Towards a pedagogy of hybridity, reconciliation and justice

CITATION: Koopman, N. 2012. Towards a pedagogy of hybridity, reconciliation and justice, in B. Leibowitz (ed.). Higher Education for the Public Good: Views from the South. Stellenbosch: AFRICAN SUN MeDIA. 151-163. doi:10.18820/9781928357056/12.The original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.zaIntroduction: For the past decade Dr Xolile Simon and I have been teaching a course on reconciliation and justice at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Our fifth year Masters of Divinity (MDiv) class is constituted by students of a wide range of ethnic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, as well as diversity with regard to gender and sexual orientation. Their diversity reflects the diversity of broader South African society, and of various countries in different parts of the globe. They are the students who now study together on a campus that is on a journey from exclusion to inclusion, from participation in apartheid injustices to the building of a just and reconciled society. They are part of a campus that strives to nurture hope on the continent of Africa by contributing to a life of dignity, justice and freedom on our campus and in broader society. These students originate from communities that still experience high levels of ethnic alienation. Even though apartheid laws were scrapped two decades ago, and although there is more inter-ethnic contact and exposure than during apartheid, millions of South Africans, many struggling economically, are still insulated from each other to a great extent. These students come from different socio-economic backgrounds. The majority of our coloured and black students still struggle to survive financially, while most of white students experience socio-economic wellbeing.Publisher's versio