1 Introduction: Alternative Epistemologies and the Imperative of an Afrocentric Mythology.- Part I Theories and Methodologies.- 2 Between Particularism and Universalism: The Promise of Epistemic Contextualism in African Epistemology.- 3 The Quest for Africanizing Qualitative Inquiry: A Pathway to Methodological Innovation.- 4 The State and the State of Knowledge Production in African Universities: Rethinking Identity and Curricula.- 5 Afrocentricity, African Agency and Knowledge System.- Part II Epistemological Practices.- 6 Cultural Environmentalism in Ogunyemi’s Langbodo and Osofisan’s Many Colours Make The Thunder-King.- 7 Security, Local Community, and the Democratic Political Culture in Africa.- 8 The “African Prints”: Africa and Aesthetics in the Textile World.- 9 On the Search for Identity in African Architecture.- 10 Towards an Endogenous Interpretation of Polygamy and Gender Relations: A Critique of Lola Shoneyin’sThe Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives.- 11 Religion, Patriarchal Construction and Gender Complementarity in Nigeria.- 12 Yoruba Traditional Instrumental Ensemble and Indigenous Knowledge Systems.- 13 Knowledge Production and Pedagogy Among the Islamic Scholars in Kano: A Case-Study of Shaykh Tijani Usman Zangon Bare-Bari (1916–1970).

This volume investigates alternative epistemological pathways by which knowledge production in Africa can proceed. The contributors, using different intellectual dynamics, explore the existing epistemological dominance of the West—from architecture to gender discourse, from environmental management to democratic governance—and offer distinct and unique arguments that challenge the denigration of the different and differing modes of knowing that the West considered “barbaric” and “primitive.” This volume therefore constitutes a minimal gesture that further contributes to the ongoing discourse on alternative modes of knowing in Africa.  

"It is refreshing to see the unearthing of new insights that highlight African knowledge systems, values, traditions, arts, and agencies without the perennial dependency on external frameworks. The thirteen chapters in this volume are important contributions to the ongoing conversations on Africa. They chart a new course on how to do justice to important African voices and alternative knowledge systems that have been overlooked for far too long." (Fallou Ngom, Professor of Anthropology, Boston University USA, and author of Muslims beyond the Arab World)

"The relentless struggle to decenter the Western epistemic tradition, and Africanize knowledge, continues in this scholarly multidisciplinary text of profound African critics, analysts, artists, historians and philosophers." (Gloria Emeagwali, Professor of History and African Studies, Central Connecticut State University, USA, author of Africa and the Academy: Challenging Hegemonic Discourses onAfrica)

"The present conjuncture characterized by profound questioning of epistemologies of equilibrium urgently calls for new pathways to the reconstitution of knowledge. This volume of essays responds very well to this, covering diverse aspects of theory and methodology, endogenous knowledge and epistemological practices, curriculum and pedagogy, gender, religion and identity." It is indeed a feast of refreshing ideas. (Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Professor and Chair of Epistemologies of the Global South, University of Bayreuth, Germany, and author of Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and Decolonization.)

"Any field that takes epistemology seriously must read this book. These well-written, well-researched, and well-articulated articles do justice to placing Africa at the centre of any discourse about epistemology. Relying on a vast number of epistemological resources from Africa present in her literature, ritual, textiles, and language, the writers in this book present the case for why we should look to Africa for knowledge. This book fills a gap in epistemological discourse that is long overdue." (Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of the Holy Cross, USA)