Joyline Gwara, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. She is a holder of a Ph.D. from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She is the first female to have a doctorate in Philosophy in Zimbabwe.  She also did her Master of Arts in Philosophy and Bachelor of Arts Honours in Philosophy at the University of Zimbabwe.  Her teaching and research interests include: a wide range of themes in African Philosophy, Gender Studies, Metaphysics and Medical Ethics. She has published several book chapters and articles in Journals on issues to do with hunhu/Ubuntu, disability and personhood, animal rights in Africa, death penalty in Africa, racism and race. She has organised successful international conferences such as; Atisca Conference, Harare, Zimbabwe, 2017; University of Zimbabwe in partnership with the Cultural Centre of the Embassy of Iran (2019) international conference on Dialoguing Women in Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion. She aims at addressing gender and human rights issues in a bid to bring new perceptions that advocates for the emancipation and upholding of the rights of the minority groups such as women and children respectively in African philosophy.  She is a member of the Conversational School of Philosophy (CPS) and also a member of the Religion, Ethics, Peace and leadership (HUB) – UZ).

Conversational Philosophy Research Theme

Since time immemorial men have predominated philosophy. From the times of such acclaimed philosophers as Plato and Aristotle the marginalisation of women was perpetuated by the unfortunate comparison of reason and emotion. Women were equated with emotions and men with reason. Rationality being the benchmark of moral agents, it therefore, followed that women were perceived as lacking capacity to be full moral agents. This led to the objectification and stereotyping of women who are regarded as sub-man and second class citizens. Feminists’ movements arose as an attempt to remedy the injustices that women faced at the hands of their male counterparts. These movements, however, fought for the rights of the white women of the middle class to the exclusion of women of colour. Women of colour then decided to take up the task to fight for their rights and came up with their own movements which tend to present an over romanticised relationship between men and women in African societies. This has created a rift between feminism and Africana womanism. Africana womanists believe that they do not need to be at par with their male counterparts like the white feminists demands. Through intercultural philosophy, there is need to create an equal platform for these different cultural manifestations to converse with each other without biases.

 

ORCID ID:  0000-0003-2245-1171

Google            Scholar           Linkhttps://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=K-bzDlQAAAAJ&gmla=AJsN-F7wP5C9kXq4O2ZxiI9D3WFviKurZ9t0kIpKyHLnkzTbfnJMILDOszol1Bl3MH1PSBDQB-k3JQYpD6k31KXIXhYZavVC7lj9aX_89nI7h0oghfJoR6g

Research gate Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319046894_Login

 

  • Published Book Chapters and Journals
  1. Gwara J (2018) “The Legacy of Racism in African Philosophy: Lessons from Nyerere’s Socialism.” In Philosophy Race and Multiculturalism in Southern Africa: Zimbabwean Philosophical Studies III, (ed) Fainos Mangena  and John Douglas McClymont, Council for Research and Values in Philosophy, Washington DC.
  2. Clive Zimunya and Joyline Gwara (2018), “The ethics of ubuntu/hunhu in the animal rights discourse in Africa” in Africa and her animals Philosophical and Practical Perspectives. (ed) Rainer Ebert & Anteneh Roba, University of South Africa (UNISA) Press. (pgs 22-32).
  3. Zimunya C T, Gwara J, and Munyiswa I (2018). “The Western and African Underpinnings of the Death Penalty: A Comparative Analysis” in The Death Penalty from an African Perspective (ed) F Mangena and J O Chimakonam. Vernom Press (p137-152).
  4. Biri K, Gwara J and Zimunya C T (2016), “Persohood and Disability in Zimbabwe: A philosophical Analysis” in Disability in Africa: Resource Book for Theology and Religious Studies (ed) S. Kabue, J Amanze, and C Landman, Acton Publishers (p387-399).
  5. Zimunya C T and Gwara J (2016), “Africa’s Animals: Inferences to be drawn from the totemists claims” in Africa’s Intangible Heritage and Land Emerging Perspectives, (ed) R Magosvongwe, O.B Mlambo, and E Ndlovu, University of Zimbabwe Publications. (231-241).
  6. Zimunya C T, Gwara J and Mlambo O B (2015), “The feasibility of an Ubuntu Ethic in a modernised world”, Journal of African foreign affairs, Vol 2, Issue 1and2 (p5-25).
  7. Zimunya C T and Gwara J (2013), “Pentecostalism, prophets and the distressing Zimbabwean Milieu” Prophets, Profits and the Bible in Zimbabwe, (ed) Ezra Chitando, Masiiwa Ragies Gunda, Joachim Kugler, University of Bamberg Press, Bamberg. (P187-201).