Dr. Wandile Kasibe
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Wandile Goozen Kasibe is a South African sociologist, museologist, visual artist, and former politician specializing in the decolonization of heritage institutions and the social construction of race. When studying towards his PhD in Sociology he gained prominence through his participation in the Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall student movements at the University of Cape Town, which sought to dismantle colonial symbols and address institutional racism and tuition barriers via protests and activism. While recognized for advancing decolonial perspectives in museology, Kasibe's advocacy has intersected with broader debates on cultural repatriation and ideological critiques of Western institutions, often emphasizing empirical challenges to historical narratives embedded in collections. He currently serves as the Director of Living Heritage in South Africa's Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
Museums and the construction of race ideologies: the case of natural history and ethnographic museums in South Africa