1. Contemporary Investigations on Academic Freedom and Conflict in Africa: A Metaphorical Linguistic Analysis
- Author:
- Abdul Karim Bangura
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- That transgression against academic freedom is a major human fault line that leads to conflict in Africa is hardly a matter of dispute. Yet, this topic has not received its deserved attention in the study of peace and conflict on the continent. By arguing that one factor that is employed to contravene academic freedom in Africa comprises the metaphors that are employed in discussing the issue, this paper offers a linguistic analysis of the metaphors that have appeared in contemporary works on the topic, beginning with the one commissioned by CODESRIA, edited by Mamadou Diouf and Mah- moud Mamdani, and published in 1993 to that written by John Higgins and published in 2014. This is essential because metaphors are not just “more picturesque speech.” The power of metaphors hinges upon their ability to assimilate new experiences so as to allow the newer and abstract domain of experience to be understood in terms of the former and more concrete, and to serve as a basis and justification for policy making. We should there- fore be horrified by the metaphors that have become the currency in our discourses within the academy, as some of these lead to the loss of lives, employment, gender equity, benefits, prestige, etc.
- Topic:
- Linguistics, Academia, Domestic Policy, and Free Speech
- Political Geography:
- Africa