In search of our human face : black consciousness, black spirituality, inclusive humanity and the politics of vulgarity

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Boesak, Allan Aubrey
dc.date.accessioned 2021-04-22T07:15:01Z
dc.date.available 2021-04-22T07:15:01Z
dc.date.issued 2020-12
dc.description.abstract This contribution grapples with the question: Is there a relationship between Steve Biko’s ‘quest for a true humanity’ or, differently put, his search for South Africa’s ‘human face’ and Vuyani Vellem’s quest for an African spirituality? Our proposition is that there is such a relationship. This discussion is framed overall by two other questions: What is the relevance of this ‘quest’ within the present South African context, what is its contribution to the global situation and, fundamentally, what is the contribution black liberation theology can make to these discourses? In the course of this exploration, we engage the concepts of Africanisation and Afrocentricity, colonisation, coloniality and decoloniality, and we ask whether a true Afro-pluralism is possible without a true African indigeneity. These concepts, we shall argue, are tools of struggle, not only in confronting colonisation and coloniality but also in battling imperialism, in the form I discuss here: the politics of vulgarity. I contend that an African spirituality, Biko’s ‘gift’ from Africa to the world, is the most appropriate vessel for that very gift. CONTRIBUTION: This article serves as commemoration of the contribution the late Professor Vuyani Vellem made to the qualitative substantiation of black theology liberation in South Africa. It demonstrates the powerful way in which Afro-pluralism enhances the contranarrative of imperialism and colonialism. en_ZA
dc.description.department Dogmatics and Christian Ethics en_ZA
dc.description.librarian pm2021 en_ZA
dc.description.uri http://www.hts.org.za en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Boesak, A.A., 2020, ‘In search of our human face: Black consciousness, black spirituality, inclusive humanity and the politics of vulgarity’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 76(3), a6164. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.6164. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 0259-9422 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 2072-8050 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.4102/hts.v76i3.6164
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79562
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher AOSIS en_ZA
dc.rights © 2020. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. en_ZA
dc.subject Black consciousness en_ZA
dc.subject Black liberation theology en_ZA
dc.subject Africanisation en_ZA
dc.subject Afrocentricity en_ZA
dc.subject Afro-plurality en_ZA
dc.subject Indigeneity en_ZA
dc.subject Humanism en_ZA
dc.subject Politics of vulgarity en_ZA
dc.subject Spirituality en_ZA
dc.subject.other Theology articles SDG-04
dc.subject.other SDG-04: Quality education
dc.subject.other Theology articles SDG-05
dc.subject.other SDG-05: Gender equality
dc.subject.other Theology articles SDG-10
dc.subject.other SDG-10: Reduced inequalities
dc.subject.other Theology articles SDG-16
dc.subject.other SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
dc.subject.other Theology articles SDG-17
dc.subject.other SDG-17: Partnerships for the goals
dc.title In search of our human face : black consciousness, black spirituality, inclusive humanity and the politics of vulgarity en_ZA
dc.type Article en_ZA


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record