Wrapping up South-South knowledge exchange

We have reached the end of the fourth week of our course. We would like to congratulate you on your achievements.

The fourth week of our course addressed Theory from the South and South-South knowledge production and circulation. You also learned about the methods historians use to conduct research and analyse their sources.

As an introduction to this week’s topic, you learned about how Theory from the South helps us understand South-South knowledge circulation. The educators explained how Chinese barefoot doctors in Tanzania can be seen as an example of South-South knowledge circulation and you shared your own perceptions of these kinds of exchanges.

Historian Andrea Kifyasi showed us how he approaches his archival research about Chinese medical assistance in Tanzania and which questions we have to ask when analysing an archival source. You were able to test what you learned about source criticism.

Then the educators introduced the methods of conducting oral history interviews, another important tool for historical research. You learned in more detail about the term “Global South” and what it implies. In an interview, Andrea Kifyasi talked about his research and explained how it challenges the Global North.

Finally, you tested what you learned about historical methodology in a quiz, after which you shared your thoughts and inputs on this week’s topic with your peers.

There are two main questions you should be able to answer now:

• What is South-South knowledge exchange for you and what are examples thereof?
• How do historians analyse written sources, how do they conduct interviews and how can this methodology be beneficial for you?

What were your most important insights from the fourth week of this course? Share your thoughts – we look forward to reading them!

Author: Dr Tanja Hammel