Welcome to the Centre for Diversity and Social Cohesion!

The study of diversity and social cohesion, particularly in education is central to the South African transformation agenda. South Africa has a troubled history marked by racial essentialisation, difference and separation – the ‘unity in diversity’ mantra of the apartheid era – marked by complex class differences between and within groups, the languages we use, the ways in which we come to understand ability and disability and by all other kinds of differences, which operate in insidious ways in and amongst us. We have inherited a society that is characterised by inequality.  The Centre, in contrast to that which was promoted by apartheid, can be interpreted as ‘diversity in unity’. In this approach, difference is viewed as strength, as a site from which and through which generative learning on the complexity and wonder of what it means to be human can be nurtured. Against this backdrop, researching the political, psychological, sociological, anthropological, semiotic and discursive manifestations of diversity in the social context in which we find ourselves is important. Equally, understanding how these different forms of difference, namely, race, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, class, language, gender, religion, identities, nationalities, political orientation, disabilities and so forth, are opportunities for both facilitating and impeding the capacity for human beings to realise their full potential as human beings, is profoundly important. It is profoundly important for social development and for furthering the processes through which a social justice agenda might be advanced. Given South Africa’s extraordinary diversity, building local capacity to research and write about these issues can make an important contribution to the global social, cultural and cognitive justice in education debate.