Academic Freedom and the Social Responsibilities of Academics in Tanzania (Printed)
Academic Freedom and the Social Responsibilities of Academics in Tanzania (Printed)
When the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Academic Freedom and Social Responsibility of Academics came up in the early 1990s, African higher-education systems were in a serious, multi-dimensional and long-standing crisis. Hand-in-hand with the imbalances and troubles that rocked and ruined African economies, the crisis in the academia was characterised by the collapse of infrastructures, inadequate teaching personnel and poor staff development and motivation. It was against this background that the questions of academic freedom and the responsibilities and autonomy of institutions of higher-learning were raised in the Dar es Salaam Declaration. In February 2005, the University of Dar es Salaam Staff Association (UDASA), in cooperation with CODESRIA, organised a workshop to bring together the staff associations of some public and private universities in Tanzania, in order to renew their commitment to the basic principles of the Dar es Salaam Declaration and its sister document – the Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility. The workshop was also aimed at re-invigorating the social commitment of African intellectuals. The papers included in this volume reflect the depth and potentials of the debates that took place during the workshop. The volume is published in honour of Chachage Seithy L. Chachage, who was an active part of the workshop but unfortunately passed away in 2006.
Let the people speak : Tanzania Down the Road to Neo-liberalism (Printed)
Let the people speak : Tanzania Down the Road to Neo-liberalism
The African national project has been defeated, and the imperial/globalisation project is on the offensive. And yet, as Issa Shivji, one of Africa’s most distinguished public intellectuals, argues in this collection of essays, there is bound to be a backlash – witness Latin America. African scholars are already debating the resurgence of nationalism and Pan-Africanism, and searching for alternative paths of development and democracy.
The ninety essays contained in this book are selected by the author from his writings published in newspaper columns during the period 1990-2005, a critical time in Tanzania that witnessed the rise and fall of nationalism, and transition to and consolidation of neo-liberalism. The essays give an overview of the intellectual history and traditions in Tanzania, one of the few countries in Africa which can still boast of political stability and reasonable openness. The writings reflect the hopes and fears of the progressive intellectual community, and project a strong sense of the enduring ideas and values in the period. The author’s aims are to recover the history of the recent past in Tanzania, build a narrative of where the country is coming from, and provide a historical understanding of the events and climate of the present.
The essays give an overview of the intellectual history and traditions in Tanzania, one of the few countries in Africa which can still boast of political stability and reasonable openness. The writings reflect the hopes and fears of the progressive intellectual community, and project a strong sense of the enduring ideas and values in the period. The author’s aims are to recover the history of the recent past in Tanzania, build a narrative of where the country is coming from, and provide a historical understanding of the events and climate of the present.