Sam Moyo and the Struggle for IntellectualDecolonization

Sam Moyo’s insurgent intelligence and discipline made him a compelling andcontroversial intellectual leader. This article examines his life and work aspart of the transnational production of intellectuals and institutions dedicatedto the study of Africa. Tracing his passage sharply etches the global divisionsand inequalities that mark the positions and struggles of scholars of Africa.Tracing Sam’s choices and commitments over time offer however something farricher: examples of how we might move beyond the stultifying past and open upthe possibility of disrupting and decolonizing the institutions and intellectualframeworks surrounding the study of Africa.