Suchergebnisse

Published Article ; Considering the frictions and tensions about the socio-cultural and economic development of Africa and the existence of some of tendencies and actions that are not in favour of the continent's advancement, the main aim of this article is to argue for the deliberate reinstatement and retrieval of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). The purpose this argument which in the main is a political position of an African cultural activist is to motivate for the use of IKS as a tool for socio-cultural change and economic development strategies that are vital in the era of globalisation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This is not new in that as demonstrated by situations of Japan and other Asian countries, IKS has all the potential to enable the African continent to meet the challenges of globalisation and chart its future. In addition, the article argues that the deliberate re-centering of IKS has a potential of complementing the 4IR initiatives with sciences that are embedded in life and work of communities that are majority in the world and are still depended on the natural resources that are under threat of diminishing.

Article ; The main task of this article is to interrogate the meaning and content of the concept of culture as a phenomenological and ideological concept in human history, and to demonstrate how it is linked to the development or non-development of the marginalized communities within the African continent. Equally important, the article identifies the processes of alienation and the marginalization of African cultural heritage by the ideological designs and practices of colonialism and the apartheid ideology. It highlights the importance of the African Renaissance call as a socio-cultural, political and economic strategy for transformation in post-1994 South Africa, and a movement to motivate Africa into moving forward and realising its true potential in the context of globalization and its marginalizing tendencies.

Published Article ; In this essay the meaning and implications of the idea of transformation are investigated and interrogated. Equally important, to have a clear understanding of the idea of transformation as a socio-political and economic strategy aimed at redressing the complex consequences of a system that propagated injustice of the worst kind, the situation of South Africa is treated as a case study. Undeniably, South Africa's apartheid system was intended to create and perpetuate a situation of racial division, racial oppression, human degradation and economic deprivation (Mbeki 1998: 41). In contrast, the post-1994 South Africa is a country in the process of fundamental change from an apartheid hierarchy of cultures, an authoritative and unjust society to a democratic society grounded in a patriotic national cultural identity.

This book deliberates on developments related to Knowledge Pathing: Multi-, Inter- and Trans-Disciplining in Social Sciences. The book explores the value of this vexed concept in advancing the course for multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary perspectives, methodologies, theories and epistemologies of knowledge pathing. The discourse on knowledge pathing remains critical in advancing debates and dialogues in the humanities and social sciences spaces of research and studies. This book makes a significant contribution to the scholarly understanding of indigenous knowledge research by focusing on problematising local indigenous community research from Afro-sensed perspectives. The field of indigenous knowledge research and higher education in Africa is complex. Yet, across the continent, higher education has been the sector to least embrace Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) or regard indigenous science as a legitimate source of inspiration for the development of youth and local communities. Higher education institutions and local indigenous communities should thus generate knowledge and power through research. On the other hand, higher education researchers should use their research processes and skills for cross-beneficiation when engaging local indigenous communities. This book embodies the current discourse on decolonisation and the use of indigenous knowledge in research and is intended for research specialists in the field of indigenous knowledge systems.