International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.1, 2026

Knowledge Decolonization and Local Practices in African Countries

(Abstract)

Xu Wei

Independent knowledge production in the Global South is a major theoretical and practical issue facing contemporary academia. From the perspective of African anthropology, and based on findings from long-term fieldwork conducted in African countries, including Botswana, South Africa, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, African countries are exploring paths to independent development and rebuilding intellectual subjectivity through practices such as Pan-Africanist thought, Ubuntu philosophy, and the revival of traditional leadership. Knowledge decolonization in Africa does not simply mean rejecting Western knowledge. Rather, it involves achieving a transformation from “being written about” to “writing one’s own story” in the interweaving of historical memory, cultural traditions, and contemporary practices. This process reveals both the common dilemmas and possible paths of knowledge production in the Global South: the independence of knowledge is built upon critical reflection on colonial legacies, creative transformation of indigenous resources, and open exploration of multiple modernities.