Abstract
The years 2015 and 2016 were marked by violent protests at South African universities. While the focus of many of the protests was on access to university education, an equally major theme was the decolonisation of universities. University statues, such as that of Cecil John Rhodes at the University of Cape Town and many others, were pulled down or defaced. Within the discourse on decolonisation of curriculum, statues were viewed as symbols of maintaining and preserving the colonial hegemony that is being sustained by a Western or Eurocentric curriculum taught at universities. These developments led to a national discourse, which, among others, highlighted universities as spaces of exclusion because of residual colonial features. These protests became represented by hashtags such as #RhodesMustFall. These protests indicated a conflict and contest to eradicate the remnants of colonialism, as represented by statues (#YourStatueMustFall), which some protesters argued should be replaced by symbols of black liberation and anti-apartheid iconic symbols (#MyStatueShouldBeErectedInstead). For an integrated South Africa, with its constitutional ideals of a rainbow nation, a discourse of coexistence is required (#BothOurStatuesShouldBeErected). In this situation, a contextually engaged reformatory public practical theology is required to contribute to a constructive discourse and coexistence.
Highlights
Original ResearchA public practical-theological response and proposal to decolonisation discourse in South Africa: From
The movement that made the call for higher education transformation prominent and placed it on top of national discourse, the #RhodesMustFall campaign, started at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in March 2015 when a student, Chumani Maxwele, smeared faeces on the statue of Cecil John Rhodes
The offshoots of #RhodesMustFall included intense discussion on curriculum decolonisation and the rate of university transformation, among other things. In view of this situation, the following questions arise: how may the situation be understood, that is, understanding meaning beyond the statue symbol discussion? What could be the negative effects of a binary discussion? What possible options and principles could be explored from theology to foster a dialogue of coexistence and space sharing within a polarised discussion on the public space? This paper argues that not understanding the underlying meaning behind the discussion of pulling down of statues (#YourStatueMustFall) and encouragement of other symbols (#MyStatueShouldBeErected) potentially entrenches animosity; a discourse of coexistence (#BothOurStatuesShouldBeErected) should be encouraged
Summary
A public practical-theological response and proposal to decolonisation discourse in South Africa: From. The movement that made the call for higher education transformation prominent and placed it on top of national discourse, the #RhodesMustFall campaign, started at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in March 2015 when a student, Chumani Maxwele, smeared faeces on the statue of Cecil John Rhodes. Originally directed against a statue that commemorates the colonial icon Cecil John Rhodes, the campaign marked the beginning of the largest wave of student protests in democratic South Africa’ This event gave rise to national awareness on higher education realities and evolved into a countrywide student movement calling for the decolonisation of higher education in South Africa (Booysen 2016; Naicker 2016; Naidoo 2016; Pillay 2016). Note: This article was initially presented at the Association of Practical Theology Biennial Conference, 13–15 April 2018, Yale Divinity School, US
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