The role played by foreign African migrants in the promotion of African scholarship in the faculty of humanities, development and social sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.This thesis is based on a study examining the concept of African scholarship through the contributions of foreign African academics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) on the Howard College and Pietermaritzburg campuses. Being branded “The Premier University of African Scholarship” the study principally set out to investigate the role played by these academics as possible conduits in the expansion of African scholarship within the knowledge production circuit. The concept of African scholarship, though not a novel term, remains an elusive category that still needs to be defined within the global knowledge economy. A cursory look at written literature around African scholarship reveals a general tendency that presents „the debate‟ much more as a theoretical engagement and less at empirical engagements that could help advance the practicalities of this concept within the different intellectual debates. Among the different pockets of intellectuals concerned with the vision of African scholarship, the African diaspora outside the continent has always played a leading role in the need to address the African knowledge paradigms within the global intellectual production of knowledge. This study is of significance because it engages with an emerging African diaspora within the South African space and attempts to highlight how their experiences as migrants help in broadening the understanding of the African experience as a knowledge site. Using in-depth interviews within a qualitative research framework in combination with the technique of observation, the findings of this study reveal that as an emerging diaspora, foreign African academics at UKZN, are actively taking advantage of the university‟s slogan to meaningfully (re)insert „Africanness‟ in the kind of knowledge that is produced in the institution. Their contributions are measured in terms of postgraduate supervision, new research agendas, pedagogic and curricular development and networks of collaborations with other universities in Africa. Using an anthropological approach the study equally examines the implications of the attempt to position African scholarship within the global knowledge production map. The study further highlights the role that social identities such as gender, language, nationality, and race can play as epistemic spaces in the advancement of African scholarship. By engaging with these markers, the debate advances beyond the current ad hoc manner of presenting African scholarship simplistically within political rhetoric to a more nuanced incorporation of other markers which should occupy epistemic spaces within the discourse of African scholarship

An exploration of the lives and livelihoods of African professional migrants in institutions of higher learning : the case of University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.This study focuses on the lives and livelihoods of foreign African academics at UKZN. The study attempts to unpack the driving forces behind their decision to migrate and why South Africa has become a preferred destination for these migrants. It explores the kind of networks that inform them of employment opportunities that are available in institutions of higher learning in South Africa. It also sets out to explore the kind of skills possessed by these migrants that are needed for the development of skills in the institution. Research findings reveal a combination of micro and macro factors as reasons surrounding foreign African professional migrancy in South Africa. Macro factors are subsumed under general and structural reasons which include high unemployment rates, corruption, nepotism, and other forms of political oppressions and infrastructural problems. Over and above the relative viability of South African institutions with modern technological facilities and well organised curricular and material structures serve as major attractions to foreign African professional migrancy into the country. The factors of cultural affinity and geographical proximity are also among the reasons that foreign African academics at UKZN cited for their migration into South Africa. The individual in this study constitutes the basic unit in providing a more nuanced understanding of why this group of foreigners migrated to South Africa. In this regard personal reasons such as family pressure and change of geographical space form an integral part of reasons surrounding their migrancy in South Africa. Following the professional convenience that UKZN offers, this research showcases the desire expressed by various migrants under this study to pursue and establish a scholarship that would promote and legitimise Africa as an intellectual space of knowledge production. Being a “Premier University of African Scholarship”, professional migrants from the rest of the continent have indicated their willingness to dedicate their services within their different capacities to develop a curriculum that meets the needs of South Africa and Africa. The study shows some contributions that foreign academic are making in the development of the institution. From a social perspective the study highlights how professional African migrants have reconstructed gender roles and household constitution. Transnational migration as shown by this study reveals changing patterns in gender as African women just like the men are engaged in transnational activities for economic and career advancement. African women with educational skills whether married or unmarried have independently undertaken the decision to migrate for economic and social upliftment

The influence of migration on gender hierarchies within the African household

Most African cultures operate under dominant patriarchal norms that undercut women's activities and headship-related roles both within the private and public domains. In this article, I present a discourse on how increased migration undertaken by African women has contributed to changing patterns of gender hierarchies within an African household. I further argue that the theory of migration can present new ways of understanding intra-household gender dynamics within the African context. Gendering migration requires one to place the role of domestic gender leadership within cultural and contextual discourses. Through an empirical study conducted among African women from both formal and informal sectors, this article illustrates how migration redefines power relationships between African men and women within the household domain. The article examines how feminism can be used to transform cultural structures that promote unequal gender relations between men and women as well as other unequal power relations within the household.Keywords: African households, gender relations, feminism, migration and patriarchy

Psychosocial Implications, Students Integration/Attrition, and Online Teaching and Learning in South Africa’s Higher Education Institutions in the Context of COVID-19

This article explores the psychosocial impact of online teaching and learning on students, following the decision by South African universities to move teaching and learning from physical contact platforms to cyberspace interactions. South Africa’s intervention, like many other countries, adopted the necessary measures that would prevent the spread of the virus among its population, particularly educational institutions. One such measure was the decision to shut down institutions in South Africa and the contingent measure to operationalise teaching and learning using cyberspace. The unprecedented move to online teaching engendered levels of anxiety and fear, and presented a highly disruptive and traumatic experience for many students, especially those from impoverished and rural backgrounds. While focusing on student psychosocial vulnerabilities during this pandemic, the article also presents background factors such as social and economic factors that constrain student success in South Africa’s higher education institutions (HEIs), and which became exacerbated during the pandemic. It further explores the behavioural significance of online teaching and learning’s impact on the physical and psychological energy that students devote to their academic work. The study is underpinned by psychosocial and student-integration theories, and it weaves the argument articulated by leaning heavily on the secondary data. Lastly, by way of recommendation, the study highlights the unique challenges that the COVID-19 disaster posed for South African students in HEIs and emphasises the need to give symbolic attention to these unique challenges. The study, therefore, is proposing improvement in preparedness and the mitigation of societal disruption in South African society and higher education during future pandemics