African Studies: The Chronotope of the Crossroads

The author of the article focuses her research on the works of the renowned intellectuals who made a special contribution to the decolonization of education and of humanitarian knowledge. Most of these authors were born shortly before the independence or during the first decade thereafter. The formation of sovereignty took place before their eyes, which, in many ways, determined the vector of their professional interest. The article places a special emphasis on the innovative approaches of the Africans to the study of Africa’s past and present. What makes their works unique is their use of their own experience, both academic and personal, obtained during the colonial and postcolonial eras—at the crossroads of the epochs. As a theoretical and methodological basis, the article uses the ideas of Mikhail Bakhtin, the founder of the chronotopic method of research in the humanities, particularly those concerning the “chronotope of the path/road.” The value of Bakhtin’s tools increases even more when applied to the research of historical and cultural (“civilizational”) crossroads. The author of this article analyzes the current, transitional situation in the development of African studies from the standpoint of chronotope. The article emphasizes that most scholars have adopted a universal academic model for the pursuit of scientific knowledge. However, a change has become obvious, both in the very matrix of African studies and in their subjects and style. And if Africa was once studied exclusively in the context of European history, mainly from the outside, at present, much more attention is proposed to be paid to the problems of its study from the inside. As a result, the central place in the works of African authors is occupied by the problems of race, ethnicity, identity, the formation of states and nations; and issues of periodization of the history of the continent, its stocktaking, reconstruction, and representation are becoming a matter of discussion.