Abstract:
The (most recent) call for curriculum decolonisation came at the height
of student protests such as #feesmustfall and #afrikaansmustfall. In the
University of Pretoria’s Curriculum Transformation Framework document, the University identified four drivers of curriculum transformation, namely, responsiveness to social context; epistemological
diversity; renewal of pedagogy and classroom practices; and an
institutional culture of openness and critical reflection. The content of
these drivers mirror what is needed to engage in decolonisation of
curricula. In the spirit of these protests that led to the
conceptualisation of decolonised higher education, the authors of this article critically reflect on the institutional landscape of historically
white universities. The authors employ the term ‘white gaze’ to
highlight how historically white universities respond to calls for
decolonisation, often substituting this call with transformation. The
purpose of this article is to re-contextualise the need for decolonisation
at historically white universities.
