The coloniality of knowledge: An examination of European created infographics about Africa

Infographics make complex knowledge digestible and play a unique role in Western knowledge production. They are often a way through which power dimensions can be enacted. In this paper the question “How do European created infographics about Africa enact the coloniality of knowledge?” will be researched through the theoretical concepts of an us-them narrative, epistemic violence, and Eurocentrism. Five different infographics from European institutions will be analysed with a narrative- and visualisation strategy. Ambiguity in the relationship, country groupings, and inappropriate measurements are the main findings through the narrative strategy. The enactments of colonial division found through the visualisation strategy are problematic depictions of the African continent and visual metaphors and pictograms.