Ubuntu Philosophy and Disabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa

This book uses Ubuntu philosophy to illuminate the voices of people with disabilities from Sub-Saharan Africa. Disability literature is largely dominated by scholars and studies from the Global North, and these studies are largely informed by Global North theories and concepts. Although disability literature in the Global South is now fast growing, most studies continue to utilise conceptual, theoretical, and philosophical frameworks that are framed within Global North contexts. This presents two major challenges: Firstly, the voices of people with disabilities in the Global South remain on the fringes of disability discourses. Secondly, when their voices are heard, their realities are distorted. This edited book, consisting of 11 chapters, provides case studies from Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Uganda, and South Africa, explores disability in various fields: Inclusive education, higher education, environment, Open Distance Learning, and Technical and Vocational Education and Technical Colleges. The book contributes to the ways in which disability is understood and experienced in the Global South thereby challenging the Western hegemonic discourses on disability. This collection of contributions will be of interest to all scholars and students of disability studies, development studies, medical sociology, and African studies.

Oliver Mutanga is a Critical Diversity scholar who holds a Ph.D. in Development Studies from the University of the Free State in South Africa. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Education in Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan, as well as a Research Associate at the University of South Africa's College of Education. Oliver has gained valuable experience in various countries including Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Norway, and the UK. Before joining Nazarbayev University, he was a Lecturer at De Montfort University in the UK. Oliver has been honoured with prestigious awards such as the Marie Sklodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Oslo, Norway (2017/8), and the Global Challenges Research Fellowship at University College London's Institute of Education (2019).

1.Ubuntu philosophy and Disabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Successes, promises and challenges for Inclusive Development. 2.The relevance of Ubuntu in disability: A political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) analysis. 3.Disability and inclusion in South African Higher Education: An Ubuntu philosophical perspective. 4.A review of students with disabilities' experiences in higher education: Implications of adopting Ubuntu philosophy to human development. 5.The cultivation of Botho attitude towards people with disabilities: Inclusion in Lesotho Higher Education. 6.Injecting Ubuntu in designing accessible virtual learning for students with disabilities. 7.Ubuntu philosophy: A Pathway to Decolonising Participatory Research in the Global South. 8.Staff experiences with inclusive education at Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Botswana: A Botho philosophical lens. 9.Translating the Ubuntu philosophy into practical disability inclusive interventions: The Obuntu bulamu experience from Uganda. 10.Ubuntu philosophy and the experiences of Deaf people in Ghana: A critical reflection. 11.Ubuntu philosophy: Implications and Recommendations for addressing Disability related challenges.