"Somaliland Journal of African Studies"

[Safferz]

The inaugural issue of the Somaliland Journal of African Studies, which does not have a single Somali editor, no Somali members of the advisory board, and not one article about Somalis in the Horn or diaspora. They claim to be working closely with the University of Hargeisa, but the only person from UoH appears to be a Xabashi lecturer. Somalis are excluded from this journal in every possible way - as authors, advisors, editors, even in the topics reflected here - all the while the journal claims legitimacy in the name of Somalis as an academic publication on the Horn/East Africa, and pretends to be partnered with students and scholars in Somaliland.

 

I think this is outrageous. I'm involved in the planning of a Somali Twitter qarxis sometime in the next few days, so I will keep you guys posted if you're interested in participating in the trolling.

 

[burahadeer]

why they do that?

[ElPunto]

LOL. You go girl!

[Che -Guevara]

Let me know how I can help?

 

It sounds like another mashruuc in our name.

[Safferz]

<cite>

@Che -Guevara

said:</cite>

Let me know how I can help?

 

It sounds like another mashruuc in our name.

 

We're going to be tweeting tomorrow beginning 6pm ET, under the hashtag #CadaanStudies. This is what I posed on Facebook about it:

 

"Inspired by the exclusion and erasure of Somalis in the new "Somaliland Journal of African Studies," we're going to have a Twitter conversation tomorrow using the hashtag ‪#‎CadaanStudies‬ and tweet at the journal's editor-in-chief. Cadaan is the Somali term for white/whiteness, and the HT captures important questions of power, authority and knowledge production about the Somali territories, and how Somalis continue to be marginalized in academic and policy studies concerning them and the Horn of Africa more broadly. Let's get the hashtag going tomorrow evening at 6pm ET, walaalayaal. Spread the word!"

 

Send me a PM if you'd like the editor in chief's Twitter page for tomorrow evening's qarxis. You can create a Twitter account just for the day if you don't have one now

[Alpha Blondy]

what is authenticity horta?

 

what is the difference between a Diaspora Somali, trained in the cadaan's methodologies and who probably has a limited grasp of their native tongue and the so called cadaan who can probably speak Somali?

 

authenticity can only come from those on the ground, who've been emasculated by Somalis from aboard, who've in turn, been emasculated by caadaans. there is a hierarchy. there's no difference between so called qudun-joog academics and their white counterparts. they are the same. they are both voyeurs and detached from reality.

 

Safferz,

 

please don't hijack this for your own end. you're just as fake as those you criticise.

 

 

[Safferz]

Remind me again why you enter threads and post as though your opinion matters?

[Tallaabo]

I admire your passion about this niche academic subject of yours Saffrez but I don't understand why the physical presence of Somali personnel in the form of editors is needed for this infant journal to have legitimacy?

Also as the title of the journal implies the topics published in it and the target of its study are the Africans as a whole group and so does not necessarily have to include Somalis in every one of its issues.

As I am sure you know too well there aren't many Somali scholars of African studies in academia the founders of this journal must have struggled to find ethnic Somali contributers. I think you should give them a chance and publish your reseach in its future editions.

[nuune]

 

 

As I am sure you know too well there aren’t many Somali scholars of African studies in academia the founders of this journal must have struggled to find ethnic Somali contributers

 

Tallaabo, Abti, see waaye camal, I can list you more than 20 Somali scholars I know haduusan qalinka iga murkacanin intaan magacyadooda soo aruurinayo and what their speciality is, again, waligaa hoos ha isku dhigin, and thanks to Safferz for catching those tuugo la qabtey talo ma leh.

 

End to in magaceena lagu qaraabto, and end to the notion that there is no Somali scholar of whatever field.

 

 

[Miyir]

Saffers

 

Jaamacada Hargeeysa oo magacoocoda lagu shaqeeysnayo maxaay ka dhaheen arintaan? mise cadaan jecel dartiis su'aal ba maleh?

 

Talaabo

 

Wax isku fal, timaha ciida ka cesho, maxaay kuu sheegayaan oo aadan aqoon?

 

 

[Tallaabo]

<cite>

@Miyir

said:</cite>

Saffers

 

Jaamacada Hargeeysa oo magacoocoda lagu shaqeeysnayo maxaay ka dhaheen arintaan? mise cadaan jecel dartiis su'aal ba maleh?

 

Talaabo

 

Wax isku fal, timaha ciida ka cesho, maxaay kuu sheegayaan oo aadan aqoon?

 

Apparently you guys have no idea about how academic publications work. Publishing an academic journal is not like the horse trading of Somali politics where formulas and quotas are used for representation or like those countless NGOs where the Somali people's misery is unashamedly exploited for all sorts of corrupt purposes. In a good quality academic journal research papers or opinion articles about a relevant topic are published based solely on the quality and accuracy of the material submitted. It is not like Hiiraan Online where balanced and fair opinions are not desired and Somaliland bashing is the motto.

Moreover, academic journals are not funded by the UN or donor governments. The best ones are owned by multinational corporations such as the Elsevier Group of Great Britain or McGraw Hill of the US. Indeed most peer reviewed journals are cash cows for these companies as they are sold at high prices to the detriment of scholars worldwide.

I don't know why this particular journal is named after Somaliland given that the founders could give it an exotic sounding name like 'The Great Rift Valley' or 'the Horn of Africa'. Nevertheless, naming an academic journal after a specific geographical location does not necessarily give the institutions in such a location the right to have their papers published in the journal or the locals the right to sit in the editorial board. For instance, the reputed New England journal of medicine mostly publishes papers by academics associated with the Ivies and other top rated institutions across the globe but hardly any material originating from their local scholars.

So guys there is no need to create a drama out this harmless mashruuc.

[ElPunto]

^Come on. Somalis demand some dhadhac since the term Somali is used. No need to rain on the parade

[Safferz]

Tallaabo I've been debating this for so many hours now that I'm afraid I don't have the energy to provide a substantial response here. But know that I don't agree with you and I think you are minimizing the issues at stake. It also went a lot deeper than simply the journal when one of the cadaan advisory board members took offense to this and insulted Somalis as a whole on Facebook. Anyone interested in seeing a compilation of key tweets and screenshots from Thursday evening can send me a PM.

 

Happy to say the Twitter discussion was incredibly successful and inspiring, and I am so proud of Somalis for their engagement. We also generated a lot of interest from other public (and more prominent) forums so have some follow up pieces of writing to be published on this issue soon.

[ElPunto]

^Quite the campaign you waged on twitter there. I think ultimately that individual got into a defensive mode and is unable or unwilling to see what you and others are getting at. Perhaps the campaign's confrontational style itself had something to do with his ill thought reaction.

 

For SOL members - here is the controversial thing this particular academic said:

 

 

 

 

 

Markus Hoehne of the Universität Leipzig, who is on the advisory board of the journal. In one section, Markus wrote that he didn’t come across “many younger Somalis who would qualify as serious scholars – not because they lack access to sources, but because they seem not to value scholarship as such.”

 

He went on: “Sorry to say, but to become a successful political scientist, social anthropologist, sociologist or human geographer, you study many years without an economically promising end in sight. You have to work hard before you get out one piece of text and even then, you often get more criticism than praise. You certainly do not become rich quickly as a social scientist, at least if you have to pay your bills in Europe or North America. Now, where are all the ‘marginalized’ Somalis who do not get their share in academia? I guess you would have to first find all the young Somalis who are willing to sit on their butt for 8 hours a day and read and write for months to get one piece of text out.”

 

[ElPunto]

I think it would be an interesting exercise to list a dozen or so Somali scholars that have the necessary background/education/research to act in this capacity. To actually prove this guy wrong - we do actually have to come up with specific people.