Bell hooks’ feminist, and ancient Egypt’s philosophy of education for an enabling Afrocentric education

Abstract

In 2021, bell hooks, an African-American anti-colonial education and feminist educator, passed on. hooks’ passing coincided with the 40th publication anniversary of her book, Ain’t I a woman: Black Women and Feminism. Her passing, and her book’s 40th anniversary, present opportunities for reflecting on her ideas about education as an instrument of freedom in a world where racists and sexists historically used education as an instrument of oppression. It is important to examine hooks’ work in South Africa considering that the year 2024 marks 30 years since the publication of her work, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s attainment of democracy in 1994. Reflecting on hooks’ works on anti-colonial and Eurocentric education is of great importance considering that since 1994, South Africa has struggled with how to abolish the legacy of colonial and apartheid-driven education. Here, I examine hooks’ feminist pedagogy and teaching methods in the context of ancient Egyptian philosophy of education, reflecting on how hooks’ thinking resonated with her ancient African ancestors’ thoughts in confronting patriarchy. Simultaneously, I illustrate the relevance of ancient Egypt’s and hooks’ ideas on liberatory teaching methods in the continuing calls for a decolonised, anti-racist, anti-sexist and Afrocentric education in South Africa. Here, racist and sexist education is seen as a “disabler”, and decolonising teaching practices are seen as “enablers”.