Abstract: Submission #64

Abstract University spaces are described as alienating and foreign to black students in South Africa. This is especially true for first-year students entering higher education. To that effect, first-year students from a rural backgrounds often face despair and a sense of ‘otherness’ in university spaces where they are expected to thrive. As part of efforts to decolonise higher education, there have been calls to not only make universities accessible but also habitable to first-year students. While there is no paucity of literature on student alienation in university spaces, this paper adopts a decolonial perspective to contribute to the debate on why and how the African philosophies of Ubuntu, Ujamaa and Ubudlelane are an antidote to the alienation of black students in university environments. First, we unmask the colonial foundations of higher education in South Africa and demonstrate how university spaces preserve colonial legacies. Second, we reflect on a decade after the #FeesMustFall movement. Thirdly, examine the factors that affect student success in the humanities. Finally, we draw on the #FeesMustFall movement to demonstrate the relevance of the African philosophies of Ubuntu, Ujamaa and Ubudlelane in creating inclusive university spaces where black students can thrive. The paper adds to decolonial scholarship by reimagining higher education that embraces African indigenous philosophies to promote student success.
Key words: Humanities, humanizing pedagogies Ubuntu, Ujamaa, Ubudlelane, rural university campus