Decolonize How? Experiences from a Master’s Course in Digital Media at a South African University

Abstract

Three decades after the end of apartheid, curricula at South African universities still reflect their colonial and Eurocentric origins. Starting with the student protests of 2015, calls for decolonizing the curriculum have become progressively louder. In scholarly literature and academic discussions (both formal and informal), much attention is paid to what is or should be taught and who can or should teach it. Interventions tend to focus on the inclusion of works by African authors in the syllabus and on the emergence of a cohort of African lecturers who can relate to the life experience and cultural background of the majority of students. Relatively little attention is paid to how the curriculum is delivered and to what end. By applying a decolonial theoretical lens, the present paper seeks to interrogate broader issues of the relationship between teaching philosophy and practice, hidden curriculum, and institutional transformation. I draw on over a decade of experience as a lecturer and later coordinator of a master’s program at a South African University. The program has been reworked in recent years to promote the formation of African decolonial scholars in media and communication studies. While the ethnic and linguistic composition of the class changed over the years, the program consistently attracts students from all over Southern Africa who bring a wealth of diverse cultural, life, and disciplinary experiences. I experimented with a wide range of pedagogical strategies to draw on such wealth by linking theory to the students’ lived reality and enabling ample choice of topics and readings so that each student could pursue their interests. Coordination inspired by flexibility, empathy, and cherishing autonomy proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shift from full-time coursework and thesis to a mixed full and part-time full thesis model.