Dr Antoinette Kankindi

Antoinette Kankindi, a lecturer in the Institute of Humanities Education and Development Studies (IHEDS), defended her PhD thesis and was awarded Summa cum Laude at the University of Navarre in Pamplona on Wednesday, 22 October.  Dr Kankindi's thesis was on the works of the French philosopher Charles Péguy (1873-1914).

The panel agreed that Péguy is worth bringing into academic limelight as his critique of Enlightenment is one of the finest and yet little known of it. The Enlightenment was a phase in philosophy and cultural life in the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and basis of authority.

Previous studies on Péguy's thought have examined him as a socialist, a nationalist, a great poet, and a man of faith. However, they failed to see that his consistency in criticizing the Enlightenment was grounded in his firm sense of justice and truth in the line of classic political philosophy and Christian thought.

Championing the restoration of traditional values and liberties, Péguy placed his political ideas at the heart of the crucial debate on the relationship between material and spiritual, quantity and quality, faith and reason when attempting to answer vital questions of man's life.

Péguy brought back to the center of political thought the human being and devised the principles of a stable and just social order by redefining true republicanism and democracy based on the values and virtues of fraternity, sovereignty of the people, work, solidarity and tolerance.

Dr Kankindi is a Congolese citizen. She was born in North-Kivu. She has a Law degree from the University of Kinshasa (DRC), and Masters in Governance (MGCO) from the University of Navarra, www.unav.es (Spain). Before pursuing her postgraduate studies, she worked in the legal office of Chevron-Texaco (the then Zaire Gulf Oil Company) and the Chilean Embassy in Kinshasa.

She has also worked for different women empowerment projects especially with female university students and underprivileged women. She is a consultant with Kianda Foundation on the legal framework for Endowment Funds for scholarships.