The Value of De Sousa Santos’ Concepts of Epistemicide, University Knowledge, and Pluriversality to the Decolonial Discourse in/on South African Universities

Abstract

This thesis deploys Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ tridimensional concepts of epistemicide, university knowledge, and pluriversity knowledge to comprehend how South African universities can genuinely be decolonised. Specifically, the thesis is concerned with the pervasive epistemicide associated with the coloniality of university knowledge and argues for pluriversity knowledge, which speaks to the necessity of diversity, multiplicity, and ecologies of knowledges on South African campuses. Many scholars and student movements have identified epistemic colonisation as a key problem that has persisted in South African universities since the transition from apartheid colonialism to liberal democracy in 1994. However, none have consistently and systematically used Santos’ concepts and theories based on the epistemologies of the South to make sense of the challenges facing South African higher education. Instead, many have turned to the concepts of power, being, and knowledge from the Latin American decoloniality school. However, this has resulted in Santos’ distinctive concepts being conflated with the concepts of coloniality and decoloniality. Santos has made many contributions to academia, including the concepts of abyssal thinking, sociology of emergences, sociology of absences, intercultural translations, and post-abyssal methodologies. In this thesis, three concepts are underpinned—epistemicide, university knowledge, and pluriversity knowledge—because they are most applicable to higher education. The concept of epistemicide allows for a thorough analysis of the damage inflicted on higher education in South Africa by apartheid, colonialism, and neoliberalism. The concept of university knowledge assists in critically analysing epistemologies, scholarship, curriculum, and pedagogy. Finally, pluriversity knowledge allows for the projection into a future genuinely decolonised university—a university that has the potential to prevent the repetition of protests such as the RhodesMustFall and FeesMustFall movements that happened in 2015 and 2016, respectively.