Looking Towards the Motherland:

In the past 20 or so years, the African diaspora’s engagement in universitiesin Africa has inspired numerous studies. This article contributes to thisliterature both empirically and theoretically. Questioning the nationalismparadigm, which chiefly attributes African diaspora academics’ interventionsin African higher education institutions to patriotism, it arguesthat any explanation of the privileged forms of this engagement oughtto consider two major factors. The first is that African diaspora scholarshave been socialised in a strong colonial-era ideological imperative, whichvalues engagement in Africa; their socio-professional relevance on theircontinent of origin should thus be assessed in this light. The second factoris that African diaspora academics are integrated into professional foreignacademic institutions with their own rules and high stakes. While theyare urged to serve in Africa, they are also required to excel in their localinstitution and at the global academic level. Given the time constraints thisimposes, diaspora academics’ engagement in Africa is confined to rolesthat are compatible with the expectations imposed by Western academia. Key Words: diaspora, African academics, higher education, engagement,Africa