The Decolonial Turn: Rethinking an African University Through Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences

The infamous Fees Must Fall movement (#FeesMustFall) student protest triggered a renewed interest in the decolonisation of university in South Africa and ultimately the decolonisation of the university curriculum. Hinged on the Decolonial Turn as a conceptual framework to frame the discussion, this qualitative study utilised a document analysis of university strategic reports, journal articles, books and legislation to conceptually study the contribution of the Decolonial Turn in rethinking an African Pluri-versity through knowledge production. The article delves into the meaning of the Decolonial Turn, why there is a need for a Decolonial Turn, the importance of rethinking how knowledge is produced, and the article outlines some critical platforms that have been used to exclude the Global South. Moreover, possible ways of rethinking knowledge production within the context of an African Pluri-versity are discussed. The findings establish that there is a need to debunk the notion that knowledge production is the prerogative of the Global North and that Africa has no role to play in this regard. The article contributes to knowledge on the important yet overdue conversation on (re)thinking the concept of knowledge production at an African Pluri-versity in efforts to realise the Decolonial Turn.