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Between the Practical and the AcademicThe Relation of Mode 1 and Mode 2 Knowledge Production in a Developing CountryAmerican University of Afghanistan, dholland{at}auaf.edu.af Growing expectation that research addresses problems in the context of application has spurred theorization about a new mode of production, Mode 2, which contrasts with Mode 1 or discipline-based research production in terms of animating questions, organization, and evaluation criteria. This article examines how the proposed Mode 2 form of research production and the practical role of the intellectual that it promotes align with the career trajectories and identities of academics who simultaneously engage in Mode 1 work. It focuses on a setting that is particularly susceptible to global shifts in knowledge production: a developing country and longtime object of external intervention, Malawi. Numerous contradictions are found between Mode 1 and 2 production as well as impediments to the conversion of products generated in Mode 2 into scholarly contributions to Mode 1 development. The evidence draws from 42 interviews conducted with academics and independent researchers in Malawi during 2003 and 2004 as well as historical documents.
Key Words: Mode 1 and 2 research production social science developing countries Africa intellectuals
This version was published on September
1, 2009 Science, Technology & Human Values, Vol. 34, No. 5,
551-572 (2009) |
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