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SUMMARY:African Studies Global Virtual Forum: Decoloniality and Southern Epistem
	ologies—Miriam Maranga Musonye
DESCRIPTION:\nAbstract:\n\nNgũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s oeuvre is often read thro
	ugh the prisms of anti-colonial resistance and the struggles of workers 
	and peasants against capitalist exploitation. Yet\, while scholarship ha
	s extensively interrogated Ngũgĩ’s representation of the farm and the fa
	ctory as emblematic sites of class struggle and decolonial consciousness
	\, comparatively little attention has been paid to the spatio-technical 
	infrastructures of transport that animate some of his fictional worlds. 
	This paper examines three of Ngũgĩ’s texts—Mercedes Funeral\, Njamba Nen
	e and the Flying Bus\, and Petals of Blood—to explore how technologies a
	nd infrastructures of mobility serve as epistemic sites where knowledge 
	is generated\, contested\, and reimagined. Public transport spaces in Ng
	ũgĩ’s works function not merely as utilitarian conduits of movement but 
	as dynamic arenas of social encounter\, cultural invention\, and politic
	al negotiation. Within these mobile spaces\, narratives of belonging\, r
	esistance\, and innovation unfold\, challenging dominant epistemological
	 hierarchies that privilege fixed\, elite centres of knowledge. By traci
	ng how Ngũgĩ situates epistemic production within the everyday rhythms o
	f movement\, this study argues for a reorientation of knowledge towards 
	what may be termed a decentred epistemology—one that emerges from collec
	tive experience\, mobility\, and intersubjective interaction rather than
	 from institutional or individual authority. The paper thus poses three 
	interrelated questions: How does Ngũgĩ mobilize road infrastructure to f
	rame colonial and postcolonial experience? Whose aspirations and worldvi
	ews does he portray? And finally\, what alternative modes of knowing are
	 made possible through the epistemic lens of movement and transport?\n\n
	Bio:\n\nMiriam Maranga-Musonye is an associate professor of literature. 
	She holds a doctoral degree in literature from the University of Nairobi
	\, Kenya\, where she is currently the chair of the Department of Literat
	ure. Her research interests include narrative studies focusing on urban 
	realities\, children\, and refugees. She has conducted research among re
	fugee children both in Nairobi and Kakuma Refugee Camp. She also researc
	hes on matatu\, the Kenyan public transport system\, focusing on the art
	istic forms and performances and the cultural expressions and aspiration
	s embedded in this transport sub-sector. Her academic publications touch
	 on various subjects including migrancy\; children’s narratives\; mchong
	oano\, a Kenyan verbal dueling sub-genre\; online comedy and matatu cult
	ure. She is a published poet and author of children’s stories.\n\nFor mo
	re details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/afr-global-virtual-forum-mir
	iam-maranga-musonye/
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:<html><head></head><body><p>Abstract:<br />
	Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s oeuvre is often read through the prisms of anti-colo
	nial resistance and the struggles of workers and peasants against capita
	list exploitation. Yet, while scholarship has extensively interrogated N
	gũgĩ’s representation of the farm and the factory as emblematic sites of
	 class struggle and decolonial consciousness, comparatively little atten
	tion has been paid to the spatio-technical infrastructures of transport 
	that animate some of his fictional worlds. This paper examines three of 
	Ngũgĩ’s texts—<em>Mercedes Funeral, Njamba Nene and the Flying Bus</em>,
	 and <em>Petals of Blood</em>—to explore how technologies and infrastruc
	tures of mobility serve as epistemic sites where knowledge is generated,
	 contested, and reimagined. Public transport spaces in Ngũgĩ’s works fun
	ction not merely as utilitarian conduits of movement but as dynamic aren
	as of social encounter, cultural invention, and political negotiation. W
	ithin these mobile spaces, narratives of belonging, resistance, and inno
	vation unfold, challenging dominant epistemological hierarchies that pri
	vilege fixed, elite centres of knowledge. By tracing how Ngũgĩ situates 
	epistemic production within the everyday rhythms of movement, this study
	 argues for a reorientation of knowledge towards what may be termed a de
	centred epistemology—one that emerges from collective experience, mobili
	ty, and intersubjective interaction rather than from institutional or in
	dividual authority. The paper thus poses three interrelated questions: H
	ow does Ngũgĩ mobilize road infrastructure to frame colonial and postcol
	onial experience? Whose aspirations and worldviews does he portray? And 
	finally, what alternative modes of knowing are made possible through the
	 epistemic lens of movement and transport?</p><p>Bio:<br />Miriam Marang
	a-Musonye is an associate professor of literature. She holds a doctoral 
	degree in literature from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, where she is
	 currently the chair of the Department of Literature. Her research inter
	ests include narrative studies focusing on urban realities, children, an
	d refugees. She has conducted research among refugee children both in Na
	irobi and Kakuma Refugee Camp. She also researches on matatu, the Kenyan
	 public transport system, focusing on the artistic forms and performance
	s and the cultural expressions and aspirations embedded in this transpor
	t sub-sector. Her academic publications touch on various subjects includ
	ing migrancy; children’s narratives; mchongoano, a Kenyan verbal dueling
	 sub-genre; online comedy and matatu culture. She is a published poet an
	d author of children’s stories.</p><p>For more details: <a href='https:/
	/events.la.psu.edu/event/afr-global-virtual-forum-miriam-maranga-musonye
	/'>https://events.la.psu.edu/event/afr-global-virtual-forum-miriam-maran
	ga-musonye/</a></p></body></html>
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