I recently read a thought provoking article written by Professor Ndlovu-Gatsheni entitled "Decolonising research methodology must include undoing its dirty history." As I read the article, I keep on asking: is decolinising research methodology really necessary? What does decolonising research methodology imply? Who will really benefit from the decolonisation of research methodology?
Here is a link to the article: https://theconversation.com/decolonising-research-methodology-must-include-undoing-its-dirty-history-83912#
Terms such as 'decolonisation' and 'post colonial' frequently get bandied about in the social sciences. It often seems to me as valid as 'herstory' which seems to be based on making a statement projecting some modern concern back into history and then insisting that the reason that there is no evidence to support this statement is that it has been suppressed. While this is possibly true in some cases it leads to more falsification than any other factor. All forms of deconstructionalist approaches have their uses in that it is important to identify why a particular author adopts the approach they do. However, calls to 'decolonialise' methodology and demonising research based on perceived 'dirty history' is most often special pleading designed to get readers/peer reviewers/funding bodies to prove they are not racist/sexist/colonialist etc by accepting the unsupported conclusions of the author. Black Athena anyone?
In the age of globalization, 50 years or so after independence in most parts of Africa but as much as 100 years in South America, a political economy perspective shines more light on the drivers, outputs, and outcomes of research. Who gains? Who loses? How can one navigate differences? Here and there (but surely not everywhere if one looks for example at the impact of the Green Revolution), more attention could be paid to local actors, viz., communities, government bodies, nongovernment and civil society organizations, the private sector, research institutes, and universities. Discounting obvious winners, one must know who is not given the chance to create, access, use, and benefit from science, technology, and innovation. In poorer countries, the resilience of the "technology transfer" mentality probably also owes also to the political economy of development assistance, viz., cultural, economic, institutional, intellectual, and political interests. Who, exactly, is pushing for a technology solution? Why? At the same time, one should not dramatize the situation.
This is an interesting article. I am not sure that the underlying questions are just about ‘decolonisation’ but also looking at issues from various perspectives including identifying what those issues are. What did X think about something? And also what things did X think important to think about?
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