The Audrey Richards Annual Lecture in African Studies

Cultivating epistemic change

How Africa’s scholarly networks and communities work

Professor Amina Mama

University of California, Davis

This lecture will map some of the shifting ethical and political concerns that have energised African scholarly production since the 1970’s, focusing on the anti-colonial and feminist interventions of two networks that have cultivated epistemic change.  It examines how the non-governmental Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) grew into the largest scholarly network of continental Africans and produced an impressive corpus of continental knowledge.  I argue that while feminist critiques were articulated within CODESRIA during the 1990’s, it was the mobilization of feminist scholars outside CODESRIA that eventually influenced the Council to pursue a more equitable research profile. The accounts of key actors highlight the importance of interpersonal relationships and collective spaces in the enunciation of African feminism on the continent. These examples document the ways in which epistemic changes are products of close interpersonal relational practices that characterise intellectual communities and the strategies they pursue. What do these developments in the continental African studies landscape imply for the ethics of transnational collaborations?

This event is free and open to all, but registration via Eventbrite is required. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception.

Registration for the livestream: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-audrey-richards-annual-lecture-in-african-studies-livestream-tickets-895330627007?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Registration for in-person attendance: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-audrey-richards-annual-lecture-in-african-studies-tickets-895318540857?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl