Paper short abstract:

Departing from selected works of Jean-Marc Ela, the paper examines the premises of the scientific revision of Sociology within the interdisciplinary field of African Studies.

Paper long abstract:

The defence of a rootedness of social sciences in Africa and the need to overcome the paradigms linked to the modern/colonial frames of analysis are topics raised in the epistemological discussions of African Studies.

Departing from selected works of Jean-Marc Ela, the paper aims to analyse the place of Sociology within the interdisciplinary space of African Studies and to discuss the meaning of "African" in an "African revision of Sociology".

The corpus will be mainly constituted by Cameroonian scholars and the paper will stress the themes linked to the defence of idiosyncratic methodologies and modes of analysis of African realities. It will also be considered the relationship between locus of enunciation, places of dissemination and the production of authoritative knowledge about Africa.