Howl of the Day: Feb 3, 2016

Join us for the next TechnoscienceSalon

Thursday, January 21, 4-6 :: Making Love and Relations Beyond Settler Sexuality

Settler colonialism and heteronormativity are built into science and its institutions.  Join us to explore theoretical interventions that might think through the entangled politics of ethical non-monogamy, nurturing extended family and tribal kin formations, and critiques of marriage as integral to the settler colonial project. At the meeting points of technoscience studies and indigenous studies, we will discuss kin making as practices that have the potential to unsettle relations to the environment, sex, politics, and science.

Speaker ::   Kim Tallbear (Native Studies, U of Alberta)
Stirrers ::     Emily Simmonds (STS, York)
Michelle Murphy (WGSI & History, U of T)
Location | Time  ::  Studio 109, Artscape Youngplace,  4-6, p.m.

Ok, let’s get the obvious out of the way. The invite to this panel reads like a parody of academia.

Even within the rarefied air of the Ivory Tower, the claim that settler colonialism is built into science is more likely to produce eye-rolling than agreement. And while interdisciplinary studies thrive on odd pairings, the juxtaposition of the history of science with native studies is beyond esoteric. The number of people competent to speak to both the foundations of modern science as well as the theory and practice of tribalism and polygamy (ethical or otherwise), let alone the critique of marriage as integral to the “settler-colonial project” (don’t tell the US Supreme Court!), has to be vanishingly small.

But, behind all the post-colonial academic jargon, is a serious point. Modern science is an instrument, a theoretical construction, and, like all instruments, it must serve some master. So what project does it serve? What project should it serve?

These are in some ways obvious questions. Any time we speak of scientific research as useful we implicitly judge it by some standard of utility (whether it will extend human lifespan, allow for the creation of superconductors, etc.). But just because a question is obvious does not mean that it is being asked.

To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle. Too bad the contemporary academy seems determined to put on so many blinkers and lenses that it becomes nearly impossible to see that far.