HUMSS - Roxana Willis

Decolonising Research: A view from the Grassfields of Cameroon

Influential scholarship is often written as a view from above, by actors in wealthy nation states and predominantly by those most privileged within these states themselves. This dominant scholarship has been treated as ‘neutral’ and ‘universal’ to varying degrees. However, a range of critique has shone a light on the complexity of social phenomena and the implausibility of a purported ‘view from nowhere’, since we all come to the drawing table with normative presuppositions and understandings which infuse our work. The drive to decolonise research - which has been led by scholars in nations formerly colonised by European powers and circulated through resistance of disempowered groups  - opens an important path, for it can help to reveal a fuller picture of the phenomena under study. Instead of prioritising perspectives from above, decolonial approaches invert the gaze and reexamine the social world from the bottom up, or from outside in, so to speak. Through this process, fresh insights are revealed and a fuller picture of social reality can emerge. However, decolonial approaches are far from simple and are fraught with a range of challenges. In this talk, we will reflect on what it is to decolonise research and explore some of the methodological difficulties that arise through a case study of my ongoing FRIAS research about the conflict in anglophone Cameroon.