SSRC+Abstract

We are at a point where the only way to move forward and create novel ideas it to bring together concepts that traditionally have remained separate. It is only through these newly emerging interdisciplinary fields and studies that we will be able to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the society we currently live in. This project brings together historical analysis, ethnography and social theory in order to better understand not only the production of science and the human-science relationship, but also structures of power and authority and how they have influenced the contemporary political and scientific matrix and our understanding of deviance. The DPDF section on cultures and histories of the human sciences specifically highlights projects “which shed fresh light on old issues” and “push at well established boundaries.” This is the objective of my dissertation. It is important not only to challenge the accepted structure of modern science, but also to question how it is that these sciences came about. Falling in line with the DPDF theme, this project analyzes concepts of deviance, norms and intelligence in the primitive and criminal mind and their relation to cognitive theory in STS. As Foucault points out in Madness and Civilization, there are forms of social control which need deviance in order to impose their version of normalcy - versions which impose ideology disguised as social, mental, or moral health. But cultural analysis of deviancy has gone beyond this negative critique: several scholars have demonstrated that while pathologizing the scientific “other,” science also appropriates their contributions, and its history is promptly cleansed of this muddled past. For example, Weatherford (1991) notes how native American’s indigenous pharmacology included bioactive substances still in use today (such as curare in eye surgery). This dissertation will examine a rich, underutilized resource in which there are many such examples of individuals operating outside of the norm; yet producing valid scientific and technological discoveries - some of which may have made their way into the mainstream of Western science and technology. Drawing on theories of the “primitive mind,” I demonstrate that individuals operating outside of the norm are just as capable of producing valid scientific and technological contributions as Western science experts. As Bronislaw Malinowski has pointed out, we will not fully understand the structure of human civilization until we have determined how culture relates to both the physical environment and human biological equipment. In The Primitive Mind and Modern Civilization, published in 1931, Charles Aldrich presents his interpretation of the “primitive man” and basic human nature from a Jungian perspective. Aldrich emphasizes two major points a) the existence and activity of a racial unconscious is the fundamental basis of cultural phenomena and b) the overwhelming importance of a gregarious instinct in the development of society. In this respect I align myself with Malinowski, who did not agree with Adrich's theory, but felt that in order to respond to these pressing issues it was necessary for psychology and anthropology to come together. The relationship between anthropology and psychology has continued to develop in recent years. In 1995 Edwin Hutchins proposed that the combination of cognitive theory combined with anthropological methods could produce a new interpretation of cognitive science. Hutchins then developed his “cognition in the wild” approach – the study of cognition in culturally constituted activities outside the laboratory – to compare traditional Micronesian and modern navigational systems, as well as computational and cognitive systems on a larger scale. Navigation as a metaphor has a long use in the human sciences, dating back to ancient the Greek use of spatial mapping as mnemonic technique and the invention of “cognitive maps” in contemporary cognitive science. Most recently in science and technology studies the study of Polynesian navigation has played an important role in postcolonial studies projects, such as those by David Turnbull and Ward Goodenough. My project builds on the tradition of navigational and maritime studies and cognitive theory by creating a comparative study between cognitive studies of indigenous navigation and my own work in criminal sciences and technologies. Utilizing Hutchin's theory of cultural cognition, this case study brings to light new meanings and interpretations of deviance and criminality, and will contribute to the transformation and understanding of contemporary cognitive science. Furthermore, this project is situated firmly within the STS postcolonial critique. Michael Ada's work, Machines as the Measure of Men, focused on the bias and prejudice through which dominant groups viewed marginal groups. While STS scholars such as Sandra Harding, have have brought the feminist perspective to this discussion, I seek to give a stronger voice to other marginalized groups, specifically criminals. As with any ethnography it is important to avoid both romanticizing and primitivizing the subject. A number of recent works offer alternatives to primitivism. It is in this category that I view Ron Eglash's African Fractals, which demonstrates a method by which to carry out simulation and modeling without being patronizing. David Turnbull's comparative study of polynesian navigational systems gives an excellent analysis of Polynesian science while avoiding a paternalistic tone, however, he does not give a voice to the people themselves. In this respect I plan to incorporate excerpts of the subjects voice in their own words when possible, imitating to a small degree Marjarie Shostack's style in Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. However, I also view the work of James Clifford as largely influential, both his critique of Nisa and his essays “Partial Truth” and “On Ethnographic Authority.” While I will be conducting a historical ethnography, I believe that if enough attention is given to context, I will be able to maintain a scientific perspective while giving a human voice and face to the topic.