The Scholarly Journal in the Production and Dissemination of Knowledge on Africa: Exploring Some Issues for the Future

Abstract

The scholarly journal has been a means of disseminating information and communicating acquired knowledge in Africa, as elsewhere. With the proliferation of tertiary institutions in Africa in the second half of the 20th century, the publication of scholarly journals in the continent has experienced much expansion. However, such expansion has been affected in many negative ways by the harsh socio-economic environment under which publishing in Africa is carried out, as well as the vagaries of the politics that dominate the knowledge industry especially in the relationship between Africa and the North. This paper thus examines the problems facing the development of the scholarly journal in Africa. It argues that with the wide internet gap between the developed world and developing countries, the publishers of scholarly journals in Africa now face a greater challenge in bridging the widening gap with their counterparts in the North. The paper suggests some strategies for achieving this.


(The Journal of Cultural Studies: 2001 3(1): 26-42)