International Institute for Asian Studies
The Newsletter 82 Spring 2019
An intellectual place of liberation and liberalization of intellectual discourses
I was made aware of the ‘Africa-Asia: a New Axis of Knowledge’ conference through Vijaya Teelock, Director of the Centre for Research on Slavery and Indenture (CRSI), based at the University of Mauritius.
Due to my passion for history, memory and heritage I am an independent part time researcher at CRSI. I am also an ‘engaged scholar’ in public advocacy for cultural empowerment of the Creole minority ethnic group, which comprises people of African, Malagasy and mixed origins. The title ‘Africa-Asia’ was striking as it resonates with my research field and interests as an engaged scholar on issues related to the relationship between people of African descent and those of Indian ancestry in contemporary Mauritius, situated in the South West Indian Ocean. It was, for my particular research interests, added value that the conference took place at the University of Dar es Salaam, providing me with a unique opportunity to encounter East Africa, home to the iconic African leader Julius Nyerere, and key player in the history of the Indian Ocean’s slave trade. Participating in such a conference was a must for me.
Jimmy Harmon
My conference presentation was titled ‘The Bandung Conference (1955) and the All African People Conference (1958): Understanding Asia-Africa intercultural dialogue in the Republic of Mauritius’, and would examine the race relations between Creoles and Indians. My discussion was located in the legacy of the Africa-Asia intellectual decolonisation movement of the 1960s. The Bandung conference's aims were to promote Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism or neocolonialism. However, when I received the programme book for the 2ndedition of the ‘Africa-Asia’ conference, I was surprised to find my presentation appearing in the panel: ‘Epistemological Questions in Africa-Asia context’. I had not realised that my work could be considered as an ‘epistemological question’! Coincidentally, after completing my PhD (Language and Education) in 2015 at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, one of the Professors encouraged me to pursue research in epistemology of languages. My research work focused on heritage language and identity construction. I studied the evolution of the debates on Creole language in Mauritius as contested knowledge. The conference came in a way as pleasant confirmation and encouragement.
During the opening ceremony of the conference, I was a bit lost amongst so many participants, yet luckily I quickly made contact with two participants (a couple) from Indonesia. We introduced ourselves and inquired about each other’s presentations. They told me with amazement that they had read my abstract with great interest and were extremely happy to meet me. We talked about the historical link between Mauritius and Indonesia with regard to Malaysian seafarers exploring the Indian Ocean. From that moment on I became fully engaged intellectually with the venue, the conference and the people coming from all over the world. The University of Dar es Salaam is a place rich with the history of the African liberation movement. It was exciting to be on the campus, an intellectual place of liberation and liberalization of intellectual discourses.
I also greatly appreciated the organisers of this conference - hats off to them! Although they were all outstanding, one of the university student volunteers deserves a special mention: Oggu Nanyarro. An undergraduate student Sociology; self-composed and always caring for the needs and queries of the participants. We had many exchanges about Africa’s struggles and leadership and societal issues, and the intellectual activism in my country. We continue our discussions now through social media!
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Conference participant
The conference spanned an array of issues, across multiple disciplines, that are salient within the African continent. The diversity in the delivery included conventional academic presentations, video projections, free talks, which were in some instances hard talks, and open discussions by academics, professionals and activists. The whole process nurtured cross-fertilisation of knowledge. It was a two-day immersion in issues with which Africa is constantly coming to grips with. I was amazed by the academic freedom with which issues were discussed openly and freely, even those relating to the role of China as the emerging new superpower in Africa. It was also interesting to understand the geostrategic positioning of India with some countries like Mauritius. This helped to give a balanced view and avoided the conference from falling into the trap of ideological rhetoric, which I must confess is unfortunately very often the case with African conferences where debates are restricted to rehearsed discourse on colonialism and neo-colonialism. In this case, it was mutually enriching for both Africa and Asia. It is promising as it augurs new avenues for research and policies for sustainable development in Africa. It is like treading new paths. I consider this the most exciting take-away of the conference.
The format of the parallel sessions gave immense possibilities to discuss different issues of paramount importance. It was an intellectual délice, engaging, thought-provoking and giving new insights into Africa and Asia from an African and Asian standpoint. This is for me the originality of this conference. Engrossed in our disciplines, we academics, we lose sight at times of the multifocal perspectives of any topic being researched. We might be misled by our own research paradigms. The parallel sessions help to see how things must be looked at from different angles. They help us especially to stay grounded and come down from our academic towers. This conference fully responded to my philosophy of the role of the researcher on societal issues: I firmly believe that research can only be meaningful when it leads to social transformation. I can’t wait for the 3rd edition of the ‘Africa-Asia: a New Axis of Knowledge’ conference!
Jimmy Harmon, Centre for Research on Slavery and Indenture (CRSI), University of Mauritius
Jimmy Harmon
My conference presentation was titled ‘The Bandung Conference (1955) and the All African People Conference (1958): Understanding Asia-Africa intercultural dialogue in the Republic of Mauritius’, and would examine the race relations between Creoles and Indians. My discussion was located in the legacy of the Africa-Asia intellectual decolonisation movement of the 1960s. The Bandung conference's aims were to promote Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism or neocolonialism. However, when I received the programme book for the 2ndedition of the ‘Africa-Asia’ conference, I was surprised to find my presentation appearing in the panel: ‘Epistemological Questions in Africa-Asia context’. I had not realised that my work could be considered as an ‘epistemological question’! Coincidentally, after completing my PhD (Language and Education) in 2015 at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, one of the Professors encouraged me to pursue research in epistemology of languages. My research work focused on heritage language and identity construction. I studied the evolution of the debates on Creole language in Mauritius as contested knowledge. The conference came in a way as pleasant confirmation and encouragement.
During the opening ceremony of the conference, I was a bit lost amongst so many participants, yet luckily I quickly made contact with two participants (a couple) from Indonesia. We introduced ourselves and inquired about each other’s presentations. They told me with amazement that they had read my abstract with great interest and were extremely happy to meet me. We talked about the historical link between Mauritius and Indonesia with regard to Malaysian seafarers exploring the Indian Ocean. From that moment on I became fully engaged intellectually with the venue, the conference and the people coming from all over the world. The University of Dar es Salaam is a place rich with the history of the African liberation movement. It was exciting to be on the campus, an intellectual place of liberation and liberalization of intellectual discourses.
I also greatly appreciated the organisers of this conference - hats off to them! Although they were all outstanding, one of the university student volunteers deserves a special mention: Oggu Nanyarro. An undergraduate student Sociology; self-composed and always caring for the needs and queries of the participants. We had many exchanges about Africa’s struggles and leadership and societal issues, and the intellectual activism in my country. We continue our discussions now through social media!
Conference participant
The conference spanned an array of issues, across multiple disciplines, that are salient within the African continent. The diversity in the delivery included conventional academic presentations, video projections, free talks, which were in some instances hard talks, and open discussions by academics, professionals and activists. The whole process nurtured cross-fertilisation of knowledge. It was a two-day immersion in issues with which Africa is constantly coming to grips with. I was amazed by the academic freedom with which issues were discussed openly and freely, even those relating to the role of China as the emerging new superpower in Africa. It was also interesting to understand the geostrategic positioning of India with some countries like Mauritius. This helped to give a balanced view and avoided the conference from falling into the trap of ideological rhetoric, which I must confess is unfortunately very often the case with African conferences where debates are restricted to rehearsed discourse on colonialism and neo-colonialism. In this case, it was mutually enriching for both Africa and Asia. It is promising as it augurs new avenues for research and policies for sustainable development in Africa. It is like treading new paths. I consider this the most exciting take-away of the conference.
The format of the parallel sessions gave immense possibilities to discuss different issues of paramount importance. It was an intellectual délice, engaging, thought-provoking and giving new insights into Africa and Asia from an African and Asian standpoint. This is for me the originality of this conference. Engrossed in our disciplines, we academics, we lose sight at times of the multifocal perspectives of any topic being researched. We might be misled by our own research paradigms. The parallel sessions help to see how things must be looked at from different angles. They help us especially to stay grounded and come down from our academic towers. This conference fully responded to my philosophy of the role of the researcher on societal issues: I firmly believe that research can only be meaningful when it leads to social transformation. I can’t wait for the 3rd edition of the ‘Africa-Asia: a New Axis of Knowledge’ conference!
Jimmy Harmon, Centre for Research on Slavery and Indenture (CRSI), University of Mauritius
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