Ubuntu currere in the academy: a case study from the South African experience

ABSTRACT Universities in the Global South continue to be confronted with the ethical demands for transformation and decolonsiation. In this paper, we discuss the epistemic possibilities for transforming and decolonising curricula. Building on the work of Pinar and Le Grange, we propose the notion of Ubuntu currrere as an emancipatory alternative to the traditional top-down, hierarchical approach to designing, teaching, and assessing curricula, research and community engagement. We argue that curricula can be thought of as an active conceptual tool that is dialectical, inclusive, and democratic in its very constitution, capable of enabling varied voices such as those from students, lecturers, policy makers, communtiy stakeholders, industry, and others. As such, we argue that curricula should not have epistemic closure. We recommend an Ubuntu currere pedagogy that can respond to the clarion calls for South African higher education’s transformation in reconceptualising varied voices as premised on democratic thought, diversity, and critical engagement that foster social justice.