Positionality
Writing about conflict and governance in countries that are not one’s own is by no means a neutral exercise. This is especially true when one is a resident of the global north writing (in English, on the internet) about Africa. The time I’ve spent in Africa has not given me access to any privileged knowledge, nor any unquestioned right to write about the continent – simply an interest in relaying information that strikes me as notable and accurate. And naturally, my perception of what qualifies as “notable” and “accurate” is deeply connected to my own positionality, my own perceptual lenses, my own experiences and preferences and beliefs.
This is an inherent part of being human – and, in many ways, a great one. We are built to learn about the world heuristically, using our past experiences to filter and interpret and predict new occurrences. It’s a clever system! The question is then one of being open about the limits of one’s knowledge, and willing to continue seeking new and challenging information. I hope this attitude is reflected in these posts, and that readers will continue to be open in their comments and critiques if they feel that it is not.
Hello Rachel,
I’m a big fan of your site and of your writing. I was wondering if research of yours will be published here at any stage and if you might consider publishing some of it either jointly or separately on Hii Dunia? Having a broad idea of what you have researched I think it may be very interesting for users of hD to read your work. It of course could be fully integrated with your site, of which we are delighted to support whenever we can.
Just an idea. I continue to value your site enormously and look forward to reading your work when published here.
Best wishes
Dan
Editor, Hii Dunia
Hi Dan,
Thanks for writing! I really appreciate your offer. I’ve got a couple pieces that I’m (slowly) working on cleaning up till they get to the publication stage, and I’ll get in touch once they’re a bit more polished.
Take care,
Rachel
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Thanks for your comment, Erick! You’ve got some very useful information up on your site. I just tweeted about it. Looking forward to reading more of your comments here in the future!
Hello,
I came across your blog and I like some of your comments, but you have not updated. I was reading the blog and to my surprise, there is an Eric L comments, which I do not share at all..
I’m Erick L and I created a website about Congo’s election. The website name is http://www.loleka.com and the facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/electionscongo
If you’re interesting about Congo, then you will see views from different angles.
It looks like your earlier assumptions about Tshisekedi was indeed correct. The guy was very clueless about organizing an election. 15 days are left and he just started his campaign yesterday, while the others started 2 week ago. He doesn’t want to compromise with other opposition leaders and h is not organized. He cannot win if he doesn’t have one of the attributes.
Thank you,
Erick Loleka