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Knowledge and Change in African Universities

Volume 1 – Current Debates

  • Book
  • © 2017

Overview

Editors:
  1. Michael Cross

    1. University of Johannesburg, South Africa

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  2. Amasa Ndofirepi

    1. University of Johannesburg, South Africa

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  • A major contention in the book is that African excellence should be measured against its own uniqueness as universities in Africa exhibit competitive knowledge processes on a global scale without losing the critical international dimensions
  • The book holds that decolonisation as change of ways and sources of knowing is a critical epistemological concern for the future of the university in Africa
  • The book suggests that knowledge for public good should be at the epicentre of the decolonised curriculum in the African university

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
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  2. University Knowledge for Societal Change in Africa

    • Amasa Ndofirepi, Michael Cross
    Pages 1-13

  3. Reinventing Greatness

    • Ihron Rensburg
    Pages 15-27

  4. Ubuntu

    • Yusef Waghid
    Pages 29-40

  5. Knowledge as a Public Good

    • Amasa Ndofirepi, Michael Cross
    Pages 41-57

  6. The Conditions that Make a Difference

    • Julia Suárez-Krabbe
    Pages 59-80

  7. Knowledge, Globalisation and the African University

    • Kingston Nyamapfene, Amasa Ndofirepi
    Pages 81-100

  8. Africanisation and Diverse Epistemologies in Higher Education Discourses

    • Kai Horsthemke
    Pages 101-120

  9. Higher Education Transformation in South Africa

    • Sipho Seepe
    Pages 121-143

  10. Interrogating the Civic Role of South African Universities

    • Joseph Jinja Divala
    Pages 145-160

  11. Decolonisation of Knowledge in the African University

    • Birgit Brock-Utne
    Pages 161-181

  12. Internationalisation and Africanisation in a Globalising World

    • Bheki R. Mngomezulu
    Pages 183-194

  13. Africanisation of Humanities Knowledge in the Universities in Africa

    • Neo Lekgotla Laga Ramoupi, Roland Ndille Ntongwe
    Pages 195-214

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 215-219
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Keywords

About this book

Besides the ongoing concern with the epistemological and theoretical hegemony of the West in African academic practice, the book aims at understanding how knowledge is produced and controlled through the interplay of the politics of knowledge and current intellectual discourses in universities in Africa. In this regard, the book calls for African universities to relocate from the position of object to subject in order to gain a form of liberated epistemological voice more responsive to the social and economic complexities of the continent. In itself, this is a critical exposé of contemporary practices in knowledge advancement in the continent. Broadly the book addresses the following questions: How can African universities reinvent knowledge production and dissemination in the face of the dominant Eurocentricism so pervasive and characteristic of academic practice in Africa to enhance their relevance to the contexts in which they operate? How can such change, particularly at knowledgeproduction and distribution levels, be undertaken, without falling into an intellectual and discursive ghettoization in the global context? What then is the role of academics, policy makers and curriculum and program designers in dealing with biases and distortions to integrate policies, knowledge and pedagogy that reflect current cultural diversity, both local and global? Against this backdrop, while some contributions in this book argue that emancipatory epistemic voice in African universities is not yet born, or it is struggling with little success, many dissenting voices charge that if Africans do not take responsibility and construct knowledge strategies for their own emancipation, who will?

Editors and Affiliations

  • University of Johannesburg, South Africa

    Michael Cross, Amasa Ndofirepi

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Knowledge and Change in African Universities

  • Book Subtitle: Volume 1 – Current Debates

  • Editors: Michael Cross, Amasa Ndofirepi

  • Series Title: African Higher Education: Developments and Perspectives

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-842-6

  • Publisher: SensePublishers Rotterdam

  • eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature B.V. 2017

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-6300-842-6Published: 28 January 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVIII, 220

  • Topics: Education, general

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