The article is an exploration of current trends within, and the desired destiny of, the humanities discipline of English Studies in the context of calls for the "Africanization" of South African universities. The essay advocates the embrace of a non-universalist, emancipationist humanism. (Contains 8 notes.)

The social/political issues facing university English departments in South Africa include problems of identity and definition, the need for instruction within the context of social and political history, the problems of cultural relativism, the corrosive implications of Black subordination, and the complex alternatives of private and public…