ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

West African Scientific Elites Take on National Sovereignty

• In Event: Science, Authority, and Circulation

English Abstract

For French-speaking West African countries such as Senegal and Guinea, independence marked the beginning of a new era in their history. For some African political leaders, such as Mamdou Dia, effective independence had to be accompanied by a real scientific and technical transition in the former colonies, particularly in West Africa, where colonial policy was one of the most discriminatory in the French Empire. The formation of a scientific elite was therefore one of the keys to claiming national sovereignty in technical and economic terms for the newly independent states. Through the study of public higher education policies and the scientific trajectories of this new elite, we will focus on the modalities of its emergence in the post-independence context and its impact on the political landscape of these countries, particularly Senegal and Guinea.

Author

• Angel Pellerej