Institutions of higher learning have the responsibility to educate and produce relevant knowledge that addresses societal challenges. The curriculum thus becomes critical to the transformation of these institutions. However, attempts to transform the curriculum have not adequately considered the epistemologies that inform it. Western epistemology is often viewed as the only legitimate source of knowledge production. Given the ongoing challenges, including the unemployability of graduates, there is a need to rethink the approaches used in curriculum transformation. This chapter argues that other epistemologies could introduce new knowledge that responds to contemporary challenges. One such epistemology is African epistemology. The chapter employs an African epistemological perspective to demonstrate how a curriculum developed from this viewpoint contributes to scientific innovation centered on the humanities, forging necessary convergences and meeting points across different disciplines. A curriculum grounded in African epistemology will not only address the over-specialization of graduates—who often cannot tackle the interconnected challenges facing today’s society—but will also produce graduates with multifaceted skills. In other words, curriculum transformation informed by African epistemology will be transdisciplinary, enabling graduates to approach complex societal problems with a transdisciplinary mindset. I conclude by presenting a transformed module through African epistemology, taught as one of the anthropology modules at the University of South Africa, to illustrate the practicality of employing African epistemology.

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Towards Transdisciplinarity: Transforming Curriculum from an African Epistemology

  • Nompumelelo Zodwa Radebe

摘要

Institutions of higher learning have the responsibility to educate and produce relevant knowledge that addresses societal challenges. The curriculum thus becomes critical to the transformation of these institutions. However, attempts to transform the curriculum have not adequately considered the epistemologies that inform it. Western epistemology is often viewed as the only legitimate source of knowledge production. Given the ongoing challenges, including the unemployability of graduates, there is a need to rethink the approaches used in curriculum transformation. This chapter argues that other epistemologies could introduce new knowledge that responds to contemporary challenges. One such epistemology is African epistemology. The chapter employs an African epistemological perspective to demonstrate how a curriculum developed from this viewpoint contributes to scientific innovation centered on the humanities, forging necessary convergences and meeting points across different disciplines. A curriculum grounded in African epistemology will not only address the over-specialization of graduates—who often cannot tackle the interconnected challenges facing today’s society—but will also produce graduates with multifaceted skills. In other words, curriculum transformation informed by African epistemology will be transdisciplinary, enabling graduates to approach complex societal problems with a transdisciplinary mindset. I conclude by presenting a transformed module through African epistemology, taught as one of the anthropology modules at the University of South Africa, to illustrate the practicality of employing African epistemology.