Education in South Africa is in crisis. Low literacy and numeracy rates, poor discipline, and a sense of despair pervade the education landscape. At the same time, educators are called upon to achieve more, with universities tasked to produce graduates capable of exercising responsible and reflective citizenship in a competitive and globalising world. However, universities face very complex demands and resource constraints. In this sobering context, this book provides an opportunity to learn from a bold experiment in teaching and learning taking place across two very different South African universities, one historically black, and one historically white and Afrikaans. With a mixture of rigorous scholarship, thoughtful self-reflection, and insights which have relevance far beyond their own project, contributors to this ground-breaking volume take the reader systematically through an account of what is and is not possible in transforming higher education in South Africa. The contributors demonstrate the potential and limitations of imaginative innovations, and invite the reader into an ongoing discussion about the future and potential for higher education in South Africa and beyond.

How can discerning critical hope enable us to develop innovative forms of teaching, learning and social practices that begin to address issues of marginalization, privilege and access across different contexts? At this millennial point in history, questions of cynicism, despair and hope arise at every turn, especially within areas of research into social justice and the struggle for transformation in education. While a sense of fatalism and despair is easily recognizable, establishing compelling bases for hope is more difficult. This book addresses the absence of sustained analyses of hope that simultaneously recognize the hard edges of why we despair. The volume posits the notion of critical hope not only as conceptual and theoretical, but also as an action-oriented response to despair. Our notion of critical hope is used in two ways: it is used firstly as a unitary concept which cannot be disaggregated into either hopefulness or criticality, and secondly, as an analytical concept, where critical hope is engaged and diversely theorized in ways that recognize aspects of individual and collective directions of critical hope. The book is divided into four sub-sections: Critical Hope in Education Critical Hope and a Critique of Neoliberalism Critical Race Theory/Postcolonial Perspectives on Critical Hope Philosophical Overviews of Critical Hope. Education can be a purveyor of critical hope, but it also requires critical hope so that it, as a sector itself, can be transformative. With contributions from international experts in the field, the book will be of value to all academics and practitioners working in the field of education.

How can discerning critical hope enable us to develop innovative forms of teaching, learning and social practices that begin to address issues of marginalization, privilege and access across different contexts? At this millennial point in history, questions of cynicism, despair and hope arise at every turn, especially within areas of research into social justice and the struggle for transformation in education. While a sense of fatalism and despair is easily recognizable, establishing compelling bases for hope is more difficult. This book addresses the absence of sustained analyses of hope that simultaneously recognize the hard edges of why we despair. The volume posits the notion of critical hope not only as conceptual and theoretical, but also as an action-oriented response to despair. Our notion of critical hope is used in two ways: it is used firstly as a unitary concept which cannot be disaggregated into either hopefulness or criticality, and secondly, as an analytical concept, where critical hope is engaged and diversely theorized in ways that recognize aspects of individual and collective directions of critical hope. The book is divided into four sub-sections: Critical Hope in Education Critical Hope and a Critique of Neoliberalism Critical Race Theory/Postcolonial Perspectives on Critical Hope Philosophical Overviews of Critical Hope. Education can be a purveyor of critical hope, but it also requires critical hope so that it, as a sector itself, can be transformative. With contributions from international experts in the field, the book will be of value to all academics and practitioners working in the field of education.