On the Coloniality of Space and Registration: A Historical and Contemporary Study of the City of Harare, Zimbabwe.
Author: Boniface N Bwanyire , bwanyireboniface92@gmail.com
Department: Institute for Sociology
University: Technical University of Berlin , Germany
Supervisor: Nina Baur and Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni
Year of completion: In progress
Language of dissertation: English
Keywords:
Coloniality
, Space
, Figuration
, Refiguration
Areas of Research:
Historical and Comparative Sociology
, Historical and Comparative Sociology
, Theory
Abstract
Emerging from the conviction that the decolonization project in Africa remains incomplete, and following the growing arguments for an African Renaissance, this study seeks to challenge ‘coloniality’ in the field of urban research, by deconstructing how we view the city; unpacking the knowledges that guide our perceptions and practices in the city; and demonstrating how this influences not only the physical configuration of the city, but also patterns people’s ways of knowing, modes of living, imaginations and behaviours, amongst others. By taking this ‘epistemic turn’ and viewing the city as a ‘figuration’, this study attempts to deconstruct the very idea of the city; and to explore the city as more than just a physical place but as a ‘social structure that is created, maintained and extended, in everyday practices and interactions’. Situated within the confines of Sustainable Development Goal 11, the paper argues that the starting point for building cities that are ‘inclusive’ and ‘sustainable’ in post-colonial societies is the reconstruction of the colonial history of the development of the city and untangling its epistemological foundations, as this offers some insights regarding contemporary urban challenges and how they are tied to this history. A process-oriented methodological approach that takes into cognisance issues of processuality, temporality and spatiality, will be adopted in this study, given its focus on historicity, temporality, and spatiality. The ultimate aim is to contribute towards the development of empirically grounded and contextually relevant spatial methods that can be utilized in researching, re-imagining and redesigning African cities.
