3 - Identity and Knowledge Production in the Fourth Generation
Corresponding Author(s) : Nana Akua Anyidoho
Afrique et développement,
Vol. 33 No 1 (2008): Afrique et développement: Special Issue The Politics of Knowledge Production in Africa - Nurturing the Fourth Generation
Résumé
Cet article examine les thèmes liés de l’identité et de la production de connaissances ancrés dans le concept de savoir d’initié. Le savoir d’initié peut être décrit comme la production de connaissances par un chercheur sur un groupe auquel il/elle s’identifie comme membre. Nous sommes immédiatement obligés de rendre complexe cette définition en nous demandant comment un tel groupe est déterminé et comment l’adhésion à ce groupe influence la production de connaissances. L’idée de savoir d’initié évoque ainsi une série de questions sur celui qui produit quel type de connaissance, sur qui et pour qui. L’article soutient que le débat sur le savoir d’initié a gagné une pertinence renouvelée. Les premières générations de chercheurs africains, dans un effort de reprise des représentations de l’Afrique et des Africains, auraient parfois fondée la légitimité intellectuelle sur des idéalisations de race, de culture et de territoire. De ce point historique, nous semblons vivre une période où les notions de «cosmopolitisme» et d’«universalisme » rendent absurde toute tentative de fonder le savoir sur des identités complexes et changeantes. Pendant que la quatrième génération de chercheurs se dessine, une des tâches visant à la définir sera de négocier ce terrain contesté. Cet article est une tentative dans cette perspective. Il soutient que la notion de savoir d’initié ne peut pas simplement être considérée comme impertinente. Le faire constituerait une négligence inconsidérée ou une ignorance déplorable des politiques de représentation de l’Afrique, ainsi que des rapports de pouvoir qui régissent les différents espaces des Etudes africaines. Toutefois, il existe plusieurs raisons de demander une «initiation», et définir celle-ci par des paramètres étroits est inutile, voire préjudiciable à toute notion de but commun. Par conséquent, je présente la «lutte partagée» comme une base stratégique pour la reconstitution de la valeur théorique et la pratique viable du savoir d’initié. Je conclus cet article en examinant les implications de ce changement conceptuel.
Mots-clés
Télécharger la référence bibliographique
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- Abu-Lughod, L., 1988, ‘Fieldwork of a Dutiful Daughter’, in Soraya Altorki and Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, eds., Arab Women in the Field: Studying Your Own Society, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
- Aguilar, J., 1981, ‘Insider Research: An Ethnography of a Debate’, in Donald Messerschmidt, ed., Anthropologists at Home in North America: Methods and Issues in the Study of One’s Own Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Alcoff, L., 1991, ‘The Problem of Speaking for Others’, Cultural Critique 0882- 4371, pp.5-32.
- Anyidoho, K., 1983, ‘Death and Burial of the Dead: A Study of Ewe Funeral Folklore’, Unpublished Masters Thesis, University of Indiana.
- Appiah, K., 1997, ‘Cosmopolitan Patriots’, Critical Inquiry, Vol. 23, no. 3. Asante, M. K., 1997, ‘More Thoughts on the Africanists’ Agenda’, Issues, Vol. 23,no. 1, pp.11-12.
- Collins, P. H., 2002, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment (2nd Edition), New York: Routledge.
- Diagne, S. B., 1993, ‘The Future of Tradition’, in Momar Coumba Diop, ed., Senegal: Essays in Statecraft, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Fonow, M. M. and Cook, J. A., eds., 1991, Beyond Methodology: Feminist Scholarship as Lived Research, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
- Fuss, D., 1989, Essentially speaking: Feminism, nature and difference, New York and London: Routledge.
- Gandhi, L., 1998, Postcolonial theory: A critical introduction, New York: Columbia University Press.
- Kenyatta, J., 1992 [1938], Facing Mount Kenya, Nairobi: Kenway Publications. 38 Africa Development, Vol. XXXIII, No. 1, 2008
- Lal, J., 1996, ‘Situating Locations: The Politics of Self, Identity, and “Other” in Living and Writing the Text’, in D. L. Wolf (ed.), Feminist Dilemmas in Fieldwork, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
- Lewis, S.K., 1998, ‘From Négritude to Créolité: Race, Culture and Identity in Francophone West African and Caribbean Literature and Theory’, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Duke University.
- Mafeje, A., 2000, ‘Apropos African Modes of Self-Writing: Adieu Mbembe’, in Southern African Political and Economic Monthly (SAPEM), Vol. 13, no. 12.
- Mbembe, A., 2000, ‘African Modes of Self-Writing’, CODESRIA Bulletin, Vol. 1, pp.4-19.
- Messerschmidt, D., ed., 1981, Anthropologists at Home in North America: Methods and Issues in the Study of One’s Own Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mkandawire, T., 1995, ‘Three Generations of African Scholars: A Note’, CODESRIA Bulletin, No. 2.
- Mkandawire, T., 1997, ‘The Social Sciences in Africa: Breaking Local Barriers and Negotiating International Presence’, The Bashorun
- M.K.O. Abiola Distinguished Lecture presented to the 1996 African Studies Association Annual Meeting, African Studies Review, Vol. 40, no. 2, pp.15-36.
- Mohanty, C. T., 1991, ‘Cartographies of struggle: Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism’, in Chandra T. Mohanty, Ann Russo and Lourdes Torres, eds., Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
- Mohanty, C. T., 2002, ‘Under Western Eyes Revisited. Feminist Solidarity through Anticapitalist Struggle’, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 28, no. 2, pp.499-535.
- Motzafi-Haller, Pnina, 1997, ‘Writing Birthright: On Native Anthropologists and the Politics of Representation’, in Deborah E. Reed-Danahay, ed., Auto/ Ethnography: Rewriting the Self and the Social, Oxford: Berg.
- Murunga, G., 2004, ‘Mbembe’s ‘African Modes of Self-Writing’ and the Critics in Public Culture’, CODESRIA Bulletin, nos. 1 & 2, pp. 27-32.
- Narayan, K., 1993, ‘How Native is a “Native” Anthropologist?’, American Anthropologist, Vol. 95, pp.671-686.
- Narayan, U., 1987, ‘The Project of Feminist Epistemology: Perspectives from a Non-Western Feminist’, in Alison M. Jaggar and Susan R. Bordo, eds., Gender/ Body/Knowledge: Feminist Reconstructions of Being and Knowing, New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.
- Narayan, U., 1997, Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third-World Feminism, New York: Routledge.
- Obbo, C., 1990, ‘Adventures with Fieldnotes’, in Roger Sanjek, ed., Fieldnotes. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
- Pratt, M. L., 1992, Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation, London and New York: Routledge.
Les références
Abu-Lughod, L., 1988, ‘Fieldwork of a Dutiful Daughter’, in Soraya Altorki and Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, eds., Arab Women in the Field: Studying Your Own Society, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Aguilar, J., 1981, ‘Insider Research: An Ethnography of a Debate’, in Donald Messerschmidt, ed., Anthropologists at Home in North America: Methods and Issues in the Study of One’s Own Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Alcoff, L., 1991, ‘The Problem of Speaking for Others’, Cultural Critique 0882- 4371, pp.5-32.
Anyidoho, K., 1983, ‘Death and Burial of the Dead: A Study of Ewe Funeral Folklore’, Unpublished Masters Thesis, University of Indiana.
Appiah, K., 1997, ‘Cosmopolitan Patriots’, Critical Inquiry, Vol. 23, no. 3. Asante, M. K., 1997, ‘More Thoughts on the Africanists’ Agenda’, Issues, Vol. 23,no. 1, pp.11-12.
Collins, P. H., 2002, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment (2nd Edition), New York: Routledge.
Diagne, S. B., 1993, ‘The Future of Tradition’, in Momar Coumba Diop, ed., Senegal: Essays in Statecraft, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Fonow, M. M. and Cook, J. A., eds., 1991, Beyond Methodology: Feminist Scholarship as Lived Research, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Fuss, D., 1989, Essentially speaking: Feminism, nature and difference, New York and London: Routledge.
Gandhi, L., 1998, Postcolonial theory: A critical introduction, New York: Columbia University Press.
Kenyatta, J., 1992 [1938], Facing Mount Kenya, Nairobi: Kenway Publications. 38 Africa Development, Vol. XXXIII, No. 1, 2008
Lal, J., 1996, ‘Situating Locations: The Politics of Self, Identity, and “Other” in Living and Writing the Text’, in D. L. Wolf (ed.), Feminist Dilemmas in Fieldwork, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Lewis, S.K., 1998, ‘From Négritude to Créolité: Race, Culture and Identity in Francophone West African and Caribbean Literature and Theory’, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Duke University.
Mafeje, A., 2000, ‘Apropos African Modes of Self-Writing: Adieu Mbembe’, in Southern African Political and Economic Monthly (SAPEM), Vol. 13, no. 12.
Mbembe, A., 2000, ‘African Modes of Self-Writing’, CODESRIA Bulletin, Vol. 1, pp.4-19.
Messerschmidt, D., ed., 1981, Anthropologists at Home in North America: Methods and Issues in the Study of One’s Own Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mkandawire, T., 1995, ‘Three Generations of African Scholars: A Note’, CODESRIA Bulletin, No. 2.
Mkandawire, T., 1997, ‘The Social Sciences in Africa: Breaking Local Barriers and Negotiating International Presence’, The Bashorun
M.K.O. Abiola Distinguished Lecture presented to the 1996 African Studies Association Annual Meeting, African Studies Review, Vol. 40, no. 2, pp.15-36.
Mohanty, C. T., 1991, ‘Cartographies of struggle: Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism’, in Chandra T. Mohanty, Ann Russo and Lourdes Torres, eds., Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Mohanty, C. T., 2002, ‘Under Western Eyes Revisited. Feminist Solidarity through Anticapitalist Struggle’, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 28, no. 2, pp.499-535.
Motzafi-Haller, Pnina, 1997, ‘Writing Birthright: On Native Anthropologists and the Politics of Representation’, in Deborah E. Reed-Danahay, ed., Auto/ Ethnography: Rewriting the Self and the Social, Oxford: Berg.
Murunga, G., 2004, ‘Mbembe’s ‘African Modes of Self-Writing’ and the Critics in Public Culture’, CODESRIA Bulletin, nos. 1 & 2, pp. 27-32.
Narayan, K., 1993, ‘How Native is a “Native” Anthropologist?’, American Anthropologist, Vol. 95, pp.671-686.
Narayan, U., 1987, ‘The Project of Feminist Epistemology: Perspectives from a Non-Western Feminist’, in Alison M. Jaggar and Susan R. Bordo, eds., Gender/ Body/Knowledge: Feminist Reconstructions of Being and Knowing, New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.
Narayan, U., 1997, Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third-World Feminism, New York: Routledge.
Obbo, C., 1990, ‘Adventures with Fieldnotes’, in Roger Sanjek, ed., Fieldnotes. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Pratt, M. L., 1992, Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation, London and New York: Routledge.