Paper short abstract:

Scholars from the Global South, particularly those marginalized by race, gender, and class, face difficulties in contributing to STS. As an intervention, the author advocates for the intentional incorporation of African Feminism(s) and decolonial feminist studies into STS to address these challenges

Paper long abstract:

The more I engage in Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholarship and meetings in Europe, the more apparent it has become that scholarship from the South is treated as anecdotal and material, stripping it of its epistemological significance and legitimacy as knowledge. My speculation is this is because there are preconceived notions of how, as Othered peoples, we come to know. Western anthropology was developed on the foundation of the exotic Other who taps into exotic spirits and ancestors through rituals and indigenous beliefs. For the European academic with positivist leanings, this is myth-making. It is great material for vignettes, but it could not possibly carry an entire paper let alone be accepted as credible theoretical and empirical contributions to global STS. Focusing on the politics of knowledge production and conferencing trends, I demonstrate how despite being multi- and interdisciplinary, in practise North-centric STS struggles to create room for scholars who theorise on the nexus of nature, humans, and more-than-humans in a way that breaks away from the hegemonic processes of knowledge production. In addition to location, these thinkers are also Othered through race, gender, and/or class and these categories are central to both their theorising processes and their subsequent ostracizing from the field of STS. By way of intervention, I grapple with the possibilities of a more intentional and aggressive incorporation of African Feminism(s), and decolonial feminist studies into STS.