In Pursuit of Epistemic Healing in South African Universities

This book demonstrates the epistemic challenges in the South African education system and asks readers to think critically about the role of the university in a decolonial future. Xaba reveals how Western colonial educational models severed indigenous ways of knowing and learning across the Global South and settler colonial contexts. Presenting narratives capturing ongoing histories of violence, this book shows how Black South African students navigate intersecting identities of race, class, gender, and spirituality within university settings. It shows how racial discrimination from fellow students, academics and staff, coupled with discriminatory language policies, financial exclusion and violent colonial curricula affect Black students' wellbeing on university campuses. Xaba argues that these intersecting colonial violences mirror spiritual violence, hinder their holistic citizenship in South African universities and result in psycho-spiritual disease. By centering Black students' voices, this book provides crucial insights for educators, policymakers, activists, healers and institutions committed to creating affirming academic spaces and epistemic healing. An insightful read for scholars researching decoloniality in higher education, as well as students of feminist studies, decolonial theory, educational justice and critical university studies.