Deracialising universities: reflexive conversations

Abstract

As a policy goal, staff equity, more specifically at the level of "race" ushers in several implementation challenges for the university sector. This article seeks to contribute substantively to this complex phenomenon. It relates the need for staff transformation (in terms of "race") with that of the democratic imperative as required by our diverse society. Having established the broad rationale for change it hones in on micro-level staff equity practices of recruitment and curriculum. It focuses on the extent to which "race" operates and intersects with other social factors. Furthermore, given the close conceptual relationship between "race" and the dimension of perceived alienation on the part of black academics, the article offers some insights into the meanings associated with the notion of alienation.



(South African Journal of Higher Education: 2003 17 (3): 144-151)