BEYOND LOCALITY AND UNIVERSALISM

NEGOTIATING THE FABRIC OF THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY –
BEYOND LOCALITY AND UNIVERSALISM


Our images and imaginations of universities in the 21st century are very much shaped by an ‘Emerging Global Model’. Against this background, the conference reflects on the past, present and future character of the modern ‘African’ university and the university in Africa. It aims to shed light on the conditions of possibility of a decolonial African university as it negotiates its characters between pressures of local realities and global trends. By doing so, it intends to better understand the trajectories of universities in Africa and to contribute to strengthening the development of these institutions and the higher education systems in which they are embedded. Furthermore, the salient sociological understanding of the university as a unified global cultural reference system is to be challenged and recalibrated.