Reconstruction from the ruins: higher education and the cultivation of citizenship in the new South Africa

Kissack, M. and Enslin, P. (2003) Reconstruction from the ruins: higher education and the cultivation of citizenship in the new South Africa. South African Journal of Higher Education, 17(3), pp. 36-48.

Full text not currently available from Enlighten.

Abstract

Since 1994 national higher education policy has demanded radical reconstruction of the higher education sector in South Africa. But as well as addressing their divided and unequal past and the globalisation of higher education, our universities also face a global crisis in higher education, which Bill Readings (1996) has dubbed "the university in ruins". This article raises some critical concerns about current conceptions of the South African university. Our central focus is on the notion of citizenship education as an aim of tertiary education. We begin with an account of the ruination of our universities under apartheid. This is followed by a discussion of Gerard Delanty's (2001) analysis of the evolution of the contemporary university and the impact of the democratic cultural model on its work. Following Delanty, we explore the implications of the imperative to complement social citizenship with technological and cultural citizenship. Philosophical pragmatism, we argue, points the way to filling in some of the silences in current approaches to these issues, suggesting a radical reformulation of university curricula.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Enslin, Professor Penny
Authors: Kissack, M., and Enslin, P.
Subjects:L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education
Journal Name:South African Journal of Higher Education
Journal Abbr.:SAJHE
ISSN:1011-3487

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record