“Postgraduateness”—A Project for Constructing a Renaissance Africa: A Decolonial Approach

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of postgraduate research in the construction of a renaissance Africa where African ways are represented in African research. The study contends that, through postgraduate research, African institutions can effectively impart significant intellectual development which will allow the continent to actively answer African questions through the development of indigenous knowledge. Through a desk research approach, this study finds that problems on the African continent could be better tackled using Afrocentric approaches. As such, constructing an African renaissance requires thinking African, imagining African, researching African, and in a way, learning African by slightly unlearning the European and American. While the study does not propose totally discarding Eurocentric approaches, we propose the idea of hybridity, where existing Eurocentrically minded research can be used to conceive of and implement indigenous frameworks and methodologies which could be employed in addressing problems in Africa. Importantly, research work in Africa should begin to mirror African societies, with the objective of constructing a reborn African continent.