Within the dynamic realm of historiography and the generation of knowledge, the process of “Becoming Independent” serves as a profound testament to the tenacity and resolve exhibited by a wide array of intellectual communities in their efforts to confront and transform established narratives. This afterword explores the themes in this special issue, which not only offers a critical analysis of historiographical practices from both past and present but also emphasises the imperative for ongoing dedication in the endeavour to cultivate diverse and independent historical narratives. By discussing the different articles of this collection, the afterword explores shared themes, such as the decoloniality of historical scholarship through ethnographic inquiry, prospects of de-emphasising the Eurocentric gaze, fragmentation of history as evidence of varied epistemological sovereignties, and the decolonial agenda through “white expatriates.” By doing so, this Afterword serves as a resounding appeal for the continuous pursuit of intellectual liberation.

How can we theorize about democracy? We can identify the major topics that form the focus of democratic theorists (and others traversing the field), such as democracy's meaning and value. This article focuses on the methodological lenses through which the topics have been and can be viewed. Different lenses bring into focus different phenomena, questions, and problems of democracy. It is argued that the lenses that bring conventional democratic theory approaches into view can provide an unnecessarily narrow and restrictive perspective. Donning different methodological lenses can introduce alternative perspectives, such as renewed attention to value pluralism and the “everyday.” The article sketches four “circles” that capture different potential types of and sources for theoretical work, some of them radically unconventional. It concludes by discussing the specific example of how methods and assumptions of design theory can prompt promising new approaches to theorizing about democracy.

The term linguistic emancipation embraces various interpretations. One relates to occasions where linguists have helped people overcome problems that are attributable to various linguistic calamities. Another pertinent vector relates to methodological innovations that extricate linguistic research from methodological confinement and that embrace new technologies to help advance our collective scientific mission. These alternative perspectives are illustrated here in small measure through studies of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and gender modification in the speech of a trans woman. The legacy of inventive methodological advances in linguistics is celebrated by emphasizing some liberating linguistic research trajectories in which experimental, self-generated data and descriptive investigations of endangered and underrepresented languages or dialects stand side by side, serving a comprehensive linguistic science in which alternative analytical procedures abound in harmonious complementarity.