Publishing Workshops: Making African Research More Visible in International Journals
How can African research and thinking become more visible in global knowledge production? How can existing asymmetries be reflected upon more systematically – and how can they be practically addressed? Although African scholars have challenged imbalances in academic knowledge production on Africa for centuries, epistemic injustices resulting from colonial structures of power persist. One of the visible consequences is the underrepresentation of Global South scholars in leading journals. While this problem has long been known, measures taken by journals to address it have been either unsuccessful or insufficient thus far.
The first two MIASA publishing workshops for African scholars, jointly organized by the Contemporary Journal of African Studies (published by the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana) and Africa Spectrum (published by the GIGA Institute for African Affairs) in October 2021 and December 2023 sought to contribute to addressing these issues. The two-day workshops were designed to combine behind-the-scenes insights, feedback and mentoring with in-depth reflections. Editors of both journals shared insights into their editorial work to demystify the submission and review process while also discussing publication strategies with the participants. Moreover, the participants received detailed feedback on their research papers, which dealt with questions of sustainable governance related to the politics, societies, economics, and natural environments of Africa to facilitate their successful submission to renowned African Studies journals. Mentoring during the workshop and beyond was provided by experienced editors and associate editors.
Workshop participants praised the “real mentorship/follow-up program” (Antoinette Danebai Lamana, Université de Douala, Cameroon) and the “interdisciplinary network” created during the encounters (Dostin Lakika, Wits University). They also appreciated the interactive nature of the sessions and the “rare opportunity to learn directly from editors of top journals” (Rowland Amaefula Chukwuemeka, Alex Ekwueme Federal University in Ethiopia).
In addition to these practical components, the workshops put the reflection of imbalances in academic knowledge production on Africa center stage. A public roundtable during the second publishing workshop dealt with the origins and outcomes of injustices in research publishing practices while critically evaluating activities designed to address them. During the discussion, scholars at different stages of their career who have been involved in such activities, for example as organizers or participants of publishing workshops, reflected on whether such initiatives address or perpetuate asymmetries in knowledge production. They also asked how more fundamental change could be brought about.
While some of the discussion evolved around practical challenges that many Africa-based scholars face – including resource and time limitations (which panelist Prof Moses Khisa, North Carolina State University, mentioned in pointed terms) – many of the interventions also raised additional fundamental questions. Dr. Susann Baller (former MIASA Director Germany) highlighted the “disciplining” nature of the publishing process – and stressed that, while there is a tendency to perceive of the structure of “good” academic articles as being universal, it has indeed been subject to trends in the past and is likely to keeping changing in the future. Dr. Abiodun Olandejo (Walter Sisulu University) stressed that publishing workshops can only address underling inequalities if the process of organizing and conducting them is co-owned by scholars from the Global North and Global South – which corresponds with the guiding principle of the workshop. Furthermore, Dr Odilile Ayodele (Human Sciences Research Council) underlined the central role of journal editors in creating more equitable academic spaces and challenged organizers to think of ways to scale up events such as these to extend their reach.
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Julia Grauvogel (February 4, 2024). Publishing Workshops: Making African Research More Visible in International Journals. Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa - Blog. Retrieved November 8, 2024 from https://miasa.hypotheses.org/2357