Locality in the History of Science: Colonial Science, Technoscience, and Indigenous Knowledge

Author(s): David Wade Chambers and Richard Gillespie

Source: Osiris, 2nd Series, Vol. 15, Nature and Empire: Science and the Colonial Enterprise
(2000), pp. 221-240
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society
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Localityin theHistoryof Science:

ColonialScience,Technoscience,
andIndigenousKnowledge
David WadeChambers*
and RichardGillespie**

INTRODUCTION

DURING

THE SECOND HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY,THE

"colonialworld" becamea prominent
researchfocusforhistorians
of science.In theprocessof establishing
thisnew subdivision
of knowledge,
colonial
sciencehistorians
tookpainsto clarify
theiruse oftheterm"colonial,"an exercise
thathelpedrefine
theterminology
ofthelargercolonialandpostcolonial
discourse.'
But thesediscussionsweremoreconcerned
withthemeaningof "colonial"than
withthemeaning
of"science,"consideration
ofwhichwasgenerally
lefttophilosophersand sociologists
of knowledge.
And duringthissameperiod,philosophers,
anda fewhistorians
sociologists,
(variously
arrayed
as positivists,
realists,
andconwereindeedcontending
structivists)
overthenatureofscience.It maynowbe seen
thatconstructivist
approaches,2
becausetheyemphasizethelocallycontingent
charScienceandTechnology
Studies,DeakinUniversity,
Australia.
Deakin,Victoria,
MuseumVictoria,
G.P.O.Box 666E, Melbourne3001,Australia.
1 The leadingscholarin thisenterprise
is RoyMacLeod,whohas publishedimportant
theoretical
piecesproviding
a refreshing
breadth
ofperspective.
See, forexample,RoyMacLeod,"On Science
andColonialism,"
Scienceand SocietyinIreland:TheSocial Context
ofScienceand Technology
in
Ireland,1800-1950(Belfast:Queen'sUniversity,
1997)pp. 1-17;"ReadingtheDiscourseofColonial
Science,"inLes Sciencescoloniales:Figuresetinstitutions
(Paris:Editionsde l'Officede la RechercheScientifique
etTechniqued'Outre-Mer,
1996)pp. 87-96;and"On Visiting
the'MovingMetropolis': Reflections
on theArchitecture
ofImperialScience,"HistoricalRecordsofAustralian
Science,
1982,5, 3:1-16.In addition,
he has produceda greatrangeoflocalitycase studiesthatrangeacross
Australia,
theUnitedKingdom,India,and thePacific.Finally,he has editedmanyusefulvolumes,
such as Roy MacLeod and RichardJarrell,
eds., DominionsApart:Reflections
on theCultureof
Scienceand Technology
in Canada andAustralia,1850-1945(ScientiaCanadensis,1994,17, 1 and
2); Roy MacLeod and PhilipRehbock,eds.,Naturein itsGreatestExtent:Western
Sciencein the
Pacific(Honolulu:Univ.ofHawaiiPress,1988); andRoyMacLeod andDeepak Kumar,eds.,Technologyand theRaj: TechnicalTransfer
and BritishIndia,1780-1945(New Delhi: Sage, 1995).
2 Thereare manypossibleentry
pointsintotheliterature
of constructivist
thought.
In additionto
bookscitedinthebodyofthispaper,somerecenttitlesthatprovidea usefuloverviewinclude:Barry
Barnes,DavidBloor,andJohnHenry,
Scientific
Knowledge:
A SociologicalAnalysis(Chicago:Univ.
ofChicagoPress,1996);PeterGalisonandDavid Stump,eds.,TheDisunity
ofScience:Boundaries,
Contexts,
and Power(Stanford:
Stanford
Univ.Press,1996); JanGolinski,MakingNaturalKnowledge: Constructivism
and theHistoryofScience(Cambridge:CambridgeUniv.Press,1998); Ian
Hacking,TheSocial Construction
ofWhat?(Cambridge,
Mass.: HarvardUniv.Press,1999); David
Hess, ScienceStudies:AnAdvancedIntroduction
(New York:New YorkUniv.Press,1997); Karin
? 2001 byThe Historyof ScienceSociety.All rightsreserved.
0369-7827/99/1401-0004$02.00
Osiris,2001, 15:00-00

221

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222

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

acteroftheknowledge-making
process,heldparticular
promiseandpowerful
analyticconsequence
fortheemerging
discipline
ofcolonialsciencehistory.3
Gradually,
withinthenewfield,explicitcommitment
to theprevailing
positivist
assumptions
gavewaytoimplicit
acceptance
ofconstructivnist
perspectives.
Thismovefroma mainlypositivist
to a mainlyconstructivist
orientation
was,in
significant
measure,empirically
driven-nottheresultof considered
debateover
abstractions.
Whenan historianstudiesa particularlocality,4 bydefinition
one would

expectthatlocalitytobecomethe"center"
ofhisorherinterest.
Yetpositivist
colothelarger
nialhistorians
of,say,scienceinNewSpainwere,inreality,
oftenwriting
of Mexico,5seeking
social and intellectual
history
of Europe,and notthehistory
outlocal "traces"ofEuropeanideasandintellectual
movements.6
"'Europe"'says
in"remains
thesovereign
theoretical
DipeshChakrabarty,
subjectof all histories,
cludingtheoneswe call 'Indian,''Chinese,''Kenyan,'andso on."7Whenhistorians
"thicker"
accounts
ofscienceinnon-European
sought
richer,
deeper,
localities,8
they
andrationaloftruth
soonbecamedissatisfied
withanalysesinwhicheverystandard
itywas setin Europe,and in whichtheverymeaningof "rationality,"
"enlightenon thatdistant
contihadbeendefined
ment,"
"progress,"
and"usefulknowledge"
nent.Thus,littleby little,historians
of local sciencesloughedoffa paradigmof
Knorr-Cetina,Epistemic Cultures:How theSciences Make Knowledge (Cambridge,Mass.: Harvard

Univ.Press,1999).
bothby inusefulcontribution,
havemadea particularly
3For example,BrunoLatour'swritings
andby
modesof thought,
the"greatdivide"betweenscienceand traditional
sistingon eliminating
The
of institutions.
network
international
locatingthepowerof modernsciencein its distinctive
(forthecenter)
thatmakelegibleandcommensurable
createtheconditions
ofthatnetwork
workings
and textsproducedin thevariousperipheries.
representations,
measurements,
all theobservations,
See especially Bruno Latour, Science in Action: How to Follow Scientistsand Engineers Through

Mass.: HarvardUniv.Press,1987).
Society(Cambridge,
to indicate"places"in which
4In thispaperI shalluse theterms"local" and "locality"flexibly
incorcity,orevena singleinstitution,
A localitymaybe a region,country,
scienceis accomplished.
andincluding
bothcenters
andrelationships,
social,cultural,
porating
political,andeconomicfactors
andperipheries.
I In fact,Mexicanhistorians
of sciencein
thanhistorians
havebeen somewhatless Eurocentric
Mexicancolloquiuminthefield(September,
atthefirst
manyothercoloniallocalities.Nevertheless,
on theEuropean
werepartof a symposium
paperspresented
of thesixty-one
1963), thirty-four
Enlightenmentin Latin America. Enrique Beltrdn,ed., Memorias del PrimerColoquio Mexicano de

Historiade la Ciencia,2 vols. (Mexico City:SociedadMexicanade HistoriaNatural,1964). The

withantecedents
history
disciplinary
of Mexicansciencehas a venerableanddistinguished
history
"Fuentesmexicanasde la historiade la ciencia,"
See EnriqueBeltrnn,
century.
in thenineteenth

Anales de las Sociedad Mexicana de Historia de la Ciencia y de la Tecnologia, 1970, 2:57-112; Juan

y
de las cienciasen LatinoAmerica:Positivismo
de la historia
JoseSaldafia,"Marcosconceptuales
de HistEl Perfilde la cienciaenAmerica(MexicoCity:SociedadLatinoamericana
economicismo,"
a
historiogrnficas
oriade las Cienciasy la Tecnologia,1986); andElias Trabulse,"Aproximaciones
la ciencia mexicana," Memorias del Primer Congreso Mexicano de Historia de la Ciencia y de la

Tecnologia(MexicoCity:Sociedadde Historiade la Cienciay de la Tecnologia,1989),vol. 1, pp.

5 1-69.
in ColonialHispanic
6 See forexample,RolandD. Hussey,"Tracesof FrenchEnlightenment
P. Whitaker,
2nded. (Ithaca:Cornell
ed. Arthur
inLatinAmericaand theEnlightenment,
America,"
usefulmaterial
publishedin 1942,uncovered
Univ.Press,1961),pp. 23-51. Thisbook,originally
focusedon LatinAmerica,andis one
butremainsa classicexampleofa projectinEuropeanhistory
contributAll sixofthedistinguished
colonialsciencehistory.
thathelpedsettheagendaforwriting
EnglishspeakingandbasedoutsideLatinAmerica.
ingscholarswereapparently
and theArtificeof History:Who Speaks for 'Indian'
"Postcoloniality
7Dipesh Chakrabarty,
Pasts?" Representations,1992, 32:1-26.

whichmore
without
8 Clifford
to thestudyof local cases as "thickdescription,"
Geertzreferred
Clifford
Geertz,TheIntercannotbe understood.
meaningsandpowerrelationships
generalcultural

pretationof Cultures: Selected Essays (New York: Basic Books, 1973).

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

223

Withinthe "big
culturaldeficit,
replacingit witha paradigmof culturaldifference.
and in a veryreal sense, science
picture"Europe was progressively"decentered,"9
was also decentered.
PERIPHERAL CENTERS AND CENTRAL PERIPHERIES

Because modernscience arose principallyin one geographiclocale,'0 historiansof

itscenter
sciencehad takenthewheel as themetaphorforitsinternational
structure:
withtherestof theworld
was in Europe (displaced thiscenturyto themid-Atlantic),
revolvingaround.But the metaphorof the wheel is exceedinglymisleading.From
thetimeof its cosmopolitanbirthin thecorrespondenceof MarinMersenne(1588like themuchneglected
1648) and HenryOldenburg(1618-1677) and in institutions
Casa de la Contratacionin Seville (1539?), theFlorentineAccademia del Cimento
(1657), and the Royal Society of London (1660), modernscience is betterunderand actually,as a polycentriccommunications
stood,bothmetaphorically
network."
Duringthe nineteenthand twentiethcenturiesthatnetworkwas fullyinstitutionalized, whichrepresented
a revolutionin knowledgemakingmoresignificant
forboth
science and societythanthetheoreticaladvances of the seventeenthcenturytraditionallyknownas the ScientificRevolution.Thus, fromtheverybeginningsof the
scientificmovement,
orperipherality
was notprimarily
a matter
ofgeographical
Centrality
location,butthe
combinedeffectof social,scientific,
and-not theleast-powerrelations.
. .. Scientists,likeotherpeople,boreidentities,
theybelongedsomewhere,
andtheywereloyal
to something.
Evenmoreimportantly,
thedailyactivities
ofscientists
werecarriedout
in a framework
ofinstitutions,
agendas,careeropportunities,
working
language,financial support
andpatronage
systems.'2
This is to suggestthatthe idea of science havinga European centerand a global
peripheryperpetrateda confusing,and ultimatelyspurious,understanding
of the
relationsof science and place. Then and now,Europe had majorcenters,minorcenters,and peripheries;citieslike London,indeed,had centralinstitutions
and peripheral institutions.
Of course,progressively
otherlocalitiesdeveloped scientificcentersand peripheries.Furthermore,
withinEurope and without,centersrose and fell.
9Andrew Cunningham
andPerryWilliams,"Decentring
the'Big Picture':The OriginsofModem
Science and the Modem Originsof Science,"BritishJournalof theHistoryof Science, 1993,
26:407-32.
10"Modemscience"as distinguished
byitsinstitutions,
andtechnologies.
procedures,
ItSee Latour,ScienceinAction(cit.n. 3), pp. 215-57, and StevenShapinand SimonSchaffer,
Leviathanand theAir-Pump(Princeton:
Princeton
Univ.Press,1985). SverkerSorlinhas givena
cleardescription
ofearlyprocessesofscientific
internationalization:
"NationalandInternational
AspectsofCross-Boundary
Science:Scientific
Travelinthe18thCentury,"
inDenationalizing
Science:
TheContexts
ofInternational
Scientific
Practice,eds. ElizabethCrawford,
TerryShinn,and Sverker
Sorlin(Dordrecht:
Kluwer,1993),pp. 43-72. See also LorraineDaston,"The Ideal and Realityof
theRepublicofLettersin theEnlightenment,"
Sciencein Context,
1991,4:367-86; andfortherole
of theCasa de la Contrataci6n,
see David Turnbull,
"Cartography
and Science in EarlyModern
Europe:MappingtheConstruction
ofKnowledgeSpaces,"ImagoMundi,1996,48:7-14,andJ.Pulido Rubio,El Piloto mayorde la Casa de Contrataci6n
de Sevilla (Sevilla: EscueladeEstudios
Hispano-Americanos,
1950).
12
Sorlin,"NationalandInternational"
(cit.n. 11),p. 45.

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224

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

bothscienceandthelocality
a locality,
arosewithin
center
a scientific
Andwhenever
werechangedbytheevent.'3
of thegrowthof sciencereceiveda greatboostwith
explanations
Eurocentric
"the
GeorgeBasalla'swidelyknownmodeldescribing
theappearanceofhistorian
4 The modelprenation."'
of modemscienceintoanynon-European
introduction
"reto theEuropeancenterwouldprogressively
dictedthatlocalitiesperipheral
organitheirownscientific
science,slowlyestablishing
ceive"theideasofWestern
alongthewaya few"heroesofcolonial
perhapsproducing
zationsandpersonnel,
"seventasks,"a
In thefinalstage,afterthecolonyhad accomplished
science.""5
baseforsciencewouldhavebeenessupport
institutional
broadand"independent"
in theworldof
thusallowingthegivenlocalityto competescientifically
tablished,
in16 The seventasks,
whicharerarelydiscussedin thecriticalliterature,
nations.
lorecalcitrant
andeventually
"eradicating"
as "overcoming"
cludedsuchactivities
societies"patterned
scientific
and religiousbeliefs,"founding
cal "philosophical
This
Europeantechnologies.
andimporting
themajorEuropeanorganizations,
after"
model
Basalla
the
that
was onlyoneofthemanyreasons
Eurocentrism
unrelenting
was finally
rejectedbymosthistorians.'7
COLONIAL TO NATIONALTRAJECTORIES

becauseit showed-in fact,seemedto preattractive

Basalla'smodelwas initially
Eachlocaldevelopment.
andnarrow
pathtonationalscientific
scribe-thestraight
sequencefroma colonialto a nationalstage,fromscienitywas toriseininvariant
a scientific
considered
Colonialsciencewas,ineffect,
toautonomy.
tificdependency
intothematurity
growwiththenewnation-states
eventually
adolescencethatmight
whereEuropean
likeAustralia,
thatEuropehad longsinceachieved.In countries
glance,
capacityof themodelmight,at first
thepredictive
settlers
predominated,
movedfromitsfirst
years,Australia
seemreliable.Injusta littleovertwohundred
a clearly"colonial"periodto
through
(Cook/Banks)
expedition
Europeanscientific
forinstance,
Melbourne,
sophistication.
a remarkable
degreeofnationalscientific
ofhowthiscan happen.The
formsa perfect
exemplar
is a localitythatseemingly
center
toscientific
developsaround
periphery
ofthecity'smovefromscientific
story
Burnet(1899-1985),whobecamean outstanding
thepersonof FrankMacfarlane
and I Will Raise theWorld,"in ScienceObserved,eds.
"GiveMe a Laboratory
13 BrunoLatour,
andMichaelMulkay(London:Sage, 1983),pp. 141-70.
KarinKnorr-Cetina
Science,"Science,1967,15:611-21.Thispaper,per14 GeorgeBasalla, "The Spreadof Western
Patrick
forcolonialsciencehistory.
haps morethananyother,set theinitialresearchparameters
describesBasalla's modelas thework"le plus cit6,et le plus
and accurately
Petitjeanamusingly
"Sciencesetempires:Un
inthefield.Patrick
Petitjean,
ofscienceworking
aussi"byhistorians
refut6
in ScienceandEmpires:HistoricalStudiesaboutScientific
des enjeuxcruciaux,"
th6meprom6tteur,
Catherine
Jami,andAnneMarieMouPetitjean,
andEuropeanExpansion,eds.Patrick
Development
Kluwer,1992),p. 6.
lin(Dordrecht:
Science"(cit.n. 14),p. 614.
15 Basalla,"SpreadofWestern
16
ibid.,pp. 617-20.
tobe citedlong
Basalla'smodelcontinues
critique,
17 Although
ithasbeensubjectedtodevastating
The "fall"ofthemodelamonghistoripowerhas disappeared.
aftereveryvestigeofitsexplanatory
reviewedin David Wade
is extensively
This literature
ans of sciencehas been well documented.
inMundializaciinde la ciencia
"LocalityandScience:MythsofCentreandPeriphery,"
Chambers,
AlbertoElena,andMariaLuisa Ortega(Madrid:Doce
y culturalnacional,eds. AntonioLafuente,
Calles, 1993),pp. 605-18.

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

225

of virologyandimmunology.'8
Burnetdeclinedchairsat Harvardand
theoretician
to makeMelbournean international
centerfor
in London,as he was determined
Nobel laureatesto work
attracted
severalfuture
medicalresearch.He eventually
formedicalresearchand
withhim.Today,Melbournehas sevenmajorinstitutes
oftheinstitutional
awardsfrom
Australia's
Nacurrently
attracts
sixty-four
percent
tionalHealthandMedicalResearchCouncil.19
Thus,especiallyforthe"neo-Europes"
ofthecolonialworld,20
theremightseem
tobe a hopefulanddiscerning
inBasalla'sschema,especiallyinitspostucongruity
lationofa clearnexusbetweenscientific
andnationbuilding.
Ifthemodel
activity
worksanywhere,
one mightexpectit tobe in thosecountries
thathadthedecided
"advantage"of Europeancultural,legal, economic,and technological
frameworks-thatis to say,in thecoloniesofthosenationswhosesocioeconomic
conditionshadfirst
givenrisetomodernscience.Thisis especiallytrueininvader/settler
societies,21likeAustralia,
wheredestruction
of theindigenesandtheirtraditional
cultures
hadbeenruthlessly
accomplished,
thereby
effectively
eliminating
theneed
to"eradicate"
and"replace"prevailing
traditional
philosophies,
thefirst
ofBasalla's
seventasksofEuropeanization.
Australia,
although
obsessedwithitsgreatdistance
in kilometers
fromEurope,was socially,culturally,
politically,
economically,
and
raciallyclosertoEuropethanmostofEurope'snearneighbors
(suchas Egypt,Turkey,andmanypartsoftheformer
SovietUnion).22
Buttheapparent
fitoftheBasalla
schemaevenwiththeAustralian
case lastsonlythrough
a verysuperficial
reading;indeed,someofthemodel'sleadingcriticsactuallyuseAustralia
as a counterexample.23
At theveryleast,theAustralian
storyis "richerand morecomplex"
thantheBasalla modelallows.24
In Roy MacLeod'saptphrase,"sciencebecamea convenient
metaphor
... for
18
OfAustralia's
six NobelPrizewinnersin thesciencesandmedicine,all butMacfarlane
Burnet
spentmostoftheirprofessional
careersabroad.
19Christopher
Sexton,Burnet:A Life,rev.ed. (Oxford:OxfordUniv.Press,1999).For a detailed
accountof theWalterand Eliza Hall Institute,
see Max Charlesworth,
et al., eds.,LifeAmongthe
Scientists(Melbourne:OxfordUniv.Press,1989). The Melbournecase was suggestedby Barry
Jones,former
Australian
minister
forscienceandtechnology,
personalcommunication,
1999.
20 Alfred
W. Crosby,EcologicalImperialism:
TheBiologicalExpansionofEurope(Cambridge:
CambridgeUniv.Press,1986). Crosbyoffersecologicalexplanations
forthequickdemographic
dominanceachievedin "neo-Europes.'Fora morerecentandveryinteresting
treatment
ofenvironmentalhistory
issuesin whichcolonialism(and particularly
colonialscience)playa role,see two
recentbooksbyRichardGrove,GreenImperialism:
ColonialExpansion,TropicalIslandEdensand
theOriginsofEnvironmentalism,
1600-1860(Cambridge:
Cambridge
Univ.Press,1995) andEcology,Climateand Empire:Colonialismand GlobalEnvironmental
1400-1940(N.P.,White
History,
HorsePress,1998).
21 The term
"settler
society"shouldnotbe used.It conveysan inaccurate
pictureoftheEuropean
invasionandis offensive
to thememories
ofmillionswhodiedin thepeaceful-sounding
processof
See HenryReynolds,Frontier:
"settlement."
Aborigines,
SettlersandLand (Sydney:AllenandUnwin,1987),pp. 192-3;A. Grenfell
Price,WhiteSettlers
andNativePeoples(Cambridge:
Cambridge
Univ.Press,1950),andTomGriffiths
andLibbyRobin,EcologyandEmpire:Environmental
History
ofSettlerSocieties(Carlton:MelbourneUniv.Press,1997).
22 See David Wade Chambers,
"Does DistanceTyrannizeScience?" in International
Science
and NationalScientific
Identity,
eds. R. W. HomeandSallyGregory
Kohlstedt
(Dordrecht:
Kluwer,

1991).

23 In particular,
see MacLeod,"MovingMetropolis"
(cit.n. 1),pp. 1-16,andIan Inkster,
"Scientific
Enterprise
andtheColonial'Model': Observations
onAustralian
Experiencein HistoricalContext,"
Social StudiesofScience,1985,15:677-704.
24 R. W. Home,"Introduction,"
inAustralian
ScienceintheMaking,ed. R. W. Home (Cambridge:
Univ.Press,1988),p. x.
Cambridge

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226

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

scienceservedas
Indeed,forcolonialscientists,
become."25
whattheEmpiremight
Eventually,
bothcolonizer
colonialaspiration.
and meansof legitimate
metaphor
thecause
ofsciencealsopromoted
andcolonizedcametobelievethatthepromotion
of herempire,Spain
Forexample,afterlosingthevastmajority
of independence.
and
educational
to reform
andmodernize
was notslowto sabotagelocal attempts
coloniesas PuertoRico andCuba.Without
scientific
institutions
in suchremaining
a doubt,on bothsidesofthecolonialdivide,sciencewas seentoprovidea mechaAndwe mayspeculate
andself-sufficiency.26
colonialautonomy
nismforincreased
oftheBasalla modelmaylie in itscleardepiction
popularity
thatthelong-lasting
movingevernationward.
ofstagedscientific
growth
thatBasalla's"threestagemodel"wasdeeplyensconced
forgotten
Itis sometimes
thecoldwarideologicalbaggage,of
notto mention
assumptions,
intheintellectual
His famousessayappearedwhenW.W.Rostow's
theearlytheories
ofdevelopment.
was attheheightofits
sevenyearsearlier,27
published
StagesofEconomicGrowth,
parallelBasalla'sthreestages.If Rostow's
Rostow'sfivestagesprecisely
influence.
theory,
Bastheeconomicdevelopment
ofmodernization
corollary
modelprovides
Buttherewere
roleforscientific
development.
alla'ssimilarmodelplaysa kindred
someregionscouldnotescapeperpetofmodernization
theory:
fliesintheointment
In signifibreakdown.
orcultural
exploitation,
dependency,
ual underdevelopment,
cantmeasure,theseproblemsbedevilingworldeconomicdevelopment-which
theinternational
theories-alsoinfect
"stagesofeconomicgrowth"
havediscredited
in scientific
sciencesystem.In otherwords,manylocalitiesare heldstructurally
as braindrain,thehighcostsoftechnosciendueto suchfactors
underdevelopment
thefullrangeofscientific
to support
disciplines
tificlabs andequipment,
inability
ofknowlrelations
inanyonelocality,
positionintheinstitutional
anda subjugated
edgeandpower.
that
assumesthatthepatterns
approachto modernization
The Basalla/Rostow
for
other
a
model
in
the
West
scientific/economic
provide
development
characterized
thisasmodification
considerable
localitiesaroundtheworldto follow.Without
is
on the
and
blind
to
both
and
is
culture,
premised
history
sumption effectively
startfroma positionsimilartoEurope's
notionthat"pre-scientific"
today,
localities,
relithephilosophy,
hundreds
ofyearsago. Furthermore,
beforescientific
take-off
societiesareconsidered
oftraditional
probable
values,andinstitutions
giousbeliefs,
so muchchaffto be blownawayon thewindsof scientific
obstacles,in effect,
change.28

thefullcritiquethathas been
alone-withoutsurveying
These considerations
modelsandprogressive
overthelasttwenty
mounted
yearsagainststaged,linear,
oflocalscience.From
histories
forcomparing
theneedfora newframework
suggest
oftheBasallamodelovertheyears,we havelearnedmuch
discussion
theextensive
andinteractive
abouthowsucha framework
oughttolook.Itshouldbe symmetrical
andtradinational/colonial,
acrossthegreatdivides-center/periphery,
local/global,
25MacLeod,"MovingMetropolis"
(cit.n. 1),p. 244.

26 See DavidWadeChambers,
JamesE. McClellan,andHeidiZogbaum,"Science/Nation/Culture
vol.8 (Cambridge:
HistoryofScience,ed. RonaldNumbers,
intheCaribbeanBasin,"in Cambridge
Univ.Press,forthcoming).
Cambridge
27
Univ.Press,1960).
Cambridge
(Cambridge:
W. W. Rostow,
StagesofEconomicGrowth
28
Michael Shermer,WhyPeople Believe Weird Things. PseudoScience, Superstitionand Other
Confusionsof our Time (New York: Freeman, 1997).

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

227

colonialtributes
(in thiscase
Figure1. JosephDaltonHookerintheHimalayasreceiving
Hookerinsisted
thatplantsbe senttoKew
undescribed
rhododendrons).
scientifically
hadonlylocal
Gardenstobe described;indigenous
peopleandcolonialbotanists
withpermission
oftheTrustees
ofthe
knowledge.
ByWilliamTayler(1849). (Reproduced
RoyalBotanicGardens,Kew.)

andnonprescriptive,
butitshould
It shouldbe nonlinear,
tional/modern.
nonstaged,
of thegreatarrayof
thatallowsystematic
comparison
specifya setofparameters
and
oftheproduction,
and interdependent
local histories
application,
independent
diffusion
ofnatural
It shouldbe dynamic
andflexible
andshouldidenknowledge.
andcontrol.
should
theframework
ofcommunication,
Finally,
exchange,
tifyvectors
workin both
thatsupport
takecarefulnoteofthesocialinfrastructures
knowledge
and"traditional"
over
"Western"
without
oneknowledge
settings,
privileging
system
of
the other,thusallowingexamination
of bothlocal and globalcontingencies
andinculcation
inthechosenlocality.29
knowledge
production
29
Needlessto say,thisis a tallorder.It is no wonderthatsomehavesuggested
thatsuch
itunlikely
a modelwilleverbe devised,especiallyconsidering
thecultural,
social,andeconomicdiversity
of
thecases forwhichthemodelmustaccount!See Petitjean,
Jami,andMoulin,Scienceand Empires
(cit.n. 14),pp. 6-9.

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228

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

SCIENCE AND PLACE

Howdoesonearticulate
theplace ofknowledge
orthelocalityofscience?To some,
evento formulate
sucha questionis nonsense.According
to intellectual
legacies
inherited
fromtheGreeksand,morerecently,
fromempiricist
portrayals
ofscientific
knowledge,
"theplaceofknowledge
is nowhere
inparticular
andanywhere
atall."30
In otherwords,undertheold philosophical
paradigm,
"thesignificance
ofplaceis
dissolved."'3'
Notsurprisingly,
then,historians
ofsciencehave,onthewhole,shown
littleinterest
inthecomplexinteractions
ofscienceandplace.32
Exigenciesofplace
mighthavebeenseento present
obstaclesagainst,or encouragement
for,doingor
applyingscience,butso-calledexternalist
explanations
havebeeneffectively
isolatedfrom
thecentral
processesofknowledge
construction.
On theotherhand,colonialsciencehistorians
veryearlybegantorealizethattheirstoriesweremadeinterestingprimarily
oflocality.33
byparameters
Parameters
ofLocality
Untilrecently
withinthefield,themostcommonly
foundunitof localitywas the
colonyor thenation-state.
But to confineourinterest
to nationalcases wouldbe
andultimately
unsound.
Localitiesmarktheintersecarbitrary,
needlessly
limiting,
tionofhistory,
boundaries
are
environment,
andgeographic
language,andculture,
onlyone of thepossibledesideratain defining
a case study.Localitiesmaybe
boundedbytangibles,
suchas socioeconomic
circumstances,
legalities,
colonizing
suchas beliefsabout
and technologies;
andby abstractions,
forces,topographies,
as raceand
time,space,andprogress.
Theymaybe further
shapedbysuchfactors
andreligiousbelief.To definea scientific
gender,
ideology,
locality,
then,is simply
withinwhichwe mayusefully
examinethe
to nominate
a local frameofreference
roleofknowledge
construction
andinculcation.
30 See StevenShapin'sdelightful
thesocial uses of solitude,"'The MindIs Its
essayexamining
Sci. Context,
1990,4:191-218,
England,"
OwnPlace': ScienceandSolitudein Seventeenth-Century
whoinsistbothontheglobalcharacter
us that"Mostwriters
onp. 191.Shapinalsoreminds
quotation
tendtooverlooktheimmense
anditsuniversal
application
andscientific
knowledge
ofmathematical
in which
and formalenvironments
amountof workthatis doneto createand sustaintheartificial
p. 209. See also Adi OphirandStevenShapin,"The Place ofKnowledge:A
happens,"
'application'
Survey,'Sci. Context,1991,4:3-21; and StevenShapin,"PlacingtheView from
Methodological
of the
Nowhere:Historicaland SociologicalProblemsin theLocationof Science,"Transactions
n. s., 1998,23:5-12.
ofBritishGeographers,
Institute
31 Joseph
Rouse,Knowledgeand Power(Ithaca:CornellUniv.Press,1987),p. 77. This bookis
tothinkabouttheconceptoflocal
beginning
valuableforcolonialsciencehistorians
stillextremely
knowledge.
writ32 Theramifications
discussedintheoretical
havebeenextensively
oftaking"place"seriously
studies.See
studies,andfeminist
postcolonial
anthropology,
ingsin manyfields,suchas geography,
ofNature(NewYork:
and Women:TheReinvention
Simians,Cyborgs,
forexample,DonnaHaraway,
Routledge,1991),pp. 183-202;MichaelKeithandStevePile,eds.,Place and thePoliticsofIdentity
and Helen Tiffen,eds., The PostGarethGriffiths,
(London: Routledge,1993); Bill Ashcroft,
discussionof the
ColonialReader(London:Routledge,1995),and otherscitedbelow.For further
ScienceandOtherLocal Knowledge
"Reframing
"spaces'"see DavidTurnbull,
notionofknowledge
Tambiah,
Magic,Science,Religion,and
Futures,1997,29, 6:551-62; StanleyJeyerada
Traditions,"
Univ.Press,1990); EdwardW. Soja, Thirdspace:
(Cambridge:Cambridge
theScope ofRationality
Mass.:Blackwell,1996);
Places (Cambridge,
toLosAngelesand OtherReal-and-Imagined
Journeys
andhomibhabha,TheLocationofCulture(New York:Routledge,1994).
33 As we haveseen,thediffusionist
thefiction
slantof theBasalla modelallowedus to maintain
andapplied.
truths
transmitted
variously
thatwe weredealingwithuniversal

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

229

of CaribbeansciWhatdoes thisapproachmeanforstudiesof,say,thehistory
as thechainofislands,or as a
ence?One mightdefinethelocalitygeographically
an outerrimreachingto North,
particular
island,or as theentirebasinincluding
andSouthAmerica.Additionally,
onemightlookattheareaas a "colonial
Central,
overa particular
withinwhicha numberof empiresactedandinteracted
locality,"
timeframe.Or thecoloniallocalitymightsimplybe madeup oftheSpanishcoloexaminone mightconstruct
a "traditional
nies.Alternatively,
knowledge
locality,"
and theintellectual
rolesit played.In
ing how tribalknowledgewas constituted
be differofknowledge
MexicoCity,a university
localityfortheconstruction
might
For somepurposes,
theworldofmedicine
entiated
froma mining-school
locality.
a separateknowledge
andhealthmightbe seentoconstitute
space.Andso on.
Such interpretive
of localitywithin
hierarchies
flexibility,
allowingoverlapping
a singlegeographical
to thehistorian.
Clifford
Geertz
area,mightseemdaunting
comments
that,intrying
toexplainphenomena,
narratoturnfrominvoking
master
tives("grandtextures
ofcauseandeffect")
toproviding
"localframes
ofawareness"
is to exchange"a set of well-charted
difficulties
fora set of largelyuncharted
ones."34
But colonialhistorians
of sciencehavealreadybegunmappingtheseuncharted
localities;one mightevensaythattheirdeveloping
focuson localityis one
of thefield'sgreatest
achievements
withinthehistory
of science.The problemremains,however,
thatifwe do notfinda separate"other"vantagepointfromwhich
tointerpret
andcompare-whether
we callitmaster
narrative,
theoretical
model,or
thirdspace-we are leftwiththecertainty
of sinkingintoa vastsea of nativist
ethnohistories.
Is thisan infinite
regress,
leadinginonedirection
to solipsismandintheotherto
a pretense
of universal
objectivity
thathidesthesubjugation
of local cultureand
local knowledge?
Perhapsthebestwayforward,
basedon whatwe havelearned,is
to construct
a new,moreresponsive,
democratic,
and self-questioning
globaldiscourse.35
Thisprocesswouldnecessarily
nourish
andsustainthelocal histories
and
localcultures
thatalonecanprovide"external"
critique
ofthemodernity
projectand
thestructures
ofpowerthatitaffords.
Thelocal andtheglobalarea dialectical
pair
andmustremainso in ourhistories.36
Vectors
ofAssemblage
In anycoloniallocality,
vectorsof assemblageencompasselements
ofprocessand
of accumulation:
thehistorical
emplacement
of theinstitutional
and thephysical
framework
forscience.Tellingthisstoryhas beenthemajorworkofmostcolonial
sciencehistorians.
Thelocal scientific
infrastructure
is madeup notonlyoforganizations,buildings,
museums,
gardens,
laboratories,
instruments,
chemicals,
minerals, disciplines,
schools,textbooks,
andjournals,butalso of ideas and strategies,
34 Clifford
Geertz,Local Knowledge:Further
EssaysinInterpretive
Anthropology
(NewYork:Basic Books, 1983),p. 6.
35 Chakrabarty
calls for"a history
thatdeliberately
makesvisible,withintheverystructure
of its
narrative
forms,itsownrepressive
strategies
and practices"Chakrabarty,
"Postcoloniality"
(cit.n.
7), p. 25.
36 See also EdwardW Said, "Figures,
Configurations,
Transfigurations"
Race and Class, 1990,
32:1-16;Katherine
Hayles,ChaosBound:Orderly
DisorderinContemporary
Literature
andScience
(Ithaca:CornellUniv.Press,1990),pp. 213-14; andDavid Turnbull,
"Local KnowledgeandComparativeScientific
Traditions,"
Knowledgeand Policy,1993-4,6:29-54.

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230

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

metaphors,
theories
andtaxonomies,
values,communities
oftrained
personnel,
and
new socioprofessional
rolesforthemto fill.DavidTurnbull
usefullysuggeststhe
useofDeleuzeandGuattari's
term"assemblage"
todenote,
inhiswords,this"amalgamof places,bodies,voices,skills,practices,
technicaldevices,theories,
social
strategies
andcollectiveworkthattogether
constitute
technoscientific
knowledge/
practices."
Theterm"vectors
ofassemblage"suggests
activeandevolving
practices
as wellas theconstructed
socialandphysicalenvironments.
Forhistorians,
theterm
"impliesa constructed
robustness
without
a fullyinterpreted
andagreedupontheoreticalframework."37
In truth,
thereis a fineassortment
of theoretical
approaches
thatilluminate
our understanding
of thevariouselementsof thisassemblageof
people,places,ideas,andthings:
biography,
environmental
history,
medicalhistory,
cultural
studies,material
culture,
feminist
theory,
etc.
In coloniallocalities,
thevectors
ofassemblagesustaintheimperial
metropolitan
connection
tothesciencesystem,
butifdeliberately
so constructed
mayalso allow
of nationalist
theattainment
culturaland socioeconomic
objectives.
exAlthough
ceedingly
rare,insomecasestheseinstitutions
mayprovidea baseforthepreservationof traditional
local knowledgesystems.38
Recently,
debatesoverintellectual
property
haverecognized
thevalueofindigenous
knowledge
oftaxonomy
in relationto health,buttheresulting
property
laws,ratherthanprotecting
indigenous
thisknowledge
haveoftenservedto transform
intocommodities,
rights,
profitable
This development
to thepoint
has now progressed
onlyto largecorporations.39
sciencemustlook
whereanyanalysisoftheinfrastructure
oflate-twentieth-century
in science,including
atthevectors
ofassemblage
devotedtocommodification
such
socialmechanisms
as copyright
lawsandtheprivatization
ofuniversity
as
research,
wellas theappropriation
ofindigenous
knowledge.
voiceshavebeenraisedagainstthesechangesin
Aroundtheglobe,indigenous
thetraditional
theinfrastructure
of technoscience-changes
thatthreaten
social
ofindigenous
ethosandmoraleconomyofscienceas muchas therights
peoples.In
thewordsofVictoria
"Wearetoldthatthecompanies
haveintellectual
Tauli-Corpus,
propertyrightsoverthesegeneticplantmaterials. . . thislogic is beyondus . . . we

theseplantsoverthousands
indigenous
peoples... havedevelopedandpreserved
itis usefultocontheweightofTauli-Corpus's
ofyears."4"
To understand
argument,
Asidefrom
siderwhatlies behindheruse ofthewords"developedandpreserved."
"Local Knowledge"(cit.n. 36), p. 34.
See Turnbull,
especiallyby Jos6Antonio
Mexico,forexample,therewas an attempt,
In nineteenth-century
rather
thanthoseofLinnaeus.See, forexample,
natural
taxonomies
theindigenous
Alzate,tosupport
PatriciaAcevesPastrana,
Quimica,botdnicayfarmaciaenla NuevaEspara a finalesdel sigloXVIII
1993),pp.55-74.In somelocalitiestraditional
Metropolitana,
Aut6noma
(MexicoCity:Universidad
medicalpractice.
in relationtoWestern
orat leasttolerated,
sustained,
medicinehasbeenpartially
39The intellectual
which
rightsdebatehas now givenriseto its own largeliterature,
property
cannotbe reviewedheredue to lack of space. But see C. Lind,"The Idea of Capitalismor the
Property
Journal,1991,
Act,"Intellectual
Capitalismof Ideas?A MoralCritiqueof theCopyright
1989:35;
and PublicAffairs,
Philosophy
Intellectual
"Justifying
7:70-4; E. C. Hettinger,
Property",
Indian
American
ofNativeAmerica,"
andtheMarketing
Imperialism
"Cultural
andLaurieA. Whitt,
and CultureResearchJournal,1995,19:1-31.
40 Victoria
RespectOurRights,"ThirdWorldResur"WeArePartof Biodiversity,
Tauli-Corpus,
gence,1993,36:25, quotedin LaurieA. Whitt,"Metaphorand Powerin IndigenousandWestern
Toon WorkingDisparateKnowledgeTraditions
Conference
International
KnowledgeSystems,"
Victoria,
DeakinUniversity,
gether,
Australia,1994.
38

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

231

incontent,
bodiesofknowledge
thefactthatindigenous
mayoftenbe sophisticated
in areasliketaxonomy,
as has beenincreasingly
recognized
indigenous
knowledge
whichmayincludemaps,calenlocalitiesemploycomplexvectorsofassemblage,
ofmaterial,
ofpersonnel,
dars,training
techniques,
procedures,
skills,manipulation
andthepreparation
oftexts.4'
In other
interpretation
ofresults,
prediction,
meetings,
in theproduction
of naturalknowledgeis neither
involvement
words,indigenous
trivialnorinconsequential.
By exploringindigenous
knowledgelocalitiesin the
scientific
samewaythatwe exploreWestern
localities,we attaina better
position
ofthesequitedisparate
foreffective
comparison
knowledge
systems.42
Network
ofExchangeand Control
As theprocessofassemblage
vitalconnections
andlinkages
developsinanylocality,
aremadebothlocallyandinternationally.
We haveseenhowtheletterwriters
and
oftheearlysciencemovement
travelers
ledina direct
linetothefirst
globalinformatheinternational
tionnetwork.
Thisnetwork,
sciencesystem,
becomesevermore
and hierarchical,
withmajorand minorcentersand close and distant
polycentric
defined
notgeographically
butintermsofscientific
peripheries
andsocial
authority
power.Thenetwork
includeslaboratories,
journals,
publicandprivate
funding
agencies,museums,
libraries,
educational
institutions,
corporations,
doctors'surgeries,
administrative
and so on. It is important
to keeptheassemblageand the
reports,
exchangenetwork
analytically
separate,
although
botharerequired
toparticipate
in
modernscience.Otherknowledgesystemshavetheirown assemblagesand networks,butthefactthattheyare sociallyincommensurable
may,in somecases,be
moreimportant
thantheirconceptual
differences.
In theconglomerate
vectorsof assemblagethatformthelocal infrastructure
of
mostpeopleandthings
technoscience,
aretieddirectly
intotheinternational
science
Thissystem
doessuchvariedworkas formulate
system.
priorities
forresearch
funding,privilege
certainmodesofinquiry,
setstandards
forthesize ofthings,
authorize knowledgeclaims,and establishregimesof culturaltransmission,
including
education
andpopularization.
Thehistory
ofcolonialscienceis arguably
littlemore
thanthegradualconnection
ofthelocalityintothisglobalscientific
communications
41 Manyoftheseelements
havebeenentirely
overlooked
orunderestimated
as partsofknowledge
production
andcommunication.
Texts,forexample,maybe inculcated
in song,dance,architecture,
andceremonial
business.Calendarshavereceivedsomeattention,
butuntilveryrecently
indigenous
mapmaking
traditions
werecompletely
undervalued
as evidenceofsophisticated
natural
knowledge.
See David Turnbull,
Maps Are Territories:
Scienceis an Atlas (Chicago:Univ.of ChicagoPress,
1993),pp. 19-53; David Woodwardand G. MalcolmLewis,eds., Cartography
in theTraditional
African,
American,
Arctic,
Australian,
and PacificSocieties,TheHistoryof Cartography
(Chicago:
Univ.ofChicagoPress,1998);BarbaraMundy,
TheMappingofNewSpain:Indigenous
Cartography
and theMaps oftheRelacionesGeogrdficas
(Chicago:Univ.ofChicagoPress,1996);MarkWarhus,
AnotherAmerica:
NativeAmerican
Maps and theHistory
ofOurLand(NewYork:St.Martin's
Press,
1997); G. M. Lewis,ed., Cartographic
Encounters:
Perspectives
on NativeAmericanMapmaking
andMap Use (Chicago:Univ.ofChicagoPress,1998); LauraNader,NakedScience:Anthropological InquiryintoBoundaries,Power,and Knowledge(New York:Routledge,1996); andDavidTurnbull,"MappingEncounters
and (En)Countering
Maps: A CriticalExamination
ofCartographic
Resistance,"
Knowledgeand Society,1998,11:15-44.
42 Sucha detailed
comparison
canbe found,forinstance,
inHelenWatsonandDavidWadeChambers(withtheYolngucommunity
atYirrkala),
SingingtheLand,SigningtheLand (Geelong:Deakin
Univ.Press,1989).

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232

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

center.
bythemetropolitan
wasbasedin andcontrolled
whichhistorically
network,
legitimates,
authorizes,
coordinates,
thatmonitors,
In otherwords,thisis thesystem
inandexperimental
theflowofobservational
and situatestheoretically
classifies,
ofthesevectors
is foundinLatour's"centers
Perhapsthebestdescription
formation.
localitycannotbe takenseria scientific
Without
thisconnection,
ofcalculation."43
ofitsassemblageorthequalityofworkbeingdone.
theperfection
ously,no matter
morethanjust an information
is morethana sciencesystem,
But thisnetwork
extransaction,
commodity
Italso enablesmechanisms
ofsocialcontrol,
exchange.
suggeststhat"The
Anderson
Forexample,Warwick
and appropriation.
ploitation,
maybe imtechnical
knowledge
structured
thateventhemostformally
recognition
into
is longoverdue.... inquiry
and acquisition
plicatedin colonialaccumulation
... indicatesan expansionof thepowerof
thetextualeconomyof thelaboratory
regulateand legitimate
and,in so doing,to constitute,
thelaboratory
to represent
of colonial bodies and theirinsertion
colonial social realities.... The appropriation

is ina sensea simulacrum

ofthewholecolonialenterdiscourse
intoa metropolitan
prise."44
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS

different
tack,
In thefinalsectionofthispaper,we wouldliketo followa slightly
of science,in their
introducing
(thoughnotfullyarguing)thecase thathistorians
contotakestockofthenature,
shouldbe prepared
localities,
accountsofparticular
Thereare a numberof reasons
systems.45
knowledge
tent,androleof indigenous
andtheirknowledge
cultures
Fromstudying
"non-Western"
whythisis important.
ofgreatintelandtotheconservation,
we contribute
toourunderstanding,
ofnature,
In doingthiswe
ofyearsinthemaking.
thataretensofthousands
lectualtraditions
andmostespeofthehumanmind,of humanculture,
enhanceourunderstanding
The
ofhumansandnature.
ignoble-encounter
ciallyofthenoble-and sometimes
ofglobalmultithefinalstagesofa half-millennium
introduced
twentieth
century
andholocaust.46
marked
preByhelping
byconflict
cultural
principally
engagement,
ofthenaturalworld,we go to
ofhumanunderstanding
varieties
servethemultiple
thepossibilAndperhapswe willimprove
cultural
theheartofpreserving
diversity.
world.
in a deeplytroubled
reconciliation
cultural
ityofconstructive
thatindigrealization
froma practical
pointofview,thereis anincreasing
Finally,
Latour,ScienceinAction(cit.n. 3), pp. 215-57.
Medicine
"WhereEveryProspectPleasesandOnlyMan Is Vile:Laboratory
Anderson,
Warwick
1992.
As ColonialDiscourse,"CriticalInquiry,
45 This is notto suggest
on
of sciencemustdroptheirtoolsand startworking
thatall historians
region
researchprojects,butwe do believethatthestudyof sciencein anygeographic
indigenous
we
calledIKS). Furthermore,
(sometimes
knowledgesystems
to indigenous
mustincludereference
and
coursesinhistory
toIKS inall generalist
teaching
willincludereference
believethatresponsible
"Seeinga Worldin a Grainof Sand: Science
social studiesof science.See David WadeChambers,
Scienceand Education,1999,8:633-44; idem,prefacetoTurnContext,"
Teachingin Multicultural
in Sally Gregory
(cit.n. 41), p. v. See also thechapteron ethnoscience
bull,MapsAre Territories
and
Science:Perspectives
onAmerican
W.Rossiter,
andMargaret
eds.,HistoricalWriting
Kohlstedt
Osiris,1986,1:209-28.
Prospects,
has been an activeagentin theEuropean
46 Sadly,butnot surprisingly,
modemtechnoscience
This
fornatureandforothercultures.
consequences
devastating
globalconquest,whichhas brought
peoples.
factis notloston indigenous
43
44

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

233

enousknowledge
has a crucialpartto playin thepreservation
ofbiodiversity
and
themanagement
of naturalresources.
The desireforenvironmentally
sustainable
has prompted
development
to establisha dialoguebetweenscienceand
attempts
indigenous
knowledge,
thestrengths
combining
andperspectives
ofbothsystems.47
Thisinterest
inbringing
disparate
inproductive
knowledge
systems
collabtogether
orationis also seeninmedicineandpublichealth.48
Scholarshavealso drawnupon
indigenous
tocounter
knowledge
whattheysee as thedangerous
reductionism
and
culture-bound
natureofWestern
science,itsnegative
impacton nativepeoples,and
itsinfluence
on thewaywe perceivethenaturalenvironment.49
Indeed,somehave
arguedfortheincorporation
ofvaluesystems
intothesciences.50
of sciencehavea reasonably
Historians
good recordin relationto someof the
moreobvioustraditional
cultures.
Forinstance,
itis notuncommon
formajorgeneralhistories-inattempting
toprovidethebigpicture-totreatscientific
civilizationsoftheOld World(China,India,Islam)andtheNew (Maya,Aztec,andInca).51
Butifthesemajorcultures
areamongthebestknown,
theyarebynomeanstheonly
interesting
indigenous
bodiesofknowledge
availableto historians.52
It is essential
thatlocalitystudiesof theseotherknowledge
traditions
becomeincorporated
into
thearchiveofhumanhistory.
Sucha project,
wherever
carriedout,mustrecognize
thedangersofexploitation
andrepression
thatarein somemeasureinherent
inethnographic
studiesconducted
fromthecenter.
Forthesereasons,suchprojectsmust
allowthevoiceof thecolonizedand subjugated
cultures
to be heardin theirown
terms.Of course,local/global
will notcease in thisendeavor,
contention
butthe
local willbe strengthened
andthepossibility
ofmutualexchangeandcontribution
willbe increased.
Thecalltorecognize
theintellectual
stature
andcontinuing
validity
ofindigenous
modesofthought
reflects
a growing
international
concernthathas cometo prominenceoverthelast twenty
years.UNESCO has commissioned
a numberof reportson issuesrelating
to knowledge,
culture,
anddevelopment,
all ofwhichhave
opposedpast policies of culturalassimilation
(policies thathave been almost
47 Graham
BainesandNancyM. Williams,"Partnerships
inTradition
andScience,"in Traditional
EcologicalKnowledge:Wisdom
forSustainableDevelopment,
eds. N. M. Williamsand G. Baines
(Canberra:CentreforResourceand Environmental
Studies,Australian
NationalUniversity,
1993)
pp. 1-6.
48 Gregory
Cajete,A People'sEcology:Explorations
in SustainableLiving(SantaFe, N. Mex.:
ClearLightPublishers,
1999).
49 Vine Deloria,Jr.,
Red Earth WhiteLies: NativeAmericansand theMythof Scientific
Fact
(Golden,Colo.: FulcrumPublishing,
1997);PeterKnudston
andDavidSuzuki,Wisdom
oftheElders
(St. Leonards,New SouthWales:AllenandUnwin,1992).
50 Gregory
Cajete,IgnitingtheSparkle:An IndigenousScienceEducationModel (Skyand,N.C.:
KivakiPress,1999); Gregory
Cajete,NativeScience:Laws ofInterdependence
(SantaFe, N. Mex.:
ClearLightPublishers,
2000); Zia Sardar,Explorations
inIslamicScience(London:Mansell,1989).
'1For a recentattempt
at thebig picturethatgivesa good accountof certainareasof indigenous
see JamesE. McClellanIII andHaroldDom, Scienceand Technology
knowledge,
in WorldHistory
(Baltimore,
Md.: JohnsHopkinsPress,1999).
52 Preliminary
access to theseknowledgesystemshas been improved
by severalrecentpublications:HelaineSelin,ed.,EncyclopaediaoftheHistoryofScience,Technology
andMedicineinNonWestern
Cultures(Dordrecht:
Kluwer,1997);DouglasAllchinandRobertDeKosky,AnIntroduction
totheHistory
ofScienceinNon-Western
Traditions
(Seattle:History
ofScienceSociety,1999);Sarah
Franklin,
"Scienceas Culture,Culturesof Science,"AnnualReviewofAnthropology,
1995:163-84;
David Hess, Scienceand Technology
in a Multicultural
World:The CulturalPoliticsofFacts and
Artifacts
(New York:ColumbiaUniv.Press,1995).

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234

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

universallyviewed by indigenouspeoples as nothingless thangenocidal). For example,an influential

1981 reportstatedthatone majorinternational
objectiveshould
be the"rehabilitation
of traditional
formsof knowledgeand,above all, of thepotentialitieswhichhavebeenstifledbythepressureofthedominantcountriesorgroups."53
And in 1995: "a culturallydistinctpeople loses itsidentity
as theuse of itslanguage
and social and politicalinstitutions,
as well as itstraditions,
artforms,
religiouspracticesand culturalvalues,is restricted.
The challengetoday. .. is to developa setting
thatensuresthatdevelopmentis integrative
and inclusive.This means respectfor
value systems,forthe traditionalknowledgethatindigenouspeople have of their
societyand environment,
and fortheirinstitutions
in whichcultureis grounded."54
Importantly,
thisunderstanding
is seen to applyto technoscientific
knowledgein
its relationshipto indigenousknowledgesystems.In 1999, in a declarationadopted
bytheUNESCO-sponsoredWorldConferenceon Science in Budapest,thisposition
was developedin some detail,acknowledging
thattraditional
andlocalknowledge
as dynamic
ofperceiving
and
systems
expressions
theworld,canmakeandhistorically
understanding
havemade,a valuablecontribution
to scienceand technology,
and thatthereis a needto preserve,
researchand
protect,
thiscultural
andnon-governmental
promote
heritage.... Governmental
organizations
shouldsustaintraditional
activesupport
to thesocieties
knowledgesystems
through
thatarekeepersanddevelopers
ofthisknowledge,
theirwaysoflife,theirlanguages,
and theenvironments
in whichtheylive.... Governments
theirsocial organization
shouldsupport
betweenholdersoftraditional
andscientists
to
cooperation
knowledge
betweendifferent
exploretherelationships
knowledgesystemsand to fosterinterlinkagesofmutualbenefit.55
call to supportthestudy
Thereare manyproblemsassociatedwiththisinternational
and preservation
ofindigenousknowledgesystems(IKS). It mighteasily degenerate
even
intoa rushforprofiteering
exploitationof botanicalknowledge.Furthermore,
it is possible to
if theIKS projectis pursuedwiththemosthonorableof intentions,
view itas a lostcause. Some knowledgesystemshavedisappeared,some are known
some involvesacredknowledgethatcannotbe made public,and
onlyin fragments,
mostcan be uncoveredonlyby learningrelevantlanguagesand by workingin colThe comparisonofWestern
laborationwithnativescholars,elders,and practitioners.
withall thedifficulties
assoscience withindigenousknowledgesystemsis fraught
the similaritiesand demarcationsbetweenmarkedlydifciated withunderstanding
ferentcultures;theseproblemsare compoundedby lookingat preciselythataspect
and nonof Westernculturethatis believed to providean objective,disinterested,
accountof thenaturalworld.
culture-bound
It is possibleto conceivehow a culturecan acceptand appreciateanotherculture's
aesthetics-althoughEuropean interestin indigenousartwas a long timecoming,

53

UNESCO, Domination or Sharing?: Report on Indigenous Development and the Transferof

54

UNESCO, Our Creative Diversity:Report of the WorldCommissionon Cultureand Develop-

1981),p. 31
Knowledge(UnescoPublishing,

L. Jan
1995),pp. 70-1 (italicsin original);see also D. MichaelWarren,
ment(UnescoPublishing,
Slikkerveer,and David Brokensha, eds., The Cultural Dimension of Development: Indigenous

1995).
Publications,
Technology
(London:Intermediate
KnowledgeSystems

55 UNESCO, The Declaration on Science and the Use of ScientificKnowledge: Reportof the World
Conferenceon Science (Unesco Publishing,1999).

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

235

involvedthedevelopment
of a specific
has sometimes
and popularappreciation
Buttheideathatverydifferent
cultures
forwhiteconsumption.
product
maybe able
worldhas beenconsidofthenatural
toreconcilesomeaspectsoftheirknowledge
After
eredanimpossible
there
projectinsomequarters.
all,theoldparadigm
argued,
is onlyone objectivereality,
andonlysciencehas developeda reliablemethodfor
Thehistory
ofscience,in sucha view,is the
thatreality.
describing
andexplaining
ofpushing
ofsuperstition
withreligion
history
backthefrontiers
andignorance,
and
beliefretreating
inthefaceofsuperior
scientific
explanation.56
bearstheimprint
ofthesocietyofwhichit
Science,likeanyothersocialactivity,
is part.All knowledge
are"situated"
inpowerrelationships,
systems
valueassumpAs a culturally
frameworks.57
tions,andhistorical
specificknowledge
system-albeitonewithenormous
a sourceofbothgoodandevilpowerandonethatremains
Western
science,in ourintellectual
cannotbe accordeda privileged
calculations,
statusoverindigenous
Far frombeingan abstract
knowledge.
intellectual
debate,
thisissuegoestotheheartofhowdifferent
cultures
viewoneanother
andtheirways
ofseeingtheworld.58
Furthermore,
indigenous
knowledge
systems
demandrespect
as powerful
cultural
expressions
ofwaysofknowing
nature-waysthathaveclear
implications
forhowhumansshouldlive andprosperin particular
environments.
Thereassessment
ofthecharacter
ofIKS inlightofthesefindings
is onlyjuststarting,and thehistory
of sciencehas an important
roleto playin this.By considering bothWesternscienceand indigenousknowledgesystemsas formsof local
knowledge
andpractice,
thelocalityapproachopensup a spaceformoreequitable
comparison.

BRINGING DISPARATE KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS TOGETHER

In thelastfewpages,we offeran accountoftaxonomy

intended
to illustrate
some
of thethingsthatcan be learnedwhendisparateknowledgesystemsare brought
Sciencetypically
is thedominant
together.
knowledgesystembecauseit resides
within
international
networks
verydifferent
fromthoseofa politically
marginalized
indigenous
community.
Forexample,an elaboratesystem
ofcommissions,
publications,andinstitutions
liesbehindcontemporary
botanicalandzoologicalclassificationandnomenclature;
itis inconceivable
thatanindigenous
taxonomy-nomatter
howinternally
cohesive,howcomprehensive
anddifferentiated,
orevenhowsimilarlyspeciated-couldcontinue
to existwithinthatsystem.59
An ethnoscientist
is
56 MeraNanda,"The Epistemic
oftheConstructivist
Charity
CriticsofScienceandWhytheThird
WorldShouldRefusetheOffer,"
inA House Builton Sand: ExposingPost-Modernist
Myths
About
Science,ed. NorettaKoertge(New York:OxfordUniv.Press,1998). Nanda makesthecase that
scienceis the"laststand"againstreligiousbigotry
and superstition.
57 John
Law,ed.,Power,Actionand Belief:A NewSociologyofKnowledge?(London:Routledge
and KeganPaul, 1986); idem,A SociologyofMonsters:Essayson Power,Technology
andDomination(SociologicalReviewMonograph,
1991); SandraHarding,
ed.,TheRacial EconomyofScience:
Towarda DemocraticFuture(Bloomington,
Ind.:IndianaUniv.Press,1993); HelenLongino,Science as Social Knowledge:Valuesand Objectivity
in Scientific
Inquiry(Princeton,
N.J.:Princeton
Univ.Press,1990).
58 IvanKarpandSteven
D. Lavine,eds.,Exhibiting
Cultures
(Washington,
D.C.: Smithsonian
InstitutionPress,1991).
59BrentBerlin,Ethnobiological
Classification:
Principles
ofCategorization
ofPlantsandAnimals
in Traditional
Societies(Princeton,
N.J.:Princeton
Univ.Press,1992);RalphN. H. Bulmer,"Whyis
theCassowarynota Bird?A ProblemofZoologicalTaxonomy
amongtheKaramoftheNewGuinea

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236

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

likelyto focuson how indigenoustaxonomiesdifferfromscientifictaxonomy.And

the historyof taxonomyhas much of interestto say on thisissue. For example,it
maybe usefulfirstto considerhow scientifictaxonomyemergedfromearlierEuropean folktaxonomies.Like indigenoustaxonomies,thoserecordedbyAristotleand
and sixteenthcenturieslistedaroundeighthundred
in earlyherbalsof thefifteenth
taxa at the level of genus or species. Indeed, at the local level therewas oftenno
betweengenusand species,because mostgeneraweremonospecificin a
difference
and wheretwo or morespecies occurred,theywere oftenmorgivenenvironment,
ecological strategies.
because theywerepursuingdifferent
phologicallydifferent
pressand
folktaxonomy.The printing
Severaltechnologicalchangestransformed
regions
theprintingof books thatcomparedtaxa fromdifferent
woodcutpermitted
and across time.Voyagesof discoverybroughtback large numbersof new specimens,whichwere storedin herbaria,botanicalgardens,and museums.Naturalists
groupssuch as
began to specialize in plantsor animals,and thenin morerestricted
birds,fishes,or insects.These huge increasesin thenumberof recordedtaxa,which
werelargelytheresultof technologicalchangeratherthanintellectualbreakthrough,
posed practicalproblemsof orderingand managementthathad to be resolved.Linnaeus began to introducethehighercategoriesof class and order(above genus and
species).
and earlynineteenth
centuries,as thegenuslost itsplace as
In thelate eighteenth
fromfolktaxonomy.
the chieftaxonomicrank,scientifictaxonomymoved farther
to define
Scientistsincreasinglyused biologicalfunctionsand anatomicalstructures
taxa. Meanwhile,generawere splitagain
species in familiesand otherhigher-order
and again underthe weightof newlydiscoveredspecies. No plausible explanation
was offeredforwhyit was possible to sortorganismsinto"natural"groupsbased
untilDarwin arguedthatthe similaritiesbetweenorganon sharedcharacteristics
of descent."But thisdid notmake theprocedures
isms weredue to the"propinquity
it simplyraised the stakesby requiringthat
of taxonomyany simpler;if anything,
betweenscienAn obvious difference
taxonomyalso indicateevolutionaryhistory.
systemsis thatthelatterare notbased
tifictaxonomyand indigenousclassificatory
geneticor phylogeneticgroupings.
on the theoryof evolution,withtaxa reflecting
However,it would be inappropriateto say thatthis was a way of fundamentally
scientifictaxonomyfromindigenousclassification,or we would be
distinguishing
forcedto concludethatall taxonomypriorto Darwin was nonscientific.
lies in thesocial realm:scientifictaxonomyseeks
difference
A morefundamental
based on an
to createa global systemof nomenclatureand a hierarchicalstructure,
elaboratesystemof publication,formalrules,and congresses.The preambleof the
International
Code of Zoological Nomenclaturestatesthat"the object of theCode
and thiscontrastsnoticeablywiththeflexis to promotestabilityand universality,"
ible use of termsin indigenousclassifications,whichare partof theeverydaylancontexts.60
guage of thecommunityand are used in manydifferent
of
are
an
integralpart culture,whetherwe are talksystems
Clearly,classificatory
Man, 1967,2:5-25; Paul Sillitoe,RootsoftheEarth:Cropsin theHighlandsofPapua
Highlands,"
Univ.ofNew SouthWalesPress,1983),chap.8.
NewGuinea(Kensington:
Zoology(New York:McGrawHill, 1969); RalphBulmer
60 Ernst
Mayr,PrinciplesofSystematic
Ecological
in WilliamsandBaines,Traditional
andChrisHealey,"FieldMethodsin Ethnozoology,"
Knowledge(cit.n. 47), pp. 43-55.

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LOCALITYIN THE HISTORYOF SCIENCE

237

ing of indigenousor scientifictaxonomies.Withregardto indigenousknowledge,

Ralph Bulmerhas observedthat
ethnozoological
datado notexistas a readilyseparable
intraditional
bodyofknowledge
societies,wheregenerally
no distinction
is madelikethatbetweenscienceand other
ofknowledge
systems
in contemporary
western
culture.
theinvestigator
Consequently,
is likelyto be confronted
withwhatmay,at first
sight,appearto be an unsystematic
blendofdetailed,
credibleinformation,
mystical
ideas,andsuperstition.
It is important
to realisethatsucha mixture
of whatEuropeansmightconsiderrational,
empirically
based knowledgeand mystical
or supernatural
beliefsmustbe understood
withinits
cultural
context.6'
There is somethingforcedin wrenchingout thezoological classificationsystemof
the Kalam of Papua New Guinea and comparingit to scientifictaxonomy,because
it privilegesscientificknowledgeand uses it to assess the "validity"of indigenous
knowledge in a culturallyimperialistmanner.Indeed, this charge can be made
againstmuchof whatis done underthelabel of ethnoscience.We oftenforgetthat
thevalidityof scientifictaxonomyalso sufferswhentakenfromitsculturalcontext.
If you doubt this,tryto explain (withoutreferenceto evolutionarytheoryor the
Code of Nomenclature)the reasons forthe manyscientifictaxonomicdistinctions
thatignoreobvious similaritiesor differences
of structure
and function.
Bulmerwas alwaysconscious of thesedangersin his work,and soughtto locate
Kalam classificationswithinthe whole of Kalam culture,as he understoodit. But
like otheranthropologists,
he remainedthe authorand authority
(the etymological
similarityis revealing),drawingupon his Kalam informants
and thenorderingthe
materialintoan ethnographic
narrative
forothersin his profession.In his laterwork,
Bulmerformeda moreequal collaborationwithhis majorinformant,
Ian Saem Majnep. In theirBirdsofMy Kalam CountryMajnep spoke directlyto thereader(based
on taped conversationswithBulmer),and the materialwas primarilyarrangedaccordingto Majnep's culturalcategories.62
Conversationsacross culturesare even moresubjectto all thedifficulties
of multiple interpretations
and readingsthatare characteristicof conversationsbetween
individuals.Our commentsabove on indigenousknowledgehave been constructed
withina contextof writingabout indigenouspeoples, notforindigenouspeoples.63
Writtenfroma Westernperspective,thisessay is not a replacementforindigenous
views of the relationsbetween science and indigenousknowledge.On the other
hand, we do hope it will usefullycontestsome traditionalWesternbiases, while
openingup crossculturalspaces fornew researchdirectionswithinthe historyof
science in local contexts.
61 Bulmer

andHealey,"FieldMethods,"(cit.n. 60), pp. 43-4.

621
Ian SaemMajnepandRalphBulmer,
BirdsofMyKalamCountry
(Auckland:Univ.of

Auckland
Press,1977); GeorgeE. Marcus,"Notesand QuotesConcerning
theFurther
Collaboration
of Ian
SaemMajnepandRalphBulmer,"
inMananda Half EssaysinPacificAnthropology
andEthnobiologyin Honourof Ralph Bulmer,ed. AndrewPawley(Auckland:PolynesianSociety,1991), pp.
37-45.
63 Bothof theauthors
haveworkedwithindigenous
peopleand one is of Cherokeeancestry.
See
BainAttwood,
introduction
to Power,KnowledgeandAborigines,
eds. BainAttwoodandJohnArnold(Melbourne:La TrobeUniv.Press,1992),pp. i-xvi.

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Figure2. A Kob,or PapuanLory(Charmosyna

birdinthe
papou).Themostimportant
Kalamcategory
Yaktok b nomanayayak,or birdswhichmen'ssoulscan turninto.
DrawingbyChristopher
HealeyfromIan SaemMajnepandRalphBulmer,
BirdsofMy
KalamCountry
(Auckland:Univ.ofAuckland
PressX
1977).

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LOCALITY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

239

CONCLUSION

Forat leastfourhundred
theriseandgrowth
years,theworldhas witnessed
ofthe
technoscientific
suchenormous
movement,64
thatit
inculcating
powerandauthority
hasbeenabletoconfront,
andabsorbtheinsights
overwhelm,
oftraditional
knowledgesystems
aroundtheplanet.Thissocialandorganizational
is sometimes
triumph
interpreted
as evidenceoftheuniversality
ofscientific
claims.Thelocalknowledge
ityapproachfocuseson theconditions
underwhichthisappearance ofuniversality
aroseandis maintained.
Theseconditions
include,forexample,Europe'ssuccessful
politico-economic
colonization
oftheworld;thecloseintegration
ofitsinstitutions
oftechnoscientific
withitsinstitutions
ofpower;itsuniquesocialmechaknowledge
nismsof authoritative
communication
and intercultural
exchange,
new
employing
deviceslike laboratories
forknowledgemakingand networks
forretranscribing,
andincorporating
moving,
local knowledge
intotheglobaldiscourse;and,finally,
theenormous
instrumental
successesoftechnoscience
inthemanipulation
ofnature
andinthedevelopment
oftechnologies
ofcontrol.
By understanding
modemscienceas thespreadof theideas and institutions
of
rationality
and progress,
theold paradigm
perpetuated
a clearagendaforcolonial
historians.
Wesearched
forlocal"traces"ofEuropeanEnlightenment.
Weidentified
whenandhowtheseideasandinstitutions
first
appearedina newlocality,
recording
whenthefar-flung
provincials
finally
"gotitright,"
sometimes
offering
reasonsfor
theslowuptakeofEuropeanideas.We accepted,as patterning
sciences,astronomy
andphysics
rather
thanchemistry
andengineering;
natural
history
rather
thanagronomyormineralogy.65
Andwe dutifully
attempted
todistinguish
centerfromperiphery,sciencefromtechnology,
colonialsciencefromnational,dependent
science
fromindependent,
andbasicsciencefromapplied,eventhough
thesecategories
and
distinctions
completely
dissolved,or at leastseemedless useful,whenanalyzedin
concrete
case orlocal context.66
By the 1990s,manyof thosequestionsand assumptions
seemedoutmoded.
As
historians
ofthecolonialworldembracednewperspectives-which
we havehere
called the"localityapproach"-ourhistories
becameless defensive,
analytically
richer,
andmorefirmly
fixedon local dimensions
oftheriseofthesciencemovement.If modemtechnoscience
was considered
to be embeddedin thesocial,cultural,andintellectual
context
thatproducedit,thenthefailureofEuropeanscience
totakeholdinanother
localitywasbestexplainednotbyseekingoutbackwardness
ordeficiency
inthetarget
culture
butbyuncovering
thelocalintellectual
andsocioeconomicinterests
thatstoodtogainorlose byitsintroduction;
andbyunderstandingthestructural
aspectsoftheinternational
sciencesystem
thatfavored
the"West"
andthe"North."
What,then,is thefuture
ofcolonialsciencehistory
as a scholarly
field?To define
a localitysimplyas a "colony"is to inviteneglectof muchthatmatters
culturally
64Surelythephrase"modernscienceandtechnology"
has passeditsuse-bydate.The term"tech-

noscience" is perhaps a littleless problematicand feels especially appropriatefor the "jacked in"

(computerized)
sciencesthatdominate
thebeginning
ofthenewmillennium.
65 SimonSchaffer,
"FieldTrials,theStateofNatureandtheBritishColonialPredicament"
(manuscript,1999).In thisimportant
paperSchaffer
reminds
us thattheEnlightenment
also setup agronomyas a modelscience.Had agriculture
becomea patterning
science,needlessto say,we would
thinkaboutsciencedifferently
in waysthatespeciallymatter
in colonialandindigenous
localities.
66
Nader,NakedScience(cit.n. 41).

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240

DAVID WADE CHAMBERS AND RICHARD GILLESPIE

andhistorically.
In anycase, coloniesandempiresareprimarily
theproducts
of a
moment
in history,
whereascolonizingforcesthatdominate
particular
andexploit
are alwaysandeverywhere
withus. Concentrating
on themultidimensional-culofscientific
willhelp
tural,political,andsocioeconomic-localcontexts
endeavor
of sciencewriting
to end another"greatdivide,"theone thathas seenhistorians
aboutcenters
andhistorians
ofcolonialsciencewriting
aboutperipheries.

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