Dear German Academia: What is Your Role in African Knowledge Production?

Abstract

Although African critical scholars since the 19th century have challenged the culture of studying and writing about Africa, research practices on Africa are still entangled in epistemic injustices resulting from colonial structures of power. In this reflective contribution, we illustrate how such knowledge production perpetuates coloniality and outline the ways in which academic coloniality affects the quality of research and is detrimental to both research subjects and knowledge consumers. To that end, we draw on our own experiences as researchers and teachers in German institutes and universities to analyse current trends and patterns in African Political Science. We provide concrete examples to demonstrate that this coloniality in academia is detrimental to research, fieldwork and publishing practices, teaching, and academic hiring policies. To challenge and change how knowledge is produced, Africanists from the Global North need to be aware of, and sensitised towards, their role in knowledge production. This article continues the debate on decolonising research on Africa.

Decolonial Dilemmas: The Deception of a “Global Knowledge Commonwealth” and the Tragedian Entrapment of an African Scholar

“…Thus, even critiques of "African studies without African scholars" (Auma et al, 2020;Basedau, 2020;Iroulo and Ortiz, 2022;Ndlovu-Gatsheni et al, 2022) in Europe and North American universities and journal publications are problematic when they pitch global integration as decolonial initiatives. There is no "global commonwealth of knowledge" where all scholars freely contribute their knowledge to understanding a specific phenomenon on fairly defined terms of which the result would be equal and fair relations between coloniser and colonised.…”

“…The effect is that most journals in the field of African scholarship end up publishing mostly non-African scholars who engage in the acceptable form of scholarship. Without specifically saying why, recent debates in the Africa Spectrum journal (Basedau, 2020;Iroulo and Ortiz, 2022;Ndlovu-Gatsheni et al, 2022) and papers published elsewhere (Auma et al, 2020) reiterate the old contention in African decolonial studies about the absence of African scholars in African studies, and also point to ongoing efforts to bring more African scholars into the foldand this is often discoursed as an effort towards decolonisation. Specifically the Journal of South African Studies (JSAS) 2in conjunction with Taylor and Francisthey were adjusting their guidelines to accommodate the African scholar's distinctive mode of scholarshipwhich is descriptive and less analytical.…”

“…Editors contended that despite those handicapsbeing descriptive and less analyticalit was crucial for scholarly production capturing narratives on items that may be entirely new and necessary. Elsewhere, movements such as the 2015 #CaadanStudies, and more recent works such as those already cited (Auma et al, 2020;Basedau, 2020;Iroulo and Ortiz, 2022;Ndlovu-Gatsheni et al, 2022) all point to the urgent need for more presence of African scholars in "global" African studies. Earlier iterations such as the widely read essay on misrepresentation of the continent by authors such as Binyavanga Wainaina, "How to Write about Africa" follow a trope of the absence of African experts in conversations about Africa in the global world.…”

Quality, Access, and Voice in African Studies Publishing: Smoothing the Path to Bigger Changes

“…In this issue, Yusuf Serunkuma calls into question the impact of Western institutions’ well-intentioned projects aiming at decolonialisation by contending that “the ‘global stage’ is actually a local stage of the Western world” (2024: 6). He thereby challenges prior Africa Spectrum debate pieces on the matter (Basedau, 2020; Iroulo and Tappe Ortiz, 2022; Ndlovu-Gatsheni et al, 2022). Heated discussion hereon continues, and we encourage you to contribute your own thoughts on where African Studies is at, should be at, and can go from here.…”

Decolonial Dilemmas: Balancing Global Recognition and Local Impact in South African Research

“…This paper advocates for a paradigm shift that acknowledges the importance of promoting African scholars' contributions to addressing local problems, publishing in African journals, and prioritizing the use of local languages (Hountondji,2009). It asserts that the focus should not solely be on whether academics publish, but rather on the where -the platforms and contexts in which knowledge is generated and shared (Iroulo & Tappe Ortiz, 2022). This paper delves into the internationally benchmarked system utilized by the National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa to evaluate and rate researchers.…”