Binarism as a Recipe for Lukewarm Research into Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Zimbabwe

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Jacob Mapara
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
The West ◽  
Good Science ◽  
Technology And Innovation ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Lack Of Commitment ◽  
Science Technology And Innovation ◽  
Meaningful Research

The thesis of this chapter is that there is need for vigorous and robust research into Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in Zimbabwe. It argues that such research is afflicted by binarism, an affliction that permeates the Zimbabwean academic psyche. It notes that the major stumbling block to meaningful research emanates from the effects of western forms of epistemology that have affected some Zimbabwean scholars who have come to believe that all good science comes from the west. The researcher further argues that what makes the Zimbabwean situation so gloomy is the fact that the country does not have an IKS policy, but a science, technology and innovation policy that makes reference to IKS in passing. It is this lack of commitment, the paper further asserts, that afflicts academia because there are areas where government is expected to take a lead, but in the case of Zimbabwe, this leadership is lacking.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 344-355
Author(s):  
Osarumwense Iguisi ◽  
Osaro Rawlings Igbinomwanhia
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
The West ◽  
Management Philosophy ◽  
Building Models ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Management Theories

This chapter draws attention to the relevance of cultures to management philosophy with the purpose of contributing to a culturally viable practice of management in Africa. It has been shown that the different management theories in the form that they have been developed in the West may not fit culturally in Africa. However, in developing theories and building models of management theories in Africa, it is unlikely to pay Africans to throw away all that the West has to offer. Rather, the process of appropriate management theorizing should be to reflect on the assumptions of Western management theories, compare Western assumptions about social and cultural values with African cultural values, and rebuild the theories or models through experimentation. The use of anthropological and philosophical concepts in this context will help in development of appropriate management practice.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems

2018 ◽  
pp. 5036-5045
Author(s):  
Osarumwense Iguisi ◽  
Osaro Rawlings Igbinomwanhia
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
The West ◽  
Management Philosophy ◽  
Building Models ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Management Theories

This conceptual paper draws attention to the relevance of cultures to management philosophy with the purpose of contributing to a culturally viable practice of management in Africa. It has been shown that the different management theories in the form that they have been developed in the West may not fit culturally in Africa. However, in developing theories and building models of management theories in Africa, it is unlikely to pay Africans to throw away all that the West has to offer. Rather, the process of appropriate management theorizing should be to reflect on the assumptions of Western management theories, compare Western assumptions about social and cultural values with African cultural values and rebuild the theories or models through experimentation. The use of anthropological and philosophical concepts in this context will help in development of appropriate management practice.

scholarly journals Implications of a technoscientific culture on personhood in Africa and in the West

2005 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornel Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Community Life ◽  
The West ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
History Of ◽  
African Community ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Rich History

This paper endeavours to converge on present-day experiences of self. This is done against the backdrop of the interdependence between person (organism) and environment (physical and cultural). The rich history of development of personhood in the West is discussed with reference to the metaphor of mask for personhood. Cultural epochs are described as phonocentric (in front of the mask), logocentric (behind the mask) and virtuocentric (between non-present masks). The history of modernism led to the experience of the end of personhood in the West. The restoration of personhood (subjectivity) seems possible through the restoration of some form of communitarianism. This brings Africa in focus. In an enigmatic way Africa knows science and utilises technology, but simultaneously relativises it in favour of traditional customs which the Western mind may judge to be mythological and primitive. African personhood is discussed with reference to African science in the format of Indigenous knowledge systems, to African community life as ubuntu, and to the place of seriti in African metaphysics.

Colonizing Innovation:

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhinav CHATURVEDI ◽  
Alf REHN
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Frugal Innovation ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Management Literature

Innovation is one of the most popular concepts and desired phenomena of contemporary Western capitalism. As such, there is a perennial drive to capture said phenomena, and particularly to find new ways to incite and drive the same. In this text, we analyze one specific tactic through which this is done, namely by the culturally colonial appropriation of indigenous knowledge systems. By looking to how jugaad, a system   of   frugal   innovation   in   India,   has been   made   into   fodder   for   Western management literature, we argue for the need of a more developed innovation critique, e.g., by looking to postcolonial theory.

Indigenous Environmental Justice, Knowledge, and Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Indigenous Worldviews ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
The World ◽  
Innovative Approaches

This article aims to introduce a distinct conception of Indigenous environmental justice (IEJ) based on Indigenous legal orders, knowledge systems, and conceptions of justice. This is not to suggest in any way that the existing environmental justice (EJ) scholarship is flawed; in fact, the scholarship and activism around EJ have been central in diagnosing and drawing attention to injustices that occur on a systematic basis everywhere in the world. This article argues instead that such discussions can be expanded by acknowledging that concepts of environmental justice, including distinct legal orders informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, already existed on Turtle Island for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans. It also suggests that environmental justice framed within Indigenous worldviews, ontologies, and epistemologies may make significant contributions to broader EJ scholarship, particularly in relation to extending justice to other beings and entities in Creation. This approach acknowledges ongoing colonialism and emphasizes the need to decolonize in order to advance innovative approaches to IEJ. 

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