|
a research paper by Peter Stewart |
||
|
|
The rationale and scope of an Indigenous Knowledge exhibition - a research paper by Peter Stewart Rationale for the exhibition The division between Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific knowledge is more apparent than real. The philosophy and history of science offers insights into how knowledges can experience changing status over time. Similarly the knowledge systems of different cultures have also experienced an uneven respect. It is possible to consider Indigenous knowledge as science. Scientific thought increasingly recognises that an orientation towards scientific thought and action is to be found in all cultures. The Dreaming is a highly complex body of knowledge that contains comprehensive theories about the origins of life, successfully tested hypotheses related to celestial and terrestrial navigation. There are technological achievements that demonstrate an understanding of such scientific disciplines as biology, physics, chemistry, meteorology, zoology, ecology and mathematics. The world now respects various expressions of Indigenous knowledge such as the aesthetics of traditional and contemporary art practice. Art in western critical thought is now understood as a form of text that can be read. It expresses many aspects of the Indigenous knowledge system and this provides the opportunity for the involvement of Indigenous artists in the development of exhibits. An exhibition can explore aspects of this system of representation, of recording, explaining and classifying phenomena. The Scope This paper explores Indigenous examples of applied science to range over the possible scope of what an exhibition of Indigenous knowledge might contain and how it could be best represented as a knowledge system in its own right. The purposes of knowledge are complex but at the core they serve to sustain environment and society. This exhibition has the potential to illustrate the diversity of regional knowledge. In particular how knowledge derives and serves the relationship between people and environment. This paper explores the potential scope of the exhibition through the following themes: Indigenous knowledge challenges and extends an understanding of science Understanding of science and technology beyond the western concept to include contributions made my Indigenous cultures Indigenous knowledge - a contribution to the converging domains of knowledge. Knowledge as metaphor - picturing the world Acknowledgment of Indigenous knowledge: the merging of understanding Areas of convergence, the contribution of Indigenous knowledge to applied ecology The place of country in the Indigenous Knowledge system The significance of land - categorisation systems The branches of knowledge - economic, religious, social, demographic, biological, environmental, technological, linguistic, religious |
.
|
|
|
||
