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The BARA Anthropology of Science Initiative
A pivotal moment occurred when anthropologists
took the tools that had been developed for studying exotic peoples
in exotic locations and applied them to communities of science. Today,
the anthropology of science is dominated by laboratory studies that
produce ethnographies of how scientific "facts" are produced,
how scientists are "made", what scientists actually do,
what scientists say, and how scientific practices influence and are
influenced by the socioeconomic and political conditions under which
they work. New knowledge areas that emerged from the anthropology
of science include how science and technology has called into question
our previous distinctions of nature and culture, have modified views
of human bodies and environments, and how users understand new technologies,
their bodies, and modifications of their constructed environments.
The emergence of anthropology of science significantly broadened anthropology,
but perhaps an unintended consequence was a narrowing of what is science,
who are scientists, and where science and technology production occurs.
The exotic peoples in exotic locations, in general, are not recognized
as producers of scientific knowledge so much as consumers. What has
emerged is a hierarchy of knowledge and knowledge production sites
with industrialized nations ignoring their current and foundational
"folk knowledge" and with intent mining of the knowledge
of exotic peoples in exotic places, while the knowledge and knowledge
production sites of exotic peoples in exotic places, even when adopted
by the industrialized, are perceived as less scientific or simply
anomalous. This BARA initiative seeks to challenge this hierarchy
of knowledge and knowledge production by using the discourse, methods,
and areas of inquiry used for industrialized peoples in science settings
on exotic peoples to study their knowledge and knowledge production.
The projects of BARA faculty span the globe and
involve data collection and comparison on multiple scales: institutions,
households, and individuals. These projects offer opportunities
to study knowledge and knowledge production within development settings,
both local and introduced, and how the various knowledge systems
impact, interact, or interface with each other. The study of astronomy
as a system of knowledge under this initiative is appropriate: Keeping
with the initiative, of interest is how sky knowledge is entwined
with development projects. If certain aspects of sky knowledge give
people an advantage in terms of food security such as weather prediction
methods and accurate agricultural calendars. Also, in places where
sky knowledge has been lost, does astronomy provide a substitute
for some unknown but necessary aspect of cultural adaptation and
survival.
It cannot be ignored that Tucson has the highest
population density of astronomers in the world. The University of
Arizona provides a rich environment for learning about astronomy,
anthropology, and astronomy and culture. Though there is no formal
program to study the culture and history of astronomy, there are
several professors doing research in this area. The list includes
Chris Impey, Richard Poss, Tim Slater, Nick Woolf, and John Fountain
in the College of Science. BARA's Jarita Holbrook is a leading expert
on the cultural astronomy of Africa. Also, Trudy Griffin-Pierce
who wrote about the astronomy embedded in Navajo sand-painting is
a professor in the Anthropology Department.
Resources for studying astronomy knowledge
production, the creation of astronomers, astronomy culture, etc.,
at the University of Arizona include access to staff of Steward
Observatory, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, National Optical
Astronomy Observatory, the Vatican Observatory Research Group, and
the Lunar and Planetary Science Department. The University of Arizona's
Main Library houses in its special collections the papers of many
famous astronomers, the Science Library has a large collection of
works related to astronomy and culture, and the Parker Library in
the Astronomy Department houses the latest journals and other works.
Indigenous astronomy, read the astronomy of the exotic people, resources
can be found in all three of these libraries. Classes at the graduate
level can be taken at Bath Spa University with which we are building
a student exchange program. There are also plans to provide graduate
courses as part of the anthropology of science and technology minor
in the future, but presently students can do research projects under
this initiative for the minor in anthropology. The Astronomy Department
is making efforts to create more undergraduate courses focused on
the intersection of astronomy and culture, and is interested in
creating a graduate minor in this area.
©BARA - The Bureau of Applied Research
in Anthropology |
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