{"id":147127,"date":"2024-05-23T13:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T13:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voxweb.nl\/?p=147021"},"modified":"2024-05-23T13:15:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T13:15:00","slug":"exhibition-at-huygens-building-sheds-light-on-non-western-roots-of-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voxweb.nl\/nieuws\/exhibition-at-huygens-building-sheds-light-on-non-western-roots-of-science","title":{"rendered":"Exhibition at Huygens building sheds light on non-Western roots of science"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the corner of the Library of Science, the library in the Huygens building, are two display cabinets with about fifty books and objects. These show how Islamic astronomers and African agronomists, among others, shaped the world of science. Old world maps, a Chinese compass, and an abacus lie amongst the objects. Together they illustrate a rich exchange between cultures and contributions to scientific breakthroughs.<\/p>\n

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Foto: Diede van der Vleuten<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

With the exhibition, named Global Knowledge Traditions<\/em>, the students \u2013 Manon Lambooij (History and Philosophy) and Tiegan Wilkinson (Biology) – want to emphasize why it\u2019s important to acknowledge and appreciate non-Western roots of science. \u2018Western science offers one approach to knowledge, but it\u2019s not the only one. Sometimes people act as if Western science is the only truth, while scientific discoveries also arise where you don\u2019t expect them.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lack of Books<\/h4>\n

During the selection of the books, Manon discovered that there are a lot of gaps in the knowledge at university. \u2018For example, the library has few books on African science. That says enough.\u2019 She believes this lack of sources reflects a broader historical neglect of non-Western contributions to science.<\/p>\n

The exhibition follows an earlier exposition<\/a> on female scientists, which has a clear overlap with the current subject, according to Tiegan. \u2018Both women and indigenous cultures are often considered irrelevant in science, despite both groups having provided essential work.\u2019<\/p>\n

Manon provides an example: \u2018Some instruments that came into use in the West in the 15th century, had already been developed much earlier in other parts of the world. And still, the West is often credited with their invention.\u2019 However, the students do see some progress. \u2018More and more people realise how important it is to tell these stories.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Foto: Diede van der Vleuten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both students had their work cut out for them when putting together the exhibition. \u2018Non-Western modes of thinking are too broad to put under a single label. The difference between \u2018Western\u2019 and \u2018non-Western\u2019 is man-made. We tend to forget that \u2018non-Western\u2019 encompasses the rest of the world.\u2019 The students emphasize the importance of recognising the value of scientific traditions worldwide. \u2018By doing so, we can learn more about science itself, but also how we approach it and value it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Powerless<\/h4>\n

And yet, that lack of recognition for non-Western traditions is more due to powerlessness than a lack of willingness, according to the students. After all, it takes a lot of time and money to look beyond Western science. Sometimes we simply do not have the means to explore different perspectives.<\/p>\n

Manon and Tiegan hope to contribute through their exposition. They hope people will come to the exhibition with questions and an open mind. \u2018It\u2019s important to broaden your perspective and to learn from unfamiliar traditions\u2019, according to Tiegan.<\/p>\n

Manon and Tiegan\u2019s exhibition can be seen in the Library of Science until November 1st.<\/em><\/p>\n

Translated by Stella Kuipers & Jasper Pesch.<\/em><\/p>\n

Het bericht Exhibition at Huygens building sheds light on non-Western roots of science<\/a> verscheen eerst op Vox magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the corner of the Library of Science, the library in the Huygens building, are two display cabinets with about\u2026<\/p>\n

Het bericht Exhibition at Huygens building sheds light on non-Western roots of science<\/a> verscheen eerst op Vox magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2453,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21744,27160,27161,27148,24257,25,27162,27150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","category-exhibition","category-huygens-building","category-library-of-science","category-manon-lambooij","category-nieuws","category-non-western-science","category-tiegan-wilkinson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147127"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147385,"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147127\/revisions\/147385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discomedia.nl\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}