Discipline in the Context of Development: A Case of the Social Sciences in Malawi, Southern Africa

Autor/in	Holland, Dana G.
Titel	Discipline in the Context of Development: A Case of the Social Sciences in Malawi, Southern Africa
Quelle	In: Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, 55 (2008) 6, S.671-681 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0018-1560
DOI	10.1007/s10734-007-9082-4
Schlagwörter	Intellectual Disciplines; Research Methodology; Social Sciences; Global Approach; Foreign Countries; Developing Nations; Interviews; Interdisciplinary Approach; Malawi + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Geisteswissenschaften; Research method; Forschungsmethode; Social science; Sozialwissenschaften; Gesellschaftswissenschaften; Globales Denken; Ausland; Developing country; Developing countries; Entwicklungsland; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Fächerübergreifender Unterricht; Fächerverbindender Unterricht; Interdisziplinarität
Abstract	Changes in research production precipitated by the globalization have generally been theorized as applying across nations and disciplinary projects. This article examines the relation of discipline to research production from the situational vantage point of the developing world, specifically the Southern African country of Malawi, and from the empirical perspective of the social sciences. Evidence derives from eight months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Malawi in 2003 and 2004, drawing specifically from over 100 formal interviews and from analysis of historical and contemporary documents. The article finds that against depictions of academic disciplines as inflexible, arbitrary, and in need of restructuring, the case of the social sciences in Malawi demonstrates the value of distinctly disciplined expertise in problem-oriented research. This efficacy is, however, precariously dependent on the capacity of local disciplinary communities to regenerate and reproduce their expertise and compete effectively in the increasingly competitive knowledge market. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10