Research Methodology

THE CHALLENGE

African heritage practitioners are involved in numerous activities that seek to advance the restitution of our belongings and human ancestors. The region in which these activities are undertaken influences what outcome is pursued, the frameworks that apply, who is involved, what is done, and ultimately what the best method is by which to move restitution forward. Although this work is happening, African perspectives and experiences of restitution and the dynamics that affect it are largely undocumented, making it difficult to access and share these efforts as a linear narrative.

Africa Centered Research

Our Approach

Centering Africa in our research means focusing on the work that is being done by Africans to advance restitution. To this end:

  • We work within a conceptual framework of restitution that;
    • Recognises African efforts to repair and heal from the spiritual, cultural, and knowledge systems ruptures that were caused by colonial violence and looting as restitution;
    • Recognises African efforts to recover the holistic value of belongings and human ancestors at a community, national, regional, and international level as restitution;
    • Recognises African efforts to disrupt and reorient that dynamics that enabled the looting of belongings and human ancestors as restitution;
  • We work with people who are living in a region, and who are plugged into the culture and heritage network in that region, to connect us to the restitution activities and information that matters on the ground,  – as opposed to solely relying on the limited information that is accessible online; 
  • We foreground the indigenous significance of belongings and human ancestors to communities, and the challenges and breakthroughs that Africans have identified in restitution when articulating our understanding and insights into restitution processes;
  • We challenge ourselves to generate data from the scant information that is available from the continent, by interrogating and analysing that information from multiple points of inquiry.

Our Methods

Case Studies

We conduct case studies of the restitution journey of a belonging or human ancestor in a region. Case studies enable us to be locally specific, multi-sited across the continent, and in-depth in our research. Each case study is conducted by a researcher, who is familiar with the context, connected to networks pertaining to the restitution case, and has a direct interest in studying the process.

Oral (Hi)stories

We primarily conduct oral (history) interviews with people who have been involved. The stories gathered inform which processes have been significant to moving a restitution journey forward, from an African perspective and experience. The details of the stories are further developed through multiple research sources, such as archival records—most of which are not digitised—academic and popular literature, and audio-visual materials.

Grounded Theory

As restitution practices develop, so too does an understanding of its significance and processes. By working with researchers and practitioners to iteratively develop frameworks, languages, and patterns to collect data pertaining to African restitution cases past and present, we are able to generate insights into African restitution processes that are responsive to the data that we are gathering, and the Africans directly involved in this work.

Our Ethos

Our research culture and practice is rooted in transparency, mindfulness and knowledge-making as a social practice. These elements are drawn from the theoretical and ethical imperatives of our guiding research methodologies, and seek to address issues of power in knowledge production. All people who are involved in our research are informed of the objectives and outputs, are invited to engage in a discussion about any concerns, and retain authority over how their stories form part of our data. We consistently strive to create a safe space for knowledge holders, by listening empathetically to what one wants to share, and following that story We also work as a team to share what we are surfacing, to troubleshoot hurdles in the research process, and to tap into insights collectively and collaboratively.

Our Research Methodology

Case Studies

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