More than just a military occupation, colonization was also a cultural, political, and scientific imposition. This phenomenon, called scientific imperialism, denies the scientific reasoning of colonized peoples to establish Western thought as unique and legitimate.
Africa, like other colonized regions, was hit hard by this intellectual domination. Any scientific endeavor had to conform to the Western model to be recognized as “science.” It was in this context that the movement of epistemic disobedience was born, calling for a rethinking of knowledge and a break from this monopoly.
However, while this call finds a wide echo in the social sciences, legal sciences seem to remain in the background. Why this reluctance? Is it linked to a denial, or to the dogmatic nature of the law, which would constitute an ontological obstacle to a decolonial approach?
To explore these questions, the Laboratory for the Analysis of Societies and Powers / Africa-Diasporas (LASPAD) of Gaston Berger University, in partnership with the Laboratory for Critical Study and Research on Law in Africa (LERCDA-GAK) of UCAD, is organizing an online seminar on the theme of “Legal Sciences and Decolonial Perspectives”.
Main speaker
Mamadou Cissokho
Doctoral student in private law at UCAD, member of LERCDA-GAK, Tutor at the Cheikh Hamidou Kane Digital University. Author of Africa (in) search of renaissance (2023).
Moderation
Mery Diop
Doctoral student in private law at UCAD, member of LERCDA and LASPAD.
Practical information
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Meeting ID: 822 742 7469
Code: VTb4uf