Enclave Curricula and the Politics of Decolonization

• In Event: Revolutionizing Curricula Through Collective Consciousness

Abstract

Why do radical curricula remain on the margins of institutional life? This paper forms part of a larger research endeavor to understand the uptake of decolonization in the curricula of ten South African universities. In this slice of the research, we examine ten innovative curricular projects, five from the humanities and five from the natural sciences, to examine their institutional status during the decolonization protests of 2015. The methods include in-depth interviews with the leaders of these projects and analyses of samples of the curricula ranging from political science and media studies to polymer chemistry and computer science. Drawing on neo-institutional theory our study demonstrates how regulatory processes retain these radical innovations on the margins of university life.

Authors

• Jonathan David Jansen, Stellenbosch University
  Presenting Author

• Cyrill Agnes Walters, Stellenbosch University
  Presenting Author