Abstract
The impetus for decolonisation of knowledge is not new in (South) Africa. While scholars agree that we need to decolonise knowledge, there are debates around the mode that decolonisation must take as varied meanings and practices are offered. This thesis examined the competing ideas around the meanings of decolonisation of knowledge in “South African universities.” Taking a fallist positionality supported by decoloniality and southern theory, the thesis explored these competing meanings through a qualitative methodology involving 23 academics across 9 “post”-apartheid universities. Similarly, data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. Since post-apartheid universities have different histories; the study aimed not to find a homogenous meaning and practice of decolonisation but to understand the contexts which shape decolonisation of knowledge in South Africa.
Decolonisation is not monolithic but complex. The thesis situates scholars’ social biographies as central for understanding meanings and practising decolonisation of knowledge. Similarly, it addresses the contestations surrounding transformation and decolonisation and argues that while transformation often focuses on issues of access and equity at the expense of structural justice, it remains significant. Moreover, this limitation has given rise to decolonisation aimed at confronting Black alienation in universities. Transformation is not an end but a transition to decolonisation. As decolonisation is all-embracing, I focus on its racial dimensions to confront structural issues by grappling with Whiteness as a colonising power structure that enacts ideas of inferiority and superiority. Whiteness produces notions of fragility when confronted; hence, decolonisation may be uncomfortable for some Whites as it socialises them away from power.
It is contended that decolonisation of knowledge is not the erasure of the Western canon but is about rethinking and dismantling this racist canon to establish one that is non-hegemonic. Furthermore, it is stated that decolonisation is racialised and individualised as it is outsourced to Black scholars. Since decolonisation is practised in a way that fortifies instead of dismantling Whiteness, Blacks are victims of what is termed Black absent-presentism. They are physically present but absent ontologically as they lack the agency to (re)make space in their image. As such, universities are violent spaces of Black damnation. Overall, decolonisation is idealised, but its practice is subverted, producing what is termed the coloniality of decolonisation. In this state, supporters of decolonisation theorise their lived experiences by inviting non-certificated activists to teach at universities.