NAB XVIII 2019

Current Affairs
The Knowledge Lab:
Review 2019
and outlook
18
Photo: Adobe Stock
Text and Photos: ROBERT DEBUSMANN
The Africa Multiple Cluster of
Excellence has established the
Knowledge Lab at the centre of
its research activities, linking
the Cluster’s Research Sections, the African
Cluster Centres, and the Bayreuth
Academy of Advanced African Studies.
Th e overarching aim of the Africa Multiple
Cluster of Excellence is to reconfigure
African Studies on both the conceptual
and the structural level. Th e Cluster is
conceived as a transformative space in
which research on Africa and its diaspora
is to be systematically advanced
by pursuing transdisciplinary research.
Building on decades of internationally
outstanding research in African studies
at the University of Bayreuth, the Cluster
will develop new approaches to the
analysis of African and African diasporic
lifeworlds observed and analysed
through the lens of multiplicity.
Th e Knowledge Lab is located at the centre
of the Cluster’s research activities. It
interlinks the three main research structures
of the Cluster: the African Cluster
Centres (ACC), the Bayreuth Academy
(BA), and the Research Sections. Th e
Knowledge Lab offers a variety of event
formats – from ad hoc meetings to regular
and formal meetings – for members
and guests of the Cluster who come together
to exchange ideas and promote
academic debate.
Exchanging ideas
In the Knowledge Lab, scholars present
themselves and their research projects in
order to exchange ideas, discuss methods
and engage in systematic refl ection
on their work and disciplines. Th e events
of the central plenary colloquium, which
takes place on Th ursdays from 2 to 6 pm,
form the overarching framework. Planned
and coordinated by the Vice Dean of Research,
Erdmute Alber, and a small, rotating
working group, it creates a lively intellectual
and interdisciplinary environment
that also includes non-academics, such as
artists and activists, and stimulates transdisciplinary
research and synergies.
Th e Knowledge Lab is the crucial forum
in which the theoretical, epistemological,
and methodological issues of the Cluster
are raised, related, and connected. Accordingly,
it is subdivided into three interlinked
spaces for debate and exchange: the Th e-
ory Forum, the Refl exive African Studies
Forum, and the Methodology Forum.