Transforming epistemologies in the postcolonial African university? The challenge of the politics of knowledge
Abstract
The process of knowledge production, dissemination and consumption has captured much scholarly attention from a political viewpoint in recent times. Discourses on development, empowerment, transformation and democracy have revolved around knowledge and power and more precisely on the politics of knowledge. Institutions of higher learning, especially universities, globally, as nerve centres of knowledge production and distribution, have not been spared from the challenges of the politics of knowledge. In this conceptual paper, we theorise the dynamics of the challenges and opportunities of the politics of knowledge in the context of the postcolonial African university’s endeavour to transform epistemologies in higher education in the 21st century Africa. Our case is premised on three claims, namely that 1) the production and mediation of knowledge is a genuinely political process(Weiler, 2011b) 2) universities can be considered among the most political institutions in society (Ordorika, 1999) and 3) recontextualisation and transformation of university epistemologies (Weiler, 2011a) is a prerequisite for an authentic postcolonial African university.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Altbach, P. G. (1987). The Knowledge Context: Comparative Perspectives on the Distribution of Knowledge. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Augusto, G. (2007). Transforming Knowledge, Changing Knowledge Relations, and Epistemic Openness in the University in Africa. Social Dynamics, 33(1), 199-205.
Barnett, R. (2009). Knowing and becoming in the higher education curriculum. Studies in Higher Education, 34(4), 429–440.
Bloom, D., Canning, D., & Chan, K. (2006). Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Human Development Sector :Africa Region , Harvard University.
Botha, M. M. (2007). Africanising the curriculum: An exploratory study. South African Journal of Higher Education, 21, 202-216.
Brennan, J., King, R., & Lebeau, Y. (2004). The Role of Universities in the Transformation of Societies :An International Research Project London: Association of Commonwealth Universities
Cardoso, C. (2005). Academic Freedom, Social Responsibility and the State of Academia. CODESRIA Bulletin, 1 & 2.
Cloete, N., Bialey., T., Pillay, P., Bunting, I., & Maassen, P. (2011). Universities and Economic Development in Africa. Wynberg: Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET),.
Daszko, M., & Sheinberg, S. (2014). Survival is optional: Only Leaders With New Knowledge Can Lead the Transformation Retrieved 7 June 2014, 2014, from http://www.sheilasheinberg.com/docs/Survival%20is%20Optional_Daszko_Sheinberg.pdf
Dei, G. S. (2002). Rethinking the role of indigenous knowledges in the academy. New Approaches to Lifelong Learning, 58.
Dei, G. S. (2014). Reflections on African development-situating indigeneity and Indigenous epstemologies. In E.Shizha & A.A.Abdi (Eds.), Indigenous Discourses on Knowledge and Development in Africa (pp. 15-30). New York: Routledge.
Ensor, P. (2004). Contesting discourses in higher education curriculum restructuring in South Africa. Higher Education, 48, 339–359.
Habib, A. (2014). Vice-Chancellor’s Address :US Chief Executive Officers and Executives Breakfast from http://www.witsfoundation.co.za/images/fullspeech.pdf
Juma, C. (2005). We Need to Re-invent the African University, from http://www.scidev.net/content/ opinions/eng/we-need-to-reinvent-th e-africanuniversity.
Lowy, R. (1995). Eurocentrism, Ethnic Studies, and the New World Order: Toward a Critical Paradigm. Journal of Black Studies, 25, 712-736.
Luckett, K. (2010). Knowledge claims and codes of legitimation: Implications for curriculum recontextualisation in South African higher education. Africanus, 40(1), 4-18.
Maluleke, T. (2005). Africanization of Tuition at UNISA – A Perspective from the College of Human Sciences. Unisa. Pretoria.
Nabudere, D. W. (2003). Towards the Establishment of a Pan-African University: A Strategic Concept Paper. African Journal of Political Science, 8(1), 1-29.
Nandy, A. (2000a). Recovery of Indigenous Knowledge and Dissenting Futures of the University. In S. Inayatullah & J. Gidley (Eds.), The University in Transformation: Global Perspectives on the Futures of the University (pp. 115–123). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Nandy, A. (2000b). Recovery of Indigenous Knowledge and Dissenting Futures of the University. In S. Inayatullah & J. Gidley (Eds.), he University in Transformation: Global Perspectives on the Futures of the University (pp. 115-123). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Odora-Hoppers, C. A. (2002). Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge Systems: Towards an Articulation. Claremont, South Africa: New African Books.
Odora-Hoppers, C. A. (2005). Culture, indigenous knowledge and development: The role of the university. Johannesburg: Centre for Education Policy Development.
Omotoso, S. A. (2010). Education and Emancipation: An African Philosophical Perspective. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 3(9), 222-231.
Ordorika, I. (1999). Power, Politics, and Change in Higher Education: The case of the National Autonomous University of Mexico PhD, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
Teferra, D. (2002). Scientific Communication in African Universities: External Agencies and National Needs. PhD Thesis. Boston College. Boston.
Teferra, D., & Altbach, P. G. (2004). African Higher Education: Challenges for the 21st Century. Higher Education, 47(1), 21-50.
Weiler, H. N. (2011a). Knowledge and Power :The New Politics of Higher Education. Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, XXV(3), 205-221.
Weiler, H. N. (2011b). Whose Knowledge Matters?Development and the Politics of Knowledge. Paper presented at the Keynote Address at the International Higher Education Congress “New Trends and Issues” Istanbul. http://www.stanford.edu/~weiler/Texts09/Weiler_Molt_09.pdf
Wills, E. R. (2014). Notes on the Politics of Knowledge in the Israeli Feminist Anti-Occupation Movement. Michigan State Feminist Studies 20, from http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.ark5583.0020.005
Wilson-Tagoe, N. (2007). The University in Africa: a Perspective on Transformation. Social dynamics 3 3 (1), 238-241.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11591/edulearn.v8i4.119
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2014 Intelektual Pustaka Media Utama
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn)
ISSN: 2089-9823, e-ISSN 2302-9277
Published by Intelektual Pustaka Media Utama (IPMU) in collaboration with the Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science (IAES).