Pathways to Alternative Epistemologies in Africa

This volume investigates alternative epistemological pathways by which knowledge production in Africa can proceed. The contributors, using different intellectual dynamics, explore the existing epistemological dominance of the West—from architecture to gender discourse, from environmental management to democratic governance—and offer distinct and unique arguments that challenge the denigration of the different and differing modes of knowing that the West considered “barbaric” and “primitive.” This volume therefore constitutes a minimal gesture that further contributes to the ongoing discourse on alternative modes of knowing in Africa.  

• African studies
• African philosophy
• Anthropology
• Indigeneity
• African Society

"It is refreshing to see the unearthing of new insights that highlight African knowledge systems, values, traditions, arts, and agencies without the perennial dependency on external frameworks. The thirteen chapters in this volume are important contributions to the ongoing conversations on Africa. They chart a new course on how to do justice to important African voices and alternative knowledge systems that have been overlooked for far too long." (Fallou Ngom, Professor of Anthropology, Boston University USA, and author of Muslims beyond the Arab World)

"The relentless struggle to decenter the Western epistemic tradition, and Africanize knowledge, continues in this scholarly multidisciplinary text of profound African critics, analysts, artists, historians and philosophers." (Gloria Emeagwali, Professor of History and African Studies, Central Connecticut State University, USA, author of Africa and the Academy: Challenging Hegemonic Discourses on Africa)

"The present conjuncture characterized by profound questioning of epistemologies of equilibrium urgently calls for new pathways to the reconstitution of knowledge. This volume of essays responds very well to this, covering diverse aspects of theory and methodology, endogenous knowledge and epistemological practices, curriculum and pedagogy, gender, religion and identity." It is indeed a feast of refreshing ideas. (Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Professor and Chair of Epistemologies of the Global South, University of Bayreuth, Germany, and author of Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and Decolonization.)

"Any field that takes epistemology seriously must read this book. These well-written, well-researched, and well-articulated articles do justice to placing Africa at the centre of any discourse about epistemology. Relying on a vast number of epistemological resources from Africa present in her literature, ritual, textiles, and language, the writers in this book present the case for why we should look to Africa for knowledge. This book fills a gap in epistemological discourse that is long overdue." (Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of the Holy Cross, USA)

• Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

  Adeshina Afolayan

• Department of Political Science, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Nigeria

  Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso

• Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

  Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba

Adeshina Afolayan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso is Professor of Political Science at Babcock University, Nigeria.

Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba is Associate Professor at Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa and Visiting Professor, Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

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