De la bibliothèque coloniale à la bibliothèque africaine: Plaidoyer pour une rupture épistémique

Abstract

Should we burn the colonial library, a legacy of Western imperialism, driven by the desire to dominate supposedly inferior peoples and to dispose of the resources of their territories at will? The question is more complex than it seems. Indeed, the validity of Western discourses on Africa poses a problem, because “scientificity” and ideology are intertwined. African elites, through the generations, have made it a point of honor to challenge the episteme at the heart of Africanist knowledge. However, the constitution of an African library requires both rupture and subtlety. The African library must accommodate all valid knowledge about Africa. The recommended break starts from the time of Negritude to the present day; it involves examining the contributions that have marked the history of the African and Afro-descendant intelligentsia. The advent of the African library that we are calling for could not be Eurocentrist nor reverse cultural imperialism, but should involve a refounded universalism, based on pluralism.