Jonathan Jansen is Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University and President of the Academy of Science of South Africa. He is a curriculum theorist, and his research is concerned with the politics of knowledge. His recent publications include Fault Lines: A Primer on Race, Science and Society (2020), Learning under Lockdown: Voices of South Africa's Children (2020), and Learning Lessons (2021). Cyrill Walters is a Research Fellow in Higher Education at Stellenbosch University. She also teaches on the MBA programme at Stellenbosch University Business School. She is currently engaged in projects examining decolonization within South African universities, the intersection of race and gender in higher education, and complexity theories in leadership.
'This is an exceptional contribution to our understanding of what actually happens to challenging curriculum ideas in higher education. Politically wise and clearly written, this volume deserves a wide audience among all of those who care about creating a more socially and culturally responsive education.' Michael W. Apple, University of Wisconsin 'The movement to 'decolonize' South African universities has produced far more heat than light. In this sober, brave, deeply empathetic book, Jansen and Walters look beyond the slogans and posturing to illuminate not only the failings but also the achievements and possibilities of the struggle for radical educational change.' James T. Campbell, Stanford University 'This theoretically contextualized investigation situates the problem of doing radical curriculum transformation within the dynamics of institutional intransigence, biographies of academic innovators, and the struggle for epistemic justice. It has profound intellectual and practical significance for academics and activists in South Africa and beyond.' Joyce King, Georgia State University 'This book sheds new light on how we understand reform, the ideas that inform it, the path those ideas follow, and implementation. The notion of an institutional curriculum could allow real transformation. This is a book for institutional leaders and the broader community to learn from and inform their reform projects.' Teboho Moja, New York University