Africanisation and diverse epistemologies in higher education discourses : Limitations and possibilities

‘Africanisation’ of higher education is generally understood to involve institutional transformation, and more specifically ‘decolonisation’ of higher education. As such, it has been assumed by many to be ‘beyond debate’. Regarding the transformation of tertiary educational institutions in South Africa, different kinds of necessary changes have been identified: transformation of demographic profile (changing the composition of student, academic and administrative bodies); transformation of syllabus and content; and transformation of the curriculum (changing the whole way teaching and learning are organised). Other suggestions include changes in criteria that determine what counts as excellent research, throughput rates, etc., on the basis of acknowledgement of, and respect for diverse and subaltern epistemologies. Regarding transformation of the curriculum, the emphasis on indigenous or African knowledge, in particular, characterises the writings of a host of academics and commentators. My contribution is primarily concerned with the question of whether the ideas of diverse or subaltern epistemologies, and of ‘indigenous’ or ‘African knowledge’ in particular, make any sense. The present chapter aims to provide not only conceptual clarification but also a critical examination of extant debates within higher education discourses. If the present analysis is compelling, then the debate about ‘Africanisation’ and epistemological diversity (in higher education, as elsewhere) must continue