Scholarlink

This chapter explores the contested status of Afrikaans at Stellenbosch University (SU), a historically Afrikaans institution in South Africa. SU’s legacy as a key site of apartheid-era knowledge production and its role in standardizing Afrikaans is critically examined. The chapter highlights tensions between language preservation and transformation, especially amid student-led decolonization movements like #OpenStellenbosch. SU’s evolving language policies are considered, particularly the shift toward multilingualism and the inclusion of English and isiXhosa. The chapter also critiques the symbolic and structural remnants of apartheid in SU’s institutional culture, visual landscape, and public discourse. Ultimately, it frames Afrikaans as a “disobedient form,” whose creolised roots challenge essentialist notions of identity and belonging, and whose future at SU remains a site of political and cultural negotiation.

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

The Journey of a Disobedient Form: On the Place and Policies of a Loaded Language at a South African University

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

查看全文
  • Riaan Oppelt

摘要

This chapter explores the contested status of Afrikaans at Stellenbosch University (SU), a historically Afrikaans institution in South Africa. SU’s legacy as a key site of apartheid-era knowledge production and its role in standardizing Afrikaans is critically examined. The chapter highlights tensions between language preservation and transformation, especially amid student-led decolonization movements like #OpenStellenbosch. SU’s evolving language policies are considered, particularly the shift toward multilingualism and the inclusion of English and isiXhosa. The chapter also critiques the symbolic and structural remnants of apartheid in SU’s institutional culture, visual landscape, and public discourse. Ultimately, it frames Afrikaans as a “disobedient form,” whose creolised roots challenge essentialist notions of identity and belonging, and whose future at SU remains a site of political and cultural negotiation.