Abstract
We are writing this chapter in a period of disruption. Not only is South Africa in the grasp of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also shopping malls and businesses are looted and burnt to the ground. Considering the enforcement of the atrocious apartheid system, South Africa has a well-documented history intertwined with violence. However, it seems as if this historical exposure to violence still reverberates through the valleys and hills of this beautiful country: Violence against the voiceless marginalised who are excluded from receiving basic services; violence against the bodies of those who are defenceless; violence in the form of attacks, murders and robberies among those that have not and those that have; violence against the humanity of those trustworthy citizens that have put their faith in community leaders and politicians, only to discover that government funds (the sweat and labour and stress of tax-paying citizens) were misappropriated and mismanaged (most often for self-enrichment); and violence against the environment with pollution and excessive consumption smothering life from the ocean. Violence thus seems to be systemically perpetuated through the processes, decisions and actions of South African citizens. Equally so in the higher education landscape where violence is experienced through the learning and teaching pedagogical practices used, particularly in excluding particular local (African) knowledge systems and values in curriculum content. This chapter will argue that disruption is required—a disruption that could lead to growth, transformation and life for all. For such a disruption to materialise, firstly, critique is needed and, secondly, the willingness of educators to take risks.
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Waghid, Y., Terblanche, J., Shawa, L.B., Hungwe, J.P., Waghid, F., Waghid, Z. (2023). Teaching and Learning as Critique, Taking Risks and Disruption. In: Towards an Ubuntu University. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06454-8_10
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