Decolonizing Research Methodologies

Forum for Africa Studies

Projects

The project is entitled, DECOLONIZING RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES: A Research School Programme on empirical data collection, fieldwork relations, ethical challenges, and transnational approaches, is funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) 2022-2025. It aims to support the creation, organization, and the implementation of an interdisciplinary research school that bring together Burkinabe, Malian, Swedish, and Tanzanian researchers and research projects in a common collaborative framework to strengthen conceptual, theoretical, methodological and practical work for decolonizing research methodologies.

It focuses mainly on qualitative research and societal engagement in the humanities and social sciences, and is geared towards data collection, research relations, ethics, and transnational approaches in the organization and implementation of research and research training.

More specifically, the project aims:

to critically assess and transform the ways in which qualitative research is organized and implemented;
to strenghten the development of empirically grounded and critical research methodologies;
to interrogate fieldwork relations and research ethics; and
to promote transnational approaches.

The project is built around qualitative empirical research, and societal engagement through the development of courses (both in situ/in persona, and online), the organization of summer schools in the collaborating countries, regular online seminar series, joint analytical workshops, and collaborative publications. It seeks to foster a critical, and yet practically oriented and relevant, academic culture among PhD students and faculty.

The partners involved in the project are (see also the list of University/Country Coordinators):

Forum for Africa Studies at Uppsala University (Coordinator);
Dept. of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences;
Dept. of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University
Laboratoire d'études rurales sur l'environnement et développement économique et social, Université Nazi Boni of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso;
Institut des Sciences Humaines, Bamako, Mali;
Society and Religion Research Centre, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Activities

The Launching Seminar was hosted at Uppsala University 26 Sept-12 Oct. 2022 with round-tables, seminars, individual presentations, and joint fieldwork. The Seminar programme is available here. For more info, contact the coordinator of your University or Programme Coordinator Dr. Oulia Makkonen.

Ongoing activities (the planned or most recent first) include:

Between 23 October and 4 November 2023, the Fieldwork Seminar on Decolonizing Research Methodologies with 30 participants was organized in Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
On 19 September 2023, a joint NARN Seminar on how to decolonize in practice with Prof. Sten Hagberg, Dr. Oulia Makkonen, and Dr. Thomas Ndaluka is hosted.
On 15 September 2023, a Virtual seminar in Decolonizing Research Methodologies with Prof. Paula Uimonen and PhD Student Hussein Masimbi is organized by Stockholm University.
On 13 June 2023, a Virtual seminar in Decolonizing Research Methodologies with Dr. Vincent-Paul Sanon was organized by the Nazi BONI University.
In March 2023, an exploratory mission composed of Sten Hagberg, Oulia Makkonen, and Patrice Toé traveled to Tanzania, to plan for the upcoming Fieldwork Seminar 23 October-4 November 2023 with the Tanzanian partners under the leadership of Thomas Ndaluka.
On 24 March 2023, a Virtual seminar in Decolonizing Research Methodologies with Prof. Friederike Lüpke was planned (but postponed) by the coordinators at Uppsala University.
Between 5 and 7 December 2022, Sten Hagberg and Oilia Makkonen attended and presented papers focusing on the deconilization at the 14th SANORD Conference at the Unibversity of Limpopo, South Africa.
On 10 Oct 2022, an Open Seminar on Citizen Perspectives on Security and Safety Challenges on Gotland
On 28 Sept 2022, a public lecture at Uppsala University on third genders in the Global South
On 27 Sept 2022, a round-table at Uppsala University on Rethinking Epistemologies and Research Practices
Between 26 Sept-11 Oct 2022, the Launching Seminar on Decolonizing Research Methodologies at Uppsala University
On 30 June 2022, Sten Hagberg gave a talk on Décoloniser les méthodologies de recherche au Laboratoire d'études rurales sur l'environnement et le développement économique et social, Nazi Boni University, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
On 16 June 2022, Sten Hagberg and Oulia Makkonen gave a hybrid research seminar presenting the programme at Forum for Africa Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden.
On 11 May 2022, Sten Hagberg gave a seminar presenting the programme at Dept. of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.

The Fieldwork Seminar in Tanzania ended at TaSuBa in Bagamoyon on 3 November 2023. Read more, click on the image

The Launching Seminar on Decolonizing Research Methodologies (26 Sept-11 Oct. 2022) took place in Sweden (Uppsala University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Stockholm University, and Uppsala University's Campus Gotland), with a particular fieldwork exercise carried out on Gotland. More info, click on the image.

Prof. Sten Hagberg is the Project Leader and Director of Forum for Africa Studies at Uppsala University. More info, click on the image

Prof. Paula Uimonen is the Project Coordinator at Stockholm University. More info, click on the image.

Prof. Patrice Toé is the Nazi Boni University Coordinator of Burkina Faso, here together with Prof. Anna Singer, Deputy Vice Rector at Uppsala University, in March 2020. More info, click on the image

Dr. Emil Sandström is the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Coordinator. More info, click on the image.

Dr. Baba Coulibaly is the Institut des Sciences Humaines Coordinator of Mali. More info, click on the image.

Dr. Thomas Ndaluka is the University of Dar es Salaam Coordinator of Tanzania. More info click on the image

Oulia Makkonen at Uppsala University is the Administrative Coordinator of the Project

On 30 June 2022, Sten Hagberg gave a talk entitled Décoloniser les méthodologies de recherche au Laboratoire d'études rurales sur l'environnement et développement économique et social, Université Nazi Boni, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.