Lunch Lecture - Andreas Mehler

Lowering Asymmetries in Global Knowledge Production

Global asymmetries in knowledge production are a constant feature of (not only) the Social Sciences and Humanities. A simple transfer of a ‘Northern’ research programme based on mainstream theories to the ‘Global South’ is resented more and more.

In the case of Africa, African researchers complain about unfair conditions and outright side-lining when it comes to producing knowledge even about their own continent. In extreme cases and some fields of knowledge African scholars feel sometimes condemned to recycle what others have written about Africa. This state of affairs is not only less and less ethically acceptable, it also arguably limits chances for cooperation and for innovative thinking. The presentation will explore origins and implications of existing asymmetries and propose a number of avenues to come to a more equitable knowledge production across the globe.