Paper short abstract:

What exactly does it mean to be a knowledge expat? This paper shows that by problematising the endorsement of mobility and expertise of different migrants, we could reflect on the implications on the discourse of decolonising academia.

Paper long abstract:

Echoing growing global consciousness to respond to increased racial inequality concerning knowledge production in/on Africa, calls to decolonise knowledge production from across the world have risen to that end, albeit slight changes. Some African scholars have argued that the global West interests have often set Africa’s intellectual agenda reflecting former colonial relationships and geopolitical power. The movement of migrants (skilled labour, academics and researchers) from Europe to Africa is rising and celebrated, while the reverse migration- the movement of people from the global south to the global north is abhorred. When Europeans migrate to Africa, it is easy for them to be accorded and/or claim the status of an expert, implying that they have in-depth knowledge of a country or particular issue in Africa, attracting endorsements from colleagues, academic institutions, and funding agencies. Though fewer studies focus on the experiences of these ‘experts’, we argue that their status as ‘experts’ is less challenged, as reflected in the kind of extensive research projects they manage. At the same time, this status of ‘experts’ is not afforded to African scholars undertaking scholarships in Europe. Begging to question what it means to be a knowledge expat and/expert, we draw from our own experiences as academics from Africa studying in Europe. We argue that both terms knowledge ‘expat’ and ‘expert’ are racialised terms meant to exclude migrant scholars from Africa, who given the current geopolitical imbalances find it hard to claim such expertise. Even when they claim it, they hardly get the necessary endorsement.