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| Semester | fall semester 2021 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Elisio Macamo (elisio.macamo@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Stephan Meyer (stephan.meyer@unibas.ch) Ralph Weber (ralph.weber@unibas.ch) |
| Content | No serious scholar of African affairs can afford to ignore the role politics has played in shaping the language of science addressing Africa and the goals of the knowledge produced. It has been a staple of African critiques of knowledge production on the continent to suspect that such knowledge is consistent with discourses speaking to regimes of power and truth likely to represent Africa problematically. The question arising from this concerns the methodological implications for research in Africa. There is a political economy of knowledge production in Africa requiring critical reflection. It raises general questions about the relationship between knowledge and politics. To address these questions, however, we have to reflect even more intensely on what it means to claim that knowledge is political. Does it mean that knowledge is a function of the exercise of power? What are the standards based on which we can validate knowledge? More broadly speaking, what is the basis of intelligibility in scholarly conversations? The Basel Summer School in African Studies 2021 invites applications from doctoral students interested in exploring these issues as part of a larger framework of engaging with methodological challenges in African Studies. Applicants should challenge themselves to look critically into their work and ask themselves what role any of the issues listed below play in it: - What normative assumptions underlie your research? - What regimes of power and truth, but also resistance and contention, speak through your research? - What does the idea that “knowledge is political” mean in your research, and how do you go about it? - How “objective” are the standards for the validation of your research findings? |
| Weblink | Basel Summer School in African Studies |
| Admission requirements | The summer school is open for PhD students enrolled in Switzerland and abroad. For PhD candidates enrolled at a university in Switzerland or in Africa, the Summer School is free of charge. The participation fee for all other PhD candidates is CHF 100. Contact: pascal.schmid@unibas.ch |
| Course application | Participants will be selected on the strength and merits of a two-page application letter in which they state how they approach the challenge of “objectivity” in the social sciences and humanities and what role the four issues listed above play in their research. In addition, applications should include a CV of the applicant (via the upload link in the application form). Applications must be submitted via the online application form available on the website of the Centre for African Studies (see weblink). The deadline for application is 31 July 2021. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online course |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
| Comments | The summerschool will take place from 13-17th of september. |
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
African Studies: Recommendations (PhD subject: African Studies) Anthropology: Recommendations (PhD subject: Anthropology) Doktorat Soziologie: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: Sociology) European Studies: Recommendations (PhD subject: European Global Studies) History: Recommendations (PhD subject: History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Zentrum für Afrikastudien |