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Submission Number: 64
Submission ID: 826
Submission UUID: 5ae5a0db-bdf5-45d4-8a86-c9793d9ca543
Submission URI: /2025/abstracts

Created: Thu, 04/24/2025 - 15:28
Completed: Thu, 04/24/2025 - 15:35
Changed: Thu, 04/24/2025 - 15:35

Remote IP address: 41.123.79.36
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Current page: Complete
Webform: Abstract
Title Mr.
Lastname Mtengwane
Firstname Gcina
eMail MtengwaneG@ufs.ac.za
Mobile 0719001458
Institution University of the free state
Biosketch Gcina Mtengwane is a community development lecturer at the University of the Free State's Centre for Gender and Africa Studies
Is there a Second Presenter? Yes
Title Ms.
Lastname Hlatshwayo
Firstname Buhle
eMail HlatshwayoBN@ufs.ac.za
Mobile 079 511 1595
Institution University of the Free State
Biosketch Buhle Hlatshwayo is a junior lecturer in the Department of English at the University of the Free State, QwaQwa Campus
Is there a Third Presenter? No
Title of Presentatation HUMANIZING THE HUMANITIES: ADAPTING THE AFRICAN PHILOSOPHIES OF UBUNTU, UJAMAA, and UBUDLELANE FOR FIRST-YEAR HUMANITIES STUDENT SUCCESS
Theme Selection THEME 4: Social Work Education, Transdisciplinarity and Curriculum Development
Subtheme FOUR Selection SUB 4.2 Strategies on building responsive social work curricula.
Select your Presentation Type Oral Presentation
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
Title
Firstname
Lastname
Does the Abstract fit the selected Theme?
What Area does this Abstract Focus on?
Status Pending Review
Title
Firstname
Lastname
Does the Abstract fit the selected Theme?
What Area does this Abstract Focus on?
Status Pending Review