Reflections on an interdisciplinary approach to African societies

Abstract

Based on an opening conference given by the author, this text formulates in a first step three demands on all approaches of African societies undertaken by the social sciences: to internalise that social sciences are essentially about questions and much less about answers, to opt for a an interdisciplinary perspective, and to combine the «regard from within» with the «regard from the outside». In a second step, it underlines the need for ali social science research in Africa to take into account that, practically without exception, all countries on the continent have social formations which are defined by territory, are far from having achieved consolidation, and are characterised by processes of rapid recomposition.