The Presence of postcolonial academics in South African universities

Abstract

Cognizant of the expansiveness of the African continent, our interest is in identifying the size and shape of African academics from beyond South Africa, across a total of 44 countries attracted to the South African university system. More specifically, and against the backdrop of the structural reforms in the South African higher education system, we examine the size and shape of the African academic cohort in relation to the South African and international cohorts. Following this, we disaggregate the specific African academic cohort in relation to their postcolonial formations, and we do so in relation to the distribution of African countries of origin. This is conducted in twenty-three universities, which are officially subdivided into the institutional types of Research University, University of Technology, and Comprehensive University. In effect, we provide an empirical snapshot of the 2014 African academic cohort in the South African university system. In light of this, we consider how one might take up a deeper engagement with the theoretical and paradigmatic dimensions of emergent African epistemes as a means of analyzing this relatively new segment of the academic cohort in the South African university system.