A panel from Bayreuth’s African Studies presented at the annual African Studies Conference held at the University of Melbourne. Organised by the African Studies Group, the conference spanned five days and topics ranging from cultural studies and legal studies to de-colonialisation, diaspora and community engagement.
The panel from Bayreuth was chaired by Dr. Christine Vogt-William and hightlighted the interfaces of research, solidarity and de-colonial care in African and Afro-diasporic. contexts from various angles and demonstrated well the investment of Bayreuth’s African Studies scholar in reconfiguring the research field, in its dual trajectory of critical inquiry and critical praxis. The panel included three presentations by current doctoral candidates and was concluded by Dr. Vogt-Wiliam’s contemplations on COVID-19 and the need for intersectional modes of care politics.
Dikko Muhammed (from Northern Nigeria) analyzed the deeply engrained presence of racialised thought in the works of Nigerian poets. As these works still remain within the framework of hierarchies, binaries and concepts established by the colonial order, his contribution highlighted the need to free literary expressions from exclusionary and disparaging colonial epistemologies.
Valerie Gruber (from Germany), spoke about her experience with transdisciplinary research among Afro-diasporic communities in Brazil and Colombia, where she developed an approach to producing valid and mutually beneficial knowledge. in collaboration with marginalized communities.
In a joint presentation, Eileen Jahn (from Germany), Patricia Pinky Nkete (from South Africa) discussed the prospects and challenges of the solidarity, diversity and inclusion nexus in the light of their research on access to electricity and the presence of women in the taxi industry in South Africa.
The panel motivated a critically engaged discussion and added to conversations bringing together Bayreuth’s African Studies scholars and the scholarly community in the same field in Australia.