Africa

Shay, Suellen. 2016. “Decolonising the Curriculum: It’s Time for a Strategy.” The Conversation, June 13, 2016.

Angela Okune: In this 2016 article by Dean and Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town, Suellen Shay, she highlights six key demands that she believes are key towards "decolonizing the curriculum."Read more

Ball, Stephen J. 1983. “Imperialism, Social Control and the Colonial Curriculum in Africa.” Journal of Curriculum Studies 15 (3): 237–63.

Angela Okune: This 1983 paper by Stephen Ball raised three important points regarding the role that British colonial education policies played in African development. He highlighted the demand for education by local Africans; that the history of colonial schooling is marked by the...Read more

Peters, Rebecca Warne, and Claire Wendland. 2016. “Up the Africanist: The Possibilities and Problems of ‘Studying up’ in Africa.” Critical African Studies, October, 1–16.

AO: This article by Peters and Wendland complicates Nadar's concept of "studying up," pointing out the complexity of power hierarchies that go beyond obvious and durable routes to power (e.g. whiteness in humanitarian projects). They argue, this aspect of studying up reveals ethical concerns...Read more

Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) 2018 Call for Abstract for Graduate Student Conference

This call for abstracts is particularly interesting in its framing because it points to the special importance of "deconstructive" approaches in contexts like "Africa."

White, Bob W. 1996. “Talk about School: Education and the Colonial Project in French and British Africa (1860-1960).” Comparative Education 32 (1): 9–26.

Abstract: " As a study in comparative colonialism, this research attempts to identify similarities and differences in the French and British models of colonial education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Differences in colonial policy were conditioned to some extent by settlement patterns,...Read more

Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʾo. 1986. Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. London : Portsmouth, N.H: J. Currey ; Heinemann.

Abstract: " Decolonising the Mind is a collection of essays about language and its constructive role in national culture, history, and identity. The book, which advocates for linguistic decolonization, is one of Ngũgĩ’s best-known and most-cited non-fiction publications, helping...Read more

Bude, Udo. 1983. “The Adaptation Concept in British Colonial Education.” Comparative Education 19 (3): 341–55.

Abstract: "The solution to the problems of education in Africa proposed by Jones and his colleagues was the design of an educational concept adapted to the needs of people, completely oriented towards family and community life. Their proposed 'adapted education' for black Africa would,...Read more

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