Description
Looking back to the initial optimism about democratic educational transformation in post-apartheid South Africa, philosopher of education Yusef Waghid asks how the promise of profound change in universities has floundered, and how it can be recovered.
In an era marked by rising authoritarianism, managerialism, and technocratic imperatives, higher education risks becoming a factory of credentialing rather than a crucible for democratic citizenship. By critically re-examining earlier commitments and exposing how policies intended to promote educational equity can instead reproduce domination, the book argues for a renewed, ethically grounded engagement with democracy that acknowledges both its fragility and its transformative potential. Blending reflective narrative, critical theory, and case studies of institutional reform and protest movements #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall, the text moves between philosophical deliberation and on-the-ground praxis. Each chapter engages key thinkers-Dewey, Gutmann, Giroux, Rancière, Todd, Biesta, Mbembe, Appiah, Habermas, Benhabib-while drawing on the author's experience in policy development, curriculum design, and leadership in South African universities.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Looking Back, Thinking Forward
Chapter 2: What Remains of Democracy?
Chapter 3: The Promise and Peril of Policy
Chapter 4: Pedagogy of Disruption
Chapter 5: Ubuntu, Dialogue, and the Ethics of Encounter
Chapter 6: Knowledge, Power, and Curriculum
Chapter 7: Democratic Leadership and Institutional Praxis
Chapter 8: Technology, Surveillance, and the New Authoritarianism
Chapter 9: Implications of Deliberative Democratic Education for University Pedagogy
Chapter 10: Democracy Reclaimed: A Philosophy for the Future University
Afterword
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 17 Sep 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 256 |
| ISBN | 9781350610736 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 10 bw illus |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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