Sam Moyo and the Struggle for Intellectual Decolonization

Abstract

Sam Moyo’s insurgent intelligence and discipline made him a compelling and controversial intellectual leader. This article examines his life and work as part of the transnational production of intellectuals and institutions dedicated to the study of Africa. Tracing his passage sharply etches the global divisions and inequalities that mark the positions and struggles of scholars of Africa. Tracing Sam’s choices and commitments over time offer however something far richer: examples of how we might move beyond the stultifying past and open up the possibility of disrupting and decolonizing the institutions and intellectual frameworks surrounding the study of Africa.