12-Apr-2011, 05:38 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-Apr-2011, 06:08 AM by Ajita Kamal.)
I will soon be starting work on a short documentary style video on the history of science, from a postcolonial (but assuredly not postmodernist) perspective. This will be a long-term project. I'm looking for team-mates for helping with collecting material, writing and fact-checking. In particular, I'd like one or two people formally on-board. Meanwhile, I'd like to get a discussion on this subject going. If interested, please comment on this thread.
The basic idea is this. There are many documentaries on the history of science. But overwhelmingly these documentaries skip the contributions of non-European cultures in many areas -including much of the philosophy and mathematics that laid the ground work for modern science to take off when Europe became wealthy after having colonized the rest of the world. In addition, the influence of European colonialism (and before them, the Islamic colonialism) on the colonies as well as the colonizers is never told in these documentaries. (For example, Islam's golden age which saw a lot of scientific development correlates with a period of Islamic colonial power and vast empire, and same in Europe a few centuries later during the enlightenment). I wish to trace the history of science from the Middle East, then Egypt, Greece/India (same period), China (somewhat disconnected, not as important a role as India because of India's contribution of the number system) and back to the Middle East (where modern science was finally developed into its currently recognizable form) and finally to Europe where it blossomed under the time and money provided by stolen colonial wealth, stolen natural resources, cheap raw materials from the colonies, taxes from the colonies and indentured servitude/slave labor from the colonies.
Of course, this thesis is the result of a lot of research on my part, and is not revisionist as would seem on first glance considering the popularity of the Eurocentric narrative. But we will be doing a lot more research as the script comes together and we put together archival video and images to make this video. At some points animation will also be used, and we will need someone capable to do this.
The importance of this postcolonial perspective:
I will preempt some of the criticism, and try to explain why I think such a project is essential.
One major criticism of such ideas involves trying to draw a line at some recent point in history to say that there is a sufficiently clear demarcation there, and that we should only consider the developments since then as science. Such criticisms miss the point. Firstly, there is no such absolute line, because science is no one thing. There are many core aspects of science that were each developed independently, sometimes several times, spread across different time periods and geographical locations. Secondly, this is about the history of science, and to accurately understand the contributions of humanity to science it makes sense to include all those intellectual contributions that were absolutely necessary to the development of science as we know it today.
But most important of all, it is important to present this perspective because of the revisionism that has been spreading from the West, increasingly now because of the media influence that the west has over the world (which is, in fact, a result of the colonial history that is causing the problem). Having lived in the US for 9 years, I have been made very much aware of the lack of historical perspective and understanding of historically established privilege, among both the young and old in America. This lack of knowledge offers a social-dominance advantage to the West, because it allows them to subconsciously embrace a tacit moral superiority. Studies have shown repeatedly that even those Westerners who make a conscious effort to suppress prejudice harbor deep-seated feelings of cultural superiority over other races. This is not just limited to those of European descent. Even Blacks and other minorities tend to feel that Whites are inherently superior.
One way to change this is to tell the true story of how many of the great civilizations of the world have had an important role in the history of science. In relation to India, if we cannot show to other Indians the value that Indians have brought to science- the importance of Indian contributions in the development of science itself, we can never hope to win over the masses in support of science. Science will always be that western thing, because right now the west is claiming it as theirs. And our masses will continue to resort to superstition in the belief that the few loony westerners who go gaga over the saffron fools are evidence that it is our culture that is superior.
That's all I have for now. Looking forward to seeing the response.
The basic idea is this. There are many documentaries on the history of science. But overwhelmingly these documentaries skip the contributions of non-European cultures in many areas -including much of the philosophy and mathematics that laid the ground work for modern science to take off when Europe became wealthy after having colonized the rest of the world. In addition, the influence of European colonialism (and before them, the Islamic colonialism) on the colonies as well as the colonizers is never told in these documentaries. (For example, Islam's golden age which saw a lot of scientific development correlates with a period of Islamic colonial power and vast empire, and same in Europe a few centuries later during the enlightenment). I wish to trace the history of science from the Middle East, then Egypt, Greece/India (same period), China (somewhat disconnected, not as important a role as India because of India's contribution of the number system) and back to the Middle East (where modern science was finally developed into its currently recognizable form) and finally to Europe where it blossomed under the time and money provided by stolen colonial wealth, stolen natural resources, cheap raw materials from the colonies, taxes from the colonies and indentured servitude/slave labor from the colonies.
Of course, this thesis is the result of a lot of research on my part, and is not revisionist as would seem on first glance considering the popularity of the Eurocentric narrative. But we will be doing a lot more research as the script comes together and we put together archival video and images to make this video. At some points animation will also be used, and we will need someone capable to do this.
The importance of this postcolonial perspective:
I will preempt some of the criticism, and try to explain why I think such a project is essential.
One major criticism of such ideas involves trying to draw a line at some recent point in history to say that there is a sufficiently clear demarcation there, and that we should only consider the developments since then as science. Such criticisms miss the point. Firstly, there is no such absolute line, because science is no one thing. There are many core aspects of science that were each developed independently, sometimes several times, spread across different time periods and geographical locations. Secondly, this is about the history of science, and to accurately understand the contributions of humanity to science it makes sense to include all those intellectual contributions that were absolutely necessary to the development of science as we know it today.
But most important of all, it is important to present this perspective because of the revisionism that has been spreading from the West, increasingly now because of the media influence that the west has over the world (which is, in fact, a result of the colonial history that is causing the problem). Having lived in the US for 9 years, I have been made very much aware of the lack of historical perspective and understanding of historically established privilege, among both the young and old in America. This lack of knowledge offers a social-dominance advantage to the West, because it allows them to subconsciously embrace a tacit moral superiority. Studies have shown repeatedly that even those Westerners who make a conscious effort to suppress prejudice harbor deep-seated feelings of cultural superiority over other races. This is not just limited to those of European descent. Even Blacks and other minorities tend to feel that Whites are inherently superior.
One way to change this is to tell the true story of how many of the great civilizations of the world have had an important role in the history of science. In relation to India, if we cannot show to other Indians the value that Indians have brought to science- the importance of Indian contributions in the development of science itself, we can never hope to win over the masses in support of science. Science will always be that western thing, because right now the west is claiming it as theirs. And our masses will continue to resort to superstition in the belief that the few loony westerners who go gaga over the saffron fools are evidence that it is our culture that is superior.
That's all I have for now. Looking forward to seeing the response.
"Fossil rabbits in the Precambrian"
~ J.B.S.Haldane, on being asked to falsify evolution.
~ J.B.S.Haldane, on being asked to falsify evolution.
![[+]](http://nirmukta.net/images/collapse_collapsed.png.pagespeed.ce.5RZPmzb2DR.png)
