African Social Sciences and Development in the New Century: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

This paper examines the travails of the social sciences in Africa since the post-colonial era. It pinpoints the fact that the ability of the social sciences to be really meaningful to the delusive development quest by Africa has been undermined by a combination of structural and epistemological problems. These problems range from the dismal economic environment in the continent, the structural limitations imposed on research, poor conditions of service to laziness and epistemological inferiority among African social scientists. However, the paper posits that the current wind of change blowing across Africa, a re-examination of the epistemology of the field and a conscientious self-reappraisal will ultimately reposition the social sciences to play significant roles in the development of Africa.Re´sume´: L'article analyse les travaux en sciences sociales re´alise´s en Afrique depuis l'e`re post-coloniale. Il identifie le fait que la capacite´des sciences sociales a`jouer un roˆle re´ellement significatif dans la queˆte illusoire de de´veloppement en Afrique a e´te´mine´e par l'effet conjugued e proble`mes structurels et e´piste´mologiques. Ces proble`mes sont notamment l'environnement e´conomique peu encourageant du continent, les restrictions structurelles pesant sur la recherche, la me´diocrited es conditions de service, la paresse et l'infe´riorite´du niveau e´piste´mo-logique des spe´cialistes des sciences sociales en Afrique. Cependant, l'article indique que le vent du changement qui souffle actuellement en Afrique, un re´examen de l'e´piste´mologie et une auto-re´e´valuation consciencieuse repositionneront, a`terme, les sciences sociales et leur permettront de jouer des roˆles importants dans le de´veloppement de l'Afrique.

Behind the Clouds: Teaching and Researching Anthropology in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria

“…Anthropology is a form of knowledge pursuit that is imperatively linked to both the survival and development of the society since it focuses on human beings, their societies and the mechanisms or strategies evolved by humans in order to adapt to the multiple challenges of their environment (see Anugwom, 2004). In this sense, anthropology as a discipline have both theoretical and practical contents that ultimately affect development.…”

“…More telling, however, is the inability of Nigerian Anthropologists to develop a distinct character, a problem that is actually general in the social sciences. In fact, the overt domination of the social sciences by Western ideals, values and ethics have not helped the affinity of such disciplines to development in the African context (Anugwom, 2004). This is nowhere more typical than in Nigeria.…”