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- Convenor:
-
Mahamadou Bassirou Tangara
(Universite des Sciences Sociales et de Gestion de Bamako)
Send message to Convenor
- Discussants:
-
Medina Sheila KARAMBIRI
(Centre Universitaire de Ziniaré)
Lamine Savané (University of Ségou)
E. Fabert Mensah Ngoma Adete (Université Omar BONGO (UOB))
Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka (University of Mons)
- Format:
- Panel
- Stream:
- African researchers in the European academic system
- Location:
- Room 1228
- Sessions:
- Thursday 9 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin
Short Abstract:
African contribution in knowledge production in the world is marginal, particularly in social sciences. Although the financing and research collaboration from Europe are increasing. This panel aims at analyzing the research collaboration in Africa and its contribution to knowledge production.
Long Abstract:
Research principally aims to produce knowledge for a better understanding of the world. The question then is how to produce this knowledge and what are the conditions to be fulfilled for its production? This question becomes relevant to “social research”, which is everywhere and touches many aspects of our social and cultural lives. Because of constraints, in many cases, research collaborations are needed. Many times, collaborations in research between national and foreign researchers are focused on data collection, this is predominantly the case between African and European researchers. The first ones are on the ground and collect data for the second group mostly based in western universities and who are interested to produce knowledge on Africa. Even we can trust the analytical capacity of European researchers, we can rise some questions on the knowledge they produce on Africa in conditions of subcontracting in research, which is also mostly based on Western funding. Do the thoughts of scholars produced on Africa without mastering the ground realities describe suitable the complex realities of Africa? This question is relevant in social science because it rises ethical, methodological, epistemological and political issues in research. The research collaboration between African and European researchers is inequitable with only data collection for African researchers. What are the components and the purpose of this inequitable research collaboration? And how can we contribute to evolve the role of African researchers in this collaboration? This panel aims at analyzing the research collaboration in Africa and its contribution to knowledge production.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 9 June, 2022, -Paper short abstract:
This paper analyses how the 'crisis' in Mali since 2012 has transformed knowledge production. It focuses on the rise of the discipline of international relations and looks at the implications of that shift for what we know about international intervention and legitimacy in the country.
Paper long abstract:
The paper proposes a critical litterature review of the works in political science produced about Mali since 2012, and in particular the issues of international intervention and legitimacy. After the country was identified as a case of islamist djihadism and global war on terror, the discipline of international relations rose in a field once dominated by African studies. The paper informs that shift from a quantitative perspective thanks to an exhaustive bibliography elaborated by the author, and also looks the implications of that shift, particularly the following aspects: the import of labels and categories used in other contexts, the contributions and gaps that exist in the existing works and approches, and the increasing cognitive dissonance between international agendas and Malian scholars.
Paper short abstract:
En 2017, des collègues de l’Université de Zurich en Suisse et de l’Université Joseph KI-ZERBO (Burkina Faso) implémentent un programme de recherche sur les koglweogo. L'origine des partenaires du projets a entrainé des regards différents qui ont été ressentis sur la conduite du projet.
Paper long abstract:
La conduite de ce projet de recherche a mis aux prises deux manières de voir les relations entre le chercheur et les informateurs, deux manières de conduire les entretiens et deux manières du supporter la pression du terrain. Le travail de terrain s'est déroulé en milieu rural en saison pluvieuse. Cette programmation a eu des effets sur la disponibilité des acteurs. Pendant que les chercheurs africains, assez familiers avec les procédures et la sociabilité des informateurs arrivent à supporter assez facilement les rendez-vous manqués, les difficultés de terrain et souvent l'indisponibilité des acteurs.
L'autre problème apparu dans la conduite de ce projet est la question des langues d'entretien. L'étude se déroulant en milieu rural, tous les entretiens se faisaient en langue moore. Même la chercheure occidentale parlait un peu cette langue, le niveau d'expression des informateurs imposaient une obligation de traduction à son profit. Lors de ces traductions, deux problèmes se posent: la tentation pour le traducteur de dire ce qui est socialement acceptable et l'envie de l'informateur d'être sûr que le traducteur n'a pas trahit ce qu'il a dit.
Ces éléments posent des problèmes épistémologiques que les chercheurs sont amenés à choisir.
Paper short abstract:
The two decades of research partnership between the University of Cape Coast and Durham University has produced ten research projects, 40 scientific papers, 12 Doctorates and various master's students. This reciprocal partnership provides a template for long-lasting capacity building architecture.
Paper long abstract:
Ghana has been collaborating with varied European institutions in a wide range of disciplines including education, agriculture, governance and economy and at different platforms like governmental, institutional, and individual levels as manifested in collaborations with the British Council and the Department for International Development. A couple of examples of such long-standing academic collaborations is the two decades of research partnership between the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and the Durham University, UK. There is a general narrative that such collaborations are dominated by the western partners, with African researchers only involved in research data collection. This paper seeks to highlight the key drivers that have led to how the co-production of knowledge between the two institutions have resulted in impactful reciprocal achievements during the last twenty years, serving as a model for other intended partnerships. The partnership has produced ten cutting-edge international and inter-disciplinary research projects in the areas of transport and mobilities, mobile phones usage and livelihoods, health systems research focusing on trust in medicinal transactions and mapping medicines supply chain. These studies have directly led to the publication of about 40 scientific papers, support for doctorate and master’s degree students in Africa. In all, it involved 12 Doctorates and a host of master’s degree students as well as about 80 researchers from various universities and research institutions worldwide. This type of Europe-Africa reciprocal partnership provides a template for effective collaborative research that has transcended even into a South-South collaboration and long-lasting capacity building architecture.