The writer as social thinker

Abstract

Social theory in, and social theorising about, Africa has largely ignored African literature. Yet, the works of African writers constitute potential sources for the analysis of social thought and for constructing social theory in the continent. Indeed, African writers offer the kinds of abstractions, comparisons, frameworks and critical reflections on the African lifeworld – and the place of the African in the global context in the longue durée – without which it will be impossible to fully account for the nature of being, existence and reality and the nature and scope of knowledge in the African context. This introduction to the special issue on ‘Writers and Social Thought in Africa’ attempts to bring the social sciences back into conversation with literature (and vice versa) in re-articulating the philosophical dimensions of literature and the social sciences. It re-emphasises the role of African creative writers, not merely as intellectuals whose works mirror or can be used to mirror social thought, but as social thinkers themselves who engage with the nature of existence and questions of knowledge in the continent – and beyond.