Does theory matter?

Readings for discussion:
WEB Dubois (1898) The Study of the Negro Problems.
Shivji, Issa. (2005). The Silences in NGO discourse.

In the class of 6th September, we mentioned that the process of identifying problems for research is just as important as doing research, and that problems should be strongly informed by the context of the people or of the researcher. Yet in situations of social inequality, researchers often equate the people who face the hugest problems to the problems to be researched, instead of carrying out research to address the problems the people face.

In continuing with Dubois's thought, we discuss with his seminal work "The Study of the Negro problems."  Once again Dubois laments that research has ignored black Americans, and calls for a meticulous, scientific study of the problems black Americans face. What is the goal of research in Kenya? What is yours as a PhD student?

The other aspect of research that doesn't get much attention in Kenya is theory. We have already discussed Mamdani's observation that the corporatization of higher education had turned PhD holders into doers who act without thinking. Is this ignorance of theory deliberate or not? That is what Shivji addresses in his article The Silences of NGO discourse.

If you can, please relate your questions or comments to the happenings last week: Sonko's outburst on Caroline Mutoko's show, and Kidero's slapping of Shebesh.

Remember to post your comments and questions by Thursday 7pm.

A hundred years later

After reading the first three chapters of 'The souls of black men', I was highly impressed by W.E.B Du Bois sense of clarity as to what ailed the black population at the start of that century. It got me quite curious about who he was and upon further inquest, I was pleasantly surprised to know that he was one of the founders of NAACP.

In the third chapter 'Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others', I came across this phrase, "Is it possible, and probable, that nine millions of men can make effective progress in economic lines if they are deprived of political rights, made a servile caste, and allowed only the most meagre chance for developing their exceptional men?" My key part of the phrase being about being "allowed only the most meagre of chance for developing their exceptional men". Du Bois advocated for this fierce equality at the beginning of the 20th century yet a hundred years later, I found this quote from Chris Rock, " "[My only three black neighbors are] Mary J. Blige, one of the greatest singers of all time, Denzel Washington, one of the greatest actors of all time, and Jay-Z, one of the greatest rappers of all time." His white neighbor? "A dentist. And he isn't like the greatest dentist in history either. I had to host the Oscars to get that house — a black dentist in my neighborhood would have to invent teeth." Chris Rock is a comedian but his perspective is a true reflection of what happens in the society. How is it that a hundred years later, the black population is still struggling with the same issues? Is it because of the insistence by Booker. T. Washington that the southern blacks should forgo their quest for higher education and settle on technical  education? Is it his call for the blacks to moderate their call for political power and civil rights that has remained to this day? Did what Booker T. had meant for the temporary become permanent. Chris Rock puts it this way, “If you're black, you got to look at America a little bit different. You got to look at America like the uncle who paid for you to go to college, but who molested you.”  This echoes W.E.B Du Bois sentiments about the negative effects of what Booker T. advocated.

W.E.B Du Bois also says this about Booker T., “His doctrine has tended to make the whites, North and South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro’s shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather pessimistic spectators; when in fact the burden belongs to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs.” The same sentiment is echoed again approximately a hundred years later by Tupac Shakur, “America eats its babies ...no matter what y'all think about me, I'm still yo child ...u can't just turn me off like that" The burden of the black people is a not an isolated problem but a problem for the nation. As Dubois starts his first chapter with the words “how does it feel to be a problem?” we see the same question still being asked a hundred years later, to the same person.

The problem of lack of education or bad education is not a problem of the poor, nor of the marginalized, it is a problem of the nation. Is Africa willing to invest in the education of its people through the highest standards possible and to the highest levels possible? Is Africa willing to change its system of education so as to reduce the number of consultants and increase the number of independent researchers as Mahmood Mamdani stipulates? Is Africa willing to avoid the hundred year African-American problem? Will our great grandchildren echo the sentiments of Chris Rock and Tupac Shakur a hundred years later?