Social institutions such as healthcare and education have been examined through a lens of structural violence— the systematic ways by which social institutions place certain members at a disadvantage thus causing various types of harm. However, science has escaped such scrutiny. In a post-colonial world, new forms of colonisation have taken the place of traditional ones, from the colonisation of bodies to the more recent colonisation of genomes—geno-colonisation. Geno-colonisation serves as a mechanism by which certain groups are dominated through the use of scientific authority, in particular, culturally constructed races. This paper demonstrates the inextricable historical connection between race and social class, argues that the social institution of science is complicit in the maintenance of racially divided class, and that science should be interrogated as an institution through which structural violence works. Furthermore, evaluating science in the broader context of neo-liberal Capitalism moves towards ending the hegemonic colonisation and construction of Black-ness, and frees science from use as a tool of social domination.
Abstract for “Geno-colonisation: How science executes structural violence”
Published by Anthropology365
I'm Adam Johnson, an environmental anthropologist teaching at University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Northwest Vista College while completing my Ph.D. at UTSA after teaching as a lecturer at UNCC for 3 years. My work engages human-animal relations. I am interested in how humans and wild animals find ways to get along. The focus of my research are the intimate moments of encounter between humans and wild animals. My current project explores human-javelina relations in Texas, including: affective relationships between javelinas and property owners, tourist-javelina encounters at Big Bend National Park, and the intimacy and care that pairs with violence in hunting. I'm also interested in Science and Technology Studies, sexuality and gender, and primate behavior and ecology. View all posts by Anthropology365
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