About Us

 

The Social Consciousness and Sustainable Futures (SCSF) module emerged out of the #Must Fall Movements 2015 - 2017 which was a decolonial ‘moment’ in South African higher education, was characterised by a demand to open access in terms of curriculum, culture and history of the future university. This means SA students demanded to be “visible” in the curriculum and cultures of the higher education in order to fully participate in it. One of the key ways to ‘visibilise’ students and ensure their success upon accessing the higher education system is assisting the students to be part of the co-production of the curriculum that reflects their history and humanising futures.

At the Nelson Mandela University, the students demanded a foundational course to which all students can be able to understand the basic social issues tied to justice, fairness, freedom, sustainability, dignity and recognition.   

 

This means a number of meetings and discussions by students and a collective of interdisciplinary staff for 2 years (2016-2018) facilitated the eventual piloting of the course on the 06 August 2018 at the Port Elizabeth Main campus. 

The SCSF module changes and alters itself to meet the context of the fast-changing contexts and needs of our students and graduates. The questions we ask ourselves within the module are:  can students relate and see themselves in the curriculum? How are we accessing this understanding and are our models of assessment cognizant of the various ways in which assessment can be measured? To What extent are students engaged or involved in creating the curriculum that is being presented to them?

These questions we interrogate after each academic year or roll-out year as a lens to track the trajectory of the course and establish if it is meeting its mandate by the Must Fall movement, that of creating a space of belonging in the curriculum.