Theory from the South and Audiovisual Scholarship

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

The Johannesburg Workshop on Theory and Criticism published Volume 5 of its inhouse journal Salon (open access). The issue has a debate forum on the Comaroffs’ Theory from the South: Or, how Euro-America is Evolving toward Africa. I had seen something posted about this somewhere, but can’t remember where. The debates raise some really interesting questions about the present conjuncture of world affairs and the geopolitics of knowledge and scholarship. The issue also has an audiovisual section with works from Colombia. Rather than a showcase of “Colombian documentary,” Juan Orrantia explains that the point of this issue’s section is to examine how “in a place like Colombia, artists, intellectuals and media practitioners working in various mediums have been reflecting on the experience of life amidst conflict.” Interesting stuff, too, on Fanon, anti-racism, Latour and more.

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2 Responses to Theory from the South and Audiovisual Scholarship

  1. Captain H says:
    September 22, 2012 at 7:39 am

    Love how their book “Theory from the South” is not available in the South … what a tremendous help for southern scholars to engage in that debate, but maybe that wasn’t the point. One would think that a commitment to this theme could plausibly get the text on the inter-tubes (really not that difficult). True, internet in the South is also somewhat limited, but less and less so these days, and it’s certainly more accessible than many a university library. Same could be said for Raewyn Connell’s “Southern Theory: Social Science And The Global Dynamics Of Knowledge.” Of course it’s perhaps to be expected that classic imperial academia produce texts on southern theory.

    • Teo Ballvé says:
      September 22, 2012 at 9:44 am

      Lots of people in Latin America make a similar point in terms of language and translations, basically saying that many Latin American/ists flying the “From/For/About the South” banner don’t end up publishing (or translating) their major works in Spanish or Portuguese.

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