The Community Story, Relationality and Process

Bridging Tools for Researching Local Knowledge in a Peri‐urban Township

Bibliographic Data

ID12397255
AuthorsUrsula Lau (0000-0001-6692-1687, Institute for Social and Health Sciences University of South Africa Johannesburg Gauteng South Africa, corresponding author), Mohamed Seedat (0000-0001-9018-3370, Institute for Social and Health Sciences University of South Africa Johannesburg Gauteng South Africa)
Year2014
Volume25
Issue5
Pages369-383
Publication date2014-12-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Community & Applied Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1052-9284 • E-ISSN: 1099-1298
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/casp.2219
OpenAlexW1923285681
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited34

In intervening in social challenges impacting local communities, Western forms of dispute/conflict resolution have been critiqued for imparting norms, values and practices that marginalise worldviews of indigenous people. From a decolonizing stance, indigenous scholars have emphasised the need for recovery of ‘lost’ values, beliefs and practices to advance indigenous knowledge. We highlight some of the conceptual challenges associated with applying ‘indigenous knowledge’ and culture‐specific ‘indigenous methodologies’ to a marginalised peri‐urban, ethnically plural township community situated on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. In embracing the mutuality of indigenous and Western knowledge forms, we explore three elements: the community story, relationality and process in relation to initial engagements with our study community. We attempt to transcend the dualism between ‘Western’ epistemologies and ‘indigenous knowledge’ through these ‘bridging concepts’. What is offered is not a formula or model but an orientation that aims to foster mutual learning through collaborative partnerships within and between communities and researchers with a view to inspiring possibilities for creative and meaningful solutions for violence prevention and dispute/conflict resolution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Bridging (networking · Conflict resolution · Indigenous · Situated · Social science · Sociology · Traditional knowledge · African cultural and philosophical studies · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Community Health and Development

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