Beyond the Box: Flying Free in the Pursuit of Knowledge

“I seek to question the root of knowledge and the façade of objectivity.” –excerpt from my final paper in Spring 23

Sanibonani Bazalwane, writing this thesis is actually a dream and culmination of all the favourite things I have learnt about myself, the world and learning during my college years. Starting from Africa week at my high school to jumping into college with the prospect of learning something that refines me, academia has been a primary tool of learning for me. Working on my thesis has been a non-linear experience, at times contradictory and hesitant but also a liberating and excitingly challenging pursuit of knowledge. As I share my knowledge about what I am learning/discussing and we engage in collective knowledge production, I also want the this space of academia to have room for emotions.

Does anyone remember when Balenciaga had the bag that was like the blankets we are used to seeing at home once winter falls upon us? What if I told you this was part of the beginning of my radicalisation?  

Image from The Sun

If any of you are chronically online, and on my side of the internet you may have come across the posts where people answer what radicalised them over the years, and some of them range from real accounts to simple answers like “empathy bro”, which? …real. For me, this radicalisation began in highschool when the conundrum of the post colonial reality reared its head with each passing year. Every now and then, we took a break from procedure as usual where we learnt  about white history, figures and even ways  of knowing to learn about ourselves. In my personal educational history this looked like learning about Shaka Zulu and the bull horn formation in grade 6, slavery and apartheid in grade 9, state formation in IB 1 and 2 and the World Wars and western powers throughout. In each one, we went through the history and we learnt about Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and the “end” of each oppressive system. And yet, the “end” of each seemed to be a myth of reality.

In high school, I became more aware of my race at the same time I started feeling a quiet shame at traditional events, speaking siSwati with a tongue that was increasingly becoming commanded by English. This conundrum between “end” and present growing fervent. Africa Week, a student-led event at my high school, was one of the few times we got to break out of our British-influenced education and critically think about the continent we lived on. In 2019, my friend and I ran a workshop on the Western influence on African traditions, food, and dress—opening up a door to a new world of untouched knowledge. Enter the Balenciaga blanket bag. Here was something I’d see once winter hit, at family gatherings, probably in a plastic case tearing at the seams kept in the top wardrobe repositioned as a luxury item?! How Sway? My very culture which is often perceived through a disparaging lens at every level was now worthy because it was not coming from us? In the way this Balenciaga bag blurred boundaries between luxury and commodity, my thesis has brought me to question how academia similarly reinforces divisions between 'high' and 'low' knowledge, often sidelining alternative perspectives that challenge Western ways of knowing.

Now, you might be asking yourself what does all this have to do with Amapiano, you know, the thesis? Well, I have learnt of colonialism as an external factor for years, and it has been during my time in college and my research projects that I have realised the personal impact of this reality. Below are some of the concepts I have thought about as I developed the structure of my thesis

• Participatory methods: People are not “subjects” but are co-creators of knowledge.

• Community collaboration: Engaging artists, dancers, and audiences in shaping the narrative.

• Multimodal expression: Not everything needs to be written, some things are better said, sung, danced, or felt.

• Non-linear storytelling: Western academia demands a literature review before lived experience. I want to start with experience and theory-build from there.

• Positionality: I reject the idea that I should be a “neutral” observer. I am in this and my personal connection to Amapiano is just as part of the research I conduct.

Now, the thing about being a scholar and critique is that it can feel like I'm critiquing something outside of me but I'm fighting Western epistemology even in my own mind because this is how I've been trained to think of and value knowledge production. Through this project, I aim to question the box that academia asks me to fit in. I want to question the type of knowledge production that is prioritised as valuable contribution to knowledge which is a pivotal motivator of my thesis. Miriam Mekeba, Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Hugh Masekela, Maya Angelou, all artists that have had an impact in cultural revolution that was connected to political revolution but neglected from the history books we learn in school. Why? Whose knowledge is prioritized and what type? These questions inspired me to approach my thesis through a dual decolonial approach where the content is contributory to decolonial thought alongside methodology.

What you need to know? One blog post entry will be more “teachy” and share the actual content I am learning. The other entry will follow my thoughts, inquiries, personal experiences or delve into some of the questions I have against myself or existing theories for us to engage in discussion over (like this entry). But fear not, discussion belongs across ALL. Amapiano is a magmatic force, it's a butterfly with wings that are alive and evolving daily. How do we analyse and engage in knowledge analysis without pinning down the butterfly? That's what brings us here, Emcimbini despite the horrors, where we fly fly fly fly.

• What has been a defining moment of radicalisation for you?

• Have you felt like academia puts you into a box?

Disclaimer: This blog/vlog is part of my senior thesis on Amapiano for my undergraduate degree at Lake Forest College. Engagement with this post in the comments is an agreement to participate in an aspect of my research.