Humorous methodologies for African geographies: refusing deficit- and damage-centered research

Abstract

ABSTRACT An experimental workshop brought together 20 stand-up comedians, environmental advocates, artists, researchers, and professors in Yaoundé, Cameroon on 27 and 28 March 2023. Building upon historical traditions of les griots and the popularity of contemporary comedic oration in Cameroon, our collaborative and interactive workshop centered efforts to move beyond dominant and colonial formulas to think creatively about the potentials, limitations, and logistics of humor as a methodological orientation. In this coauthored reflection, we build on the emergent insights generated during our workshop and propose future directions for social scientists and geographers keen to mobilize humor in their intellectual projects. We consider (a) the relations between humor and socio-political and socio-ecological dynamics (including in political contexts of authoritarianism); (b) the need to ground an academic methodology of humor in nuanced and place-based knowledges; and (c) the possibilities and dangers of humor in a wider intellectual praxis seeking to decenter and deprivilege power in research relations and to motivate certain forms of self-critique during research. More broadly, we argue that humor might contribute in the larger ongoing project of moving African geographical scholarship toward practices of creativity, experimentation, and joy beyond ‘damage-centered, deficit-centered, and extractive academic approaches.