Paper short abstract:

The paper examines different perspectives on African studies in an attempt to capture and reconfigure new narrative which brings in authentic African voices and perspectives. The paper argues that although African Studies scholarship is about Africa but fundamentally not for Africans, by Africans.

Paper long abstract:

The complexity of African society entering the 21st century necessitates an interdisciplinary examination of African studies as a discipline in its political, social, economic and cultural developments and challenges. Naturally, the purpose of African Studies as a field of scholarly inquiry, is to constantly interrogate epistemological, methodological, and theoretical approaches to the study of Africa, inserting Africa and its people at the centre of that interrogation as subjects, rather than objects. It is clear that those who produce knowledge about something wield considerable power over it. In this vein, African Studies remains a colonised space rife with misrepresentation, homogenisation and essentialising about Africa. This paper shows how ‘African Studies’ can be an integral part of knowledge specific to Africa. It further examines the different perspectives on African studies in and out of Africa in an attempt to capture and reconfigure new narrative which brings in authentic African voices and perspectives. The paper argues that although, in most cases, African Studies scholarship in and outside the continent is about Africa and Africans, it is fundamentally not for Africans, by Africans. It concludes that the future of African Studies should intricately be tied to the norms and values, history, present fortunes and future prospects of the African continent.