New Approaches to Scientific Dependency and Extraversion: Southern Theory, Epistemic Justice and the Quest to Decolonise Academia

Abstract

Several research fields have developed during the last decades that align with Hountondji’s calls for scientific independence and thus enable expanding his analysis and critique of scientific dependency and the call for the re-appropriation of endogenous knowledge. This chapter gives an overview of contemporary discussions in the social studies of sciences that connect to the indicators that Hountondji developed in his observations of scientific dependency. Furthermore, we link his work with recent debates under the umbrella notion of “Southern theories”, normative concepts such as epistemic and cognitive justice and discuss the calls for pluralizing sources of knowledges or de-linking from the global system of knowledge production as possible remedies. The chapter concludes by delineating the meaning of decolonization of academic spaces in Africa and beyond with reference to the RhodesMustFall-movement, that started in South Africa in March 2015. This example helps to illustrate many of Hountondji’s concerns.