Abstract:
This paper provides an overview of the history of the Music Department at the University of Fort Hare,South Africa, and its transformation after the new democratic dispensation was introduced. As the majority of students come from rural villages, the department 's new Head shifted the focus from Western to African music.  Emphasis was placed on African music instruments of the region ie. different kinds of musical bows such as Uhadi, Umrhubhe and Ikatari.  New methods of teaching were also applied which incorporated the use of oral tradition in lectures and the author maintains that this was a step closer towards democracy.  Since 2003 the so-called Indigenous Music and Oral History Project (IMOHP), which is located at the University of Fort Hare, has been supporting this idea insofar as it has been collecting and promoting indigenous music.  Two newer projects related to the IMOHP are also discussed.  Bleibinger concludes that the real challenge is with the transiton of students from an oral to a written tradition and from a traditional to a globalising culture. 

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Bleibinger, Bernhard (2008). Rural backgrounds and academic strategies: higher education , the Music Department and the Indigenous Music and Oral History Project at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa Presented at the 4th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, 31 March