What do science, technology, and innovation mean from Africa?

257 Pages·2017·5.89 MB·English

by  Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga (editor)

What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa?

What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa?
Edited by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2017 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical
means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in
writing from the publisher.
This book was set in ITC Stone Serif Std by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited. Printed and bound in the
United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mavhunga, Clapperton Chakanetsa, 1972- editor, author.
Title: What do science, technology, and innovation mean from Africa? / edited
by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga.
Description: Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016036606 | ISBN 9780262533904 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Technology--Social aspects--Africa. | Science--Social
aspects--Africa. | Technological innovations--Social aspects--Africa. |
Creative ability in technology--Africa. | Industrial policy--Africa. |
Africa--Social life and customs.
Classification: LCC HC800.Z9 .T486 2017 | DDC 338.064096--dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036606
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Mamadou Diouf, my professor and mentor, a selfless man gifted with boundless
generosity and inspiration.

Contents
Preface ix
Introduction: What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa? 1
Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
1 The Place of Science and Technology in Our Lives: Making Sense of Possibilities 29
D. A. Masolo
2 The Language of Science, Technology, and Innovation: A Chimurenga Way of Seeing
from Dzimbahwe 45
Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
3 The Metalworker, the Potter, and the Pre-European African “Laboratory” 63
Shadreck Chirikure
4 Plants of Bondage, Limbo Plants, and Liberation Flora: Diasporic Reflections for STS in
Africa and Africa in STS 79
Geri Augusto
5 Smartness from Below: Variations on Technology and Creativity in Contemporary
Kinshasa 97
Katrien Pype
6 On the Politics of Generative Justice: African Traditions and Maker Communities 117
Ron Eglash and Ellen K. Foster
7 Making Mobiles African 137
Toluwalogo Odumosu
8 Innovation for Development: Africa 151
Garrick E. Louis, Neda Nazemi, and Scott Remer
viii Contents
9 Science, Technology, and Innovation in Africa: Conceptualizations, Relevance,
and Policy Directions 169
Chux Daniels
References 187
Contributors 225
Index 227