Decolonising education in South Africa — a reflection on a learning-teaching approach: Opening up spaces for students to talk to each other and to lecturers is a way to entrench education as a public good. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images It has been seven years since students in South Africa began protesting in a bid to “Africanise” …
Nigerian historian and thinker Toyin Falola on decolonising the academy in Africa: Toyin Falola Photo courtesy Boydell & Brewer Nigerian intellectual and historian Toyin Falola’s latest book is called Decolonizing African Studies: Knowledge Production, Agency, and Voice. It sets out to respond to the urgent need to eliminate the vestiges of colonialism (the domination of …
How Senegal is decolonising its heritage and re-imagining an African future: The Monument of the African Renaissance sits on a volcanic hill overlooking Dakar Photo by Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images On the morning of 5 September 2017, the inhabitants of Saint-Louis, a regional capital on Senegal’s northwest coast, woke to a strange scene. The statue …
Decolonising Shakespeare: setting Othello in Ghana and Pericles in Glasgow: Chris Dorney/Shutterstock Over the last few years the issue of decolonising the curriculum has become a growing concern for UK universities. This means recognising the legacy of western colonialism and rethinking the way we teach and research. Decolonising Shakespeare, with its historic links to English …
How to start decolonising your business: Pub chain Greene King has apologised for its historic links to the slave trade. Chrispictures / Shutterstock.com When the British government abolished slavery in 1833, it handsomely compensated the 47,000 slave owners for the loss of their “property” – the enslaved men, women and children they had to give …
On decolonising teaching practices, not just the syllabus: Student protests dubbed #FeesMustFall in 2016 in Pretoria. Cornel van Heerden/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images In South Africa, student calls for free, quality, decolonised higher education have coincided with demands for the transformation of canons, curricula and pedagogies. At the height of the protests assembled around the #FeesMustFall movement …
Decolonising peace journalism — and putting it to work in East Africa: TV reporters prepare for a live broadcast during a strike by airline workers in Nairobi. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images Conflict resolution is a recurrent theme in East Africa. This has prompted the need for innovative ways to create lasting consensus in the …
Decolonising the curriculum: it’s in the detail, not just in the definition: The "de-" in decolonisation is a chance to break away from colonial ways of doing things. Shutterstock In the two years since student protests kicked off at South Africa’s universities, people have become increasingly interested in what decolonisation means. This stems from students’ …
Decolonising the curriculum: the only way through the process is together: Police guard a building at the University of Cape Town – from whom, since knowledge is not really owned by anyone. Reuters/Mike Hutchings As a young black undergraduate studying in the UK more than 15 years ago, I can remember the first time I …
Decolonising psychology creates possibilities for social change: Psychology as an academic discipline needs to take a long, hard look at itself. Shutterstock The issues raised by South African university students in a new round of protests must be read as inter-related and integral to the ongoing decolonial project. Racism, gender-based violence and oppressive working conditions …
Decolonising the curriculum: it’s time for a strategy: Students cheer as a statue of Cecil John Rhodes is removed from the University of Cape Town in April 2015. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham In April 2015 a statue of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes was removed from the University of Cape Town’s campus in South Africa. The statue was …