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Human rights education is critiqued for being traditionalist and conceptually imprisoned. This view stems from the distrust in its ability to transform deeply rooted injustices and inequalities etched within South Africa's society. There is therefore an outcry to reimagine human rights education. For this article it is important to understand how and why human rights education discourses in South Africa have come to be framed by some scholars in this way and to contemplate where the discourse might be heading in the future. We reviewed doctoral theses in the field of Education which claim to engage with and make contributions to human rights education research. We found that human rights education discourses have been (and are being) shaped in South Africa in terms of three distinct phases: inception, growth, and cynicism. It became evident from the findings that human rights education research is predominantly school-based and fundamentally descriptive and uncritical. To conclude, we reflect on these findings so as to put forward future considerations for human rights education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist biblical scholarship in South Africa that focuses on the New Testament cannot be separated from the larger context of feminist scholarship in South Africa or even Africa. Its emergence and development was tied to the emerging consciousness of women and men who began to question the roles of women in family, society, politics and religion, especially Christianity. This happened during the 1980s, thus lagging behind the North-American and European feminist movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Rather later than never! New Testament scholarship in South Africa has contributed to feminist knowledge production. The objective of this article is to provide an understanding of the contributions by feminist and female scholarship in the New Testament Society of Southern Africa by focusing on completed doctoral theses at South African universities and theological seminaries, and feminist research produced by females and males published in Neotestamentica, the official journal of the New Testament Society of Southern Africa. The purpose is to determine the New Testament feminist themes and knowledge that have been produced; to identify obstacles that might have influenced or might influence feminist New Testament scholarship; to determine possible research areas; and to discuss the future of feminist scholarship in the New Testament Society of Southern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical ambiguities in curriculum studies result in conceptual mayhem. Accordingly, they hinder the development of the complicated conversation on curriculum as a verb. This article aims to contribute to reconceptualizing curriculum studies as a dynamic social practice that aspires to thinking and acting with intelligences and sensitivity so as to understand oneself and others. It also raises awareness that equating all forms of research on curriculum with curriculum studies dilutes the scope of the conversation. This exploration asks two key questions: What is the nature of doctoral theses in the field of education's theoretical contributions to nuances of curriculum (curriculum, curriculum development, and curriculum studies)? In what ways do these theses perpetuate or even add to current ambiguities in the discipline of curriculum studies? The exploration of these two questions draws on a critical meta-study of 511 theses completed in South African universities (2005-2012) conducted using a three level process. It appears that the main detractions of these theses are that some of them see curriculum studies as a dumping ground and others make no theoretical contribution to the discipline. The article concludes by suggesting ways which would encourage the intellectual advancement of curriculum studies through rigorous disciplinarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]