of Politics and International Relations, Development, Sociology, African Studies, Black Studies, Education, History Postcolonial Studies, and the emerging field of Decolonial Studies.