Topic 1 Methodological Conceptions

METHODOLOGICAL GUIDELINES FOR READING THE TEXTS

The object of these sessions is the comparative analysis of Western and African perspectives on ontology, epistemology, race, gender, science, logic, monetary economics, and applied ethics. We will not be adducing the standard “compare-and-contrast” method. Rather we will be relying upon the “lens” (“keyhole”) type of comparison in which W, the cognitive orientation of an individual or society, is adduced as the lens through which to view B – where B is another lens, society, idea or point of view. Just as looking through a pair of glasses changes how you see an object, using W as the framework for understanding B defines, changes, and modifies the way you see B. Lens comparisons are useful for illuminating, critiquing, or challenging the stability of a thing that, before the analysis, seemed perfectly well understood.

In reading through the materials for discussion, here are three key methodological items to pay particular attention to:

1. Frame of Reference. Have a clear frame of reference. This sets the context within which to place your analysis and comparisons. Your frame of reference will serve as an umbrella under which you can group the things being compared. We will discuss the issue of how to clarify our frames of reference in topic one.
2. Grounds for Comparison. Suppose that you are writing a paper on global food distribution, and you have chosen to compare apples and oranges. Why these particular fruits? Why not pears and bananas? The rationale behind your choice, the grounds for comparison, explains why your choice is deliberate and meaningful, not random. Always think through, clearly, the rationale or grounds for your choices. We will begin our discussion with the analysis of the concept of “standpoint,” a concept that brings frames of reference and grounds for comparison under one rubric.
3. Thesis. Standpoints are indispensable to theses. As in any argumentative discussion, your thesis statement will convey the gist of your argument, which necessarily follows from your frame of reference and grounds of comparison. Identify your thesis in relation to each topic and vis-à-vis each text you analyze.

Readings:

1. Horace Miner, Body Ritual Among the Nacerima
2. Abímbọ́lá, Kọ́lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Approach. Ìrókò Academic Publishers, 2005. (Forward, Preface, Chapters 1, 2 and 3).
3. Abímbọ́lá, Kọ́lá (2013), “Culture and the Principles of Biomedical Ethics.” Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, Vol. 19 (3): 31-39.
4. Abímbọ́lá, Kọ́lá (2004),“Yoruba Diaspora” in Ember, M, Ember, C.R. and Skoggard, I, Encyclopedia of Diasporas. Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World, (New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers.)
5. Abímbọ́lá, Kọ́lá (2002), “Questions and Answers: The Logic of Preliminary Fact Investigation.” The Journal of Law and Society, 29(4): 533-559.