Problems and Prospects of the Social Sciences in Africa
Thandika Mkandawire
Abstract: The paper examines the problems and prospects of the social sciences in Africa. It states that social science now enjoys greater institutional anchoring that it did in the past. The paper also states that after a phase of what seemed self-censorship in light of the increasing authoritarianism of African states, African scholars are increasingly more daring in their discussion of their societal problems. The paper concludes by stating that the paradigmatic crises of the social sciences in the metropolitan countries have contributed to both the de-fetishisation o f African social reality and the demystification of metropolitan social science and opened new vistas to approaches that are more deeply rooted in the African social reality.