Next to the students, sticking out of a bin, is an empty wine bottle. They lounge on the bench in the shaded garden as cigarette smoke cloud their words. Others move up and down a maze of wooden staircases between grand double-volume lecture halls. They study a range of subjects, but they have one textbook they all use in every class: the Bible.
“The major topics [of debate] are Africanisation and decolonisation of the curriculum. Students want to have a space where they can have their own understanding of why they are here and why they are studying theology.”
Dewald Jacobs, the chairperson of the Theology Student Committee (TSC), explains further that they want to help students at the Faculty of Theology of Stellenbosch University (SU) to excel socially and spiritually- especially as the university crests its 100th year.
He resembles the current dean, Prof. Reginald Nel. In 1992, Nel was the first black student graduate from the faculty. He gave the opening address at the conference, “Teaching Gender and Health in Africa: Hearing from our change agents”, where he expressed a similar sentiment:
“As it is well known, our university has a particular kind of history and that is why we consciously say we don’t celebrate, but commemorate our 100 years… We are conscious of our own complicity as a university and as a faculty. But also, we are conscious and committed to a journey of transformation.”
However, students and staff wonder how far the faculty has come given its checkered past and uncertain future.
When Dr. Plaatjies-van Huffel began work as a theologian at the Faculty of Theology at SU in 2010, she was one of just a few black female staff. She was the first female ordained minister of the Dutch Reformed Family and holds two theology doctorates.
During her eight years at SU, the faculty has drawn in students and staff of all denominations, genders and races. More critical theories, such as feminist, womanist and liberation theology, were introduced and specialised centers, such as the Gender Unit, were established.
Dr. Mary-Anne Plaatjies-van Huffel stands at the foot of the faculty founders whose racialised legacy she is changing. PHOTO: Christi Nortier
Theology as it is now, she says, has also changed. She explains that “Theology is not only about approaches to reading and understanding the Bible, but also understanding the Bible in context.”
However, the context of this is even more crucial. “We are in Africa! This means that we must ask ourselves: are we busy doing enough to make sure Africans are trained well enough to fill appointments at faculties as senior lecturers and associate professors? That is one of our huge challenges currently- there’s still a way to go.”
Jacobs said students can see that the faculty is working hard to make progress. They are encouraged by the increasing number of black and coloured tutors- “They are students who are stepping up and showing that they want to be in academics.”
In addition, the students enjoy the intimacy the small campus and classes afford them as it allows them to cross boundaries in order to meet people from all walks of life.
However, the isolation from the rest of campus can be a challenge. They often feel that they are oblivious to what happens on the main campus, and vice versa. In addition, few theology students are part of Christian societies on main campus and those societies rarely venture onto their campus.
First-year students, Carli Benade (left) and Marinda Prinsloo (right), browse through a collection of free books in the main building of the Faculty of Theology of Stellenbosch University. However, many students carry their Bible on their phone, tablet or laptop. PHOTO: Christi Nortier
Despite its remoteness on the SU campus, its staff and students feel it has a place and will stay there. Plaatjies-van Huffel says “I do think at a secular university we still have a space. We must try to encourage other faculties to honour our space and we should contribute to the discourses which influence church and society.
“That is the only way we will secure that people will look at the faculty and say that they are still engaging like the other disciplines- they are contextual. If we are only going to pray and train people for the church then it won’t impress anyone.”