On Thursday 23 September the SU Transformation Office will host the third installment of the Transformation Managers Forum and International Journal for Critical Diversity Studies Seminar Series, Developing a Critical Praxis of Transformation in South African Higher Education.

The seminar series is a collaboration between the Transformation Manager's Forum, Universities South Africa, the Centre for Critical Diversity Studies at Wits University, the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice at the University of the Free State, the Transformation Office at Nelson Mandela University and Stellenbosch University Transformation Office. 

The seminar series is an extension of a two-issue special edition of the International Journal for Critical Diversity Studies which focuses on the development of critical praxis for transformation in South African higher education. Dr Claire Kelly, who is Programme Manager in the SU Transformation Office and guest editor for this special edition explains:

As a community of higher education transformation practitioners and scholars we are creating a space for critical reflection on our work and the tools (theoretical as well as practical) we use to approach it. This seminar series represents an effort to create a learning space for ourselves and anyone else interested in the praxis of transformation in higher education.'

The series kicked off in July at the University of the Free State with two sessions focusing on theoretical lenses informing transformation work in South Africa. The second instalment focused on the relationship between governance and transformation, and was hosted by NMU. 

The third and upcoming session being hosted this week by SU will focus on how we can bring a feminist and intersectional lens to the work of transformation in higher education. The Director of Hers-SA, Ms Brightness Mangolothi and Prof Peliwe Mnguni from Unisa Business School will present on the workplace bullying and its implications for gender transformation from an intersectional perspective. Closer to home, SU's very own Profs Ronelle Carolissen and Nadine-Bowers du Toit will present a decolonial feminist revisiting of the “coloured women" article. Finally, Jaco Brink from SU's Equality Unit will offer some perspectives on institutional policy for mitigating gender-based violence. The session will be moderated by Professor Amanda Gouws, SU Professor and SA Research Chair in Gender Politics. 

The fourth and final session will focus on decolonization praxis and will be hosted by the Wits Centre for Critical Diversity Studies. 

The first issue of the special edition of the International Journal for Critical Diversity Studies: Developing a Critical Praxis of Transformation in South African Higher Education will be available in early 2022.