What, Why, How and by Whom? Reflections on the Hashtag Movements, the Politics of Knowledge Production and Academic Literacy Pedagogies in South African Higher Education

Abstract

This article draws primarily on the relevant literature to reflect on two critical moments that changed the South African (SA) higher education landscape: #Rhodesmustfall and #Feesmustfall. It examines how universities have responded to the calls for curriculum decolonisation in the aftermath of the hashtag movements and the implications for reimagining Academic Literacy (AL) pedagogies in SA universities. The article is framed around two arguments. First, although Rhodes fell during the student protests, it did not dismantle the resilient institutional cultures that have sustained racial and epistemic hierarchies. In the context of AL, these epistemic hierarchies often influence module contents, pedagogies and assessment practices. Second, given the socio-economic challenges in SA, curriculum decolonisation should inspire transformative practices in classroom spaces. The article therefore concludes that AL pedagogies should focus on providing students with key cognitive competencies and literacies that can assist them to participate in disrupting Western epistemic domination, increasing their chances of academic success and employability. To achieve these, AL curricula should include discipline/context-specific indigenous and culturally inclusive pedagogies. In addition, lecturers should use a mixture of academic texts that allow students to recognise and appreciate the fact there are different ways of being, knowing and doing.