Numéro

Vol. 23 No 1 (2025): Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique : Numéro spécial sur Décoloniser la production des savoirs dans les sciences humaines, les sciences sociales et les arts

Towards the Decolonised University in Africa

A Perspective from the Philosophy of Liberation
https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v23i1.6494
William Jethro Mpofu

Corresponding Author(s) : William Jethro Mpofu

William.mpofu@wits.ac.za

Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique, Vol. 23 No 1 (2025): Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique : Numéro spécial sur Décoloniser la production des savoirs dans les sciences humaines, les sciences sociales et les arts

Résumé

 


Cet article mobilise la perspective de la philosophie de la libération comme cadre d’analyse pour esquisser une image de l’université décolonisée en Afrique. Il observe que le modèle euro-américain de l’université est actuellement hégémonique en Afrique, et que ce système d’enseignement


supérieur occidental et hérité de la colonisation doit être décolonisé. L’article commence par expliquer l’usage de la philosophie de la libération comme grille de lecture, puis examine le modèle euro-américain actuel de l’université, qui constitue une université occidentalisée en Afrique plutôt qu’une véritable université africaine. Enfin, il propose une vision de l’université décolonisée en Afrique, qui serait multilingue, caractérisée par une diversité humaine et épistémique, et dotée d’une architecture et d’infrastructures inclusives intégrées dans ses espaces et environnements. Dans cette université décolonisée en Afrique, le savoir et la production de connaissances seraient considérés comme des biens et services publics plutôt que comme des marchandises sur le marché. Cette université serait enracinée en Afrique tout en étant pertinente et présente à l’échelle mondiale. Elle concilierait pertinence locale et excellence internationale. Cette université décolonisée en Afrique serait une université planétaire du Sud global, où la planète et tout ce qu’elle contient – l’ensemble de la nature et du vivant – seraient valorisés. Cette idée peut sembler idéaliste et utopique précisément parce que la libération elle-même, ainsi que les futurs qu’elle cherche à imaginer et à concrétiser, relèvent de l’utopie.

Mots-clés

université décolonisée en Afrique philosophie de la libération université occidentalisée en Afrique Sud global université planétaire
Mpofu, W. J. (2026). Towards the Decolonised University in Africa: A Perspective from the Philosophy of Liberation. Revue De l’enseignement supérieur En Afrique, 23(1), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v23i1.6494
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Biographie de l'auteur

William Jethro Mpofu

Researcher, Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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