Abstract :
[en] In this paper, an Indigenous elder and non-Indigenous scholar together explore and reflect on attempts to grasp and work academically with the Maasai concept of osotua. We aim to take up this concept not as a piece of data to analyze, but as a partner in theoretical conversations. Osotua describes relationality, in the form of kinship, sharing, symbiosis, and accountability. It aligns and reinforces concepts and approaches of a variety of Indigenous knowledge systems and paradigms, as described by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars. It also has clear parallels with academic theories, for example, in the ontological turn as well as new materialist and post-humanist approaches. Through these cross-fertilizations as well as by its original stance, it may provide novel ideas and practical incentives towards the decolonization of the academe, for example, by enhancing diversity and multi-vocality, while simultaneously inviting incentives to contextualize and reflect on “the self” as part of a dynamic inter-reliant community of academics. Specifically, we focus on the potential theoretical value and resulting practical impact of osotua for decolonizing higher education. A variety of scholars arguing for the decolonization of the academic system has pointed out and criticized the continuities between colonialism and neoliberalism, and outlined how both have influenced a university system where students are graded based on standards informed by specific dominant ontologies and epistemologies; scholars are judged on the number of publications in certain high-ranking journals; and universities are funded based on the quantity of students they “process” within a certain period. How would the perspectives on and dynamics of this system be affected if the symbiotic and nourishing reciprocity of all relationships involved became increasingly visible through the concept of osotua?
Funding text :
We thank the Wenner Gren Fejos Fellowship for Ethnographic Film; Global Excellence Stature Fellowship and Africa Studies Centre Leiden Visiting Fellowship for providing funding during parts of the research and writing process of this article. We thank the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies at the University of Johannesburg for organizing the workshop that gave rise to this publication, and the participating colleagues for their insightful comments on the first draft of this article. We feel gratitude toward Prof. Keyan Tomaselli and his team for embedding this ongoing work in their Rethinking Indigeneity project. We thank Nadia Etaki for her suggestions with regard to language, and we thank the Maasai community members involved over the years for the continued good relationships and trust, and their willingness to share their insights in an academic context.
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