Privileging Western Science Can Marginalize Indigenous Knowledge, U of G Prof Says – Education News Canada

June 26, 2024

We assume science is objective, uniquely isolated from politics. But as University of Guelph geography professor Dr. Jennifer Silver writes: “Science is not separate from or neutral to power.”

The questions researchers can ask, the funding that is granted and the methods that inform these decisions are all shaped by norms and values that often align with socio-economic interests.

But values and societies change over time, and the social sciences and humanities have a lot to tell us about the relationships between science and inequity.

Many disciplines show us that the goal of controlling people and settling territories – often discussed as “colonialism” helped form many institutions with decision-making power today.

Silver brings this critique to her work in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, where she studies fisheries management and coastal communities, the history of fisheries science and the ways that management decisions can marginalize Indigenous and other coastal communities.

Read More: https://educationnewscanada.com/article/education/level/university/1/1089971/privileging-western-science-can-marginalize-indigenous-knowledge-u-of-g-prof-says.html