Contesting Northern knowledge: Akinsola Akiwowo and the worldwide struggle to change the social sciences

Abstract

ABSTRACT Akiwowo’s work is examined in the context of the global economy of knowledge and the postcolonial turn in social science. The global economy of knowledge, the problems of extraversion and dependence, and recent work that develops southern perspectives, are introduced. Akiwowo offered an original approach to social-science concept formation, drawing on ritual poetry in the Yoruba language. The debate about this innovation raises questions of wide relevance. The tasks of intellectuals in the postcolonial world are considered, and an interactive approach to knowledge is defended.