This book explores the role of the university in upholding democratic values for societal change. The chapters advocate for the moral virtue of democratic patriotism: the editors and contributors argue that universities, as institutions of higher learning, can encourage the creation of critical and patriotic citizens. The book suggests that non-violence, tolerance, and peaceful co-existence ought to manifest through pedagogical university actions on the basis of educators’ desire to cultivate reflectiveness, criticality, and deliberative inquiry in and through their academic programmes. In a way, universities can respond more positively to the violence on our campuses and in society if public and controversial issues were to be addressed through an education for democratic citizenship and human rights.
Author(s): Nuraan Davids, Yusef Waghid
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 231
City: Cham
Foreword
Preface
References
Contents
Notes on Contributors
1: Controversy and the Public Sphere: In Defence of Pluralist Deliberation
Introduction
On the Downfall of the Public University
On the Significance of Critical-Rational Debate to Address Controversy
Public Deliberation and Cultural Pluralism in the University
Towards a Conclusion: Cultivating a Practice of Teaching Students to Think Controversially
References
2: Reconceiving a World Around Our Bodies: Universities, Gender-Based Violence, and Social Justice
Introduction
Making Sense of Gender-Based Violence
GBV: Disguised and (Il)legitimised as Culture
Shame, Silence and Under-Reporting
Universities as Unsafe Public Spheres
An Issue of Social Justice in the Public Sphere
References
3: Violent Pedagogy? Critical Pedagogical Self-Reflection in the Midst of Engaging the Silencing Effects of Gender-Based Violence Within the Context of Higher Education
Introduction
Considering the Broader South African Contextual GBV Landscape
2019 #SilentProtest at UKZN
Embedding Protest in Pedagogy: Theoretical Underpinnings Informing the Inclusion of Protest as Part of the Pedagogical Process
Preliminary Pedagogical Insights Gained from Critical Pedagogical Self-Reflection
The Problem of Performing Pain
Finding a Vocabulary to Name Experiences of Violence
Countering a “Violent Culture” by Creating Safe Spaces and Communities of Solidarity
Theoretical Scaffolding for Social Action
Some Concluding Thoughts
References
4: Re-posturing the African University for Social Justice in Light of Increasing Violence
Introduction
State of the University in Africa
Education Aims and Just Pedagogies
The Civic Aim of the University
Freirean Education for Transformation
Non-scripted Education
Detachment for Relevance and Competitiveness
Education Funding and Management
Re-conceptualising the Ends of Pedagogy
Confronting Structures of Gender Violence
Centring Critical Dialogue
Facing the Future
Conclusion
References
5: Re-examining Instances of Cognitive Damage in South African Universities: Invoking Democratic Action Through Educational Technology
Introduction
Instances of Cognitive Damage in South African Universities
Political Extremism
National Determinism
Racial Essentialism
A Senian Account of the Universality of Value in Disrupting Causes of Cognitive Damage
A Rancièrian Enactment of Educational Technology for the Alleviation of Cognitive Damage: In Defence of Democratic Action
Using Educational Technology to Disrupt Instances of Cognitive Damage
Conclusion
References
6: Responding to the Needs of the Republic: Investigating the Democratic/Social Role of the University in Contemporary South Africa
Introduction
On the Issue of Violence
Recognising the University as a Democratic/Social Actor
The University Acting in Loco Humanus
Ubuntu: Less of a Panacea and More of a Guide
Deliberative Engagement
Challenging Toxic Social Scripts
The Performative/Symbolic Actions
Power
Conclusion
References
7: Identity (Re)construction in Higher Education Spaces
Introduction
Problematising Identity (Re)construction in Higher Education Spaces
Encounters of Vulnerability
Identity (Re)construction
Struggle for Recognition
Conclusion
References
8: Institutional Culture and the Lived Experience of Violence on University Campuses in South Africa
Introduction
University as a Product: The Ontology of the South African University
University as Producer and Purveyor: Global Influences on the Modus Operandi
Dimensions of Institutional Culture: “New Materialism” and the Understanding of the University as Institution and Idea
The Lived Experience of Black “Non-traditional” Students on University Campuses
Considerations Going Forward: How Do We Cultivate Non-violent Humanising Institutional Cultures
Conclusion
References
9: “Burn to Be Heard”: The (In)dispensability of “Revolutionary” Violence in Student Protests and Responsible Citizenship in African Public Universities
Introduction
Theorizing Revolutionary Violence in Student Protests
Contextual Settings of Revolutionary, Violent Student Protests in Africa
An Overview of Violent Student Protests in African Universities
Problematising Revolutionary Violence in Student Protests: Towards Responsible Citizenship in African Universities
Conclusion
References
10: On the Controversy of Democratic Citizenship and Its Implications for University Education
Introduction
What Is So Controversial About Democratic Citizenship?
What Are the Implications of a Lack of Democratic Citizenry for University Education?
University Education as Moving Towards the Light
References
Coda: Old Wine in New Skins: Why Decolonisation May Be a Failed Project in Rising Africa
Introduction
The Historical Elusiveness of Decolonisation, Coloniality and Decoloniality
Colonial Legacy and the Post-independence Trajectory
Conceptions of University Decolonisation After Independence
Prospects for the Decolonisation of the University in Zimbabwe
The South African Context and Prospects for Decolonisation
Neoliberal Globalisation and the Decolonisation Project
Complexities of a Decolonised University
What Could Be the Necessary Dispositions for the Decolonisation of the University?
Concluding Remarks
References
Index
