Decolonising and Africanising the Spanish studies curriculum under emergency online teaching: introducing Equatorial Guinean literature in South African higher education

Abstract

This is a reflective piece that explores the process of creating and implementing a new course at the University of the Witwatersrand on the literature of Equatorial Guinea under emergency online teaching that took place in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the difficult moment and the challenges experienced, the course became an extraordinary opportunity for the decolonisation and Africanisation of the Spanish Studies curriculum. The fact that this first course ever on Afro-Hispanic literature at a South African university took place in an online format allowed us to draw on certain digital teaching and learning strategies and approaches that enormously enriched the course — such as webinars with authors. The online situation also contributed to the decolonisation of the classroom, opening up more inclusive processes that allowed for the co-creation of knowledge with students. This article is an auto-ethnography of the course, drawing on both the lecturer and the student perspective. It reflects on the process of teaching and learning about literature from Equatorial Guinea during emergency online teaching of 2020 and how this opened up opportunities for the decolonisation and Africanisation of the Spanish Studies curriculum in South Africa higher education.