"Racial" Economy of Science

"The classic and recent essays gathered here will challenge scholars in the natural sciences, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and women's studies to examine the role of racism in the construction and application of the sciences. Harding . . . has also created a useful text for diverse classroom settings." —Library Journal"A rich lode of readily accessible thought on the nature and practice of science in society. Highly recommended." —Choice"This is an excellent collection of essays that should prove useful in a wide range of STS courses." —Science, Technology, and Society" . . . important and provocative . . . " —The Women's Review of Books"The timeliness and utility of this large interdisciplinary reader on the relation of Western science to other cultures and to world history can hardly be overemphasized. It provides a tremendous resource for teaching and for research . . . " —Ethics"Excellent." —The Reader's Review"Sandra Harding is an intellectually fearless scholar. She has assembled a bold, impressive collection of essays to make a volume of illuminating power. This brilliantly edited book is essential reading for all who seek understanding of the multicultural debates of our age. Never has a book been more timely." —Darlene Clark HineThese authors dispute science's legitimation of culturally approved definitions of race difference—including craniology and the measurement of IQ, the notorious Tuskegee syphilis experiments, and the dependence of Third World research on First World agendas.

By racial economy Harding means those institutions, assumptions, and practices that are responsible for disproportionately distributing along 'racial' lines the benefits of Western science to the haves and the bad consequences to the have—nots, thereby enlarging the gap between them. Challenging traditional views of Western science as a progressive force and pure intellectual endeavor, she instead locates it as a Eurocentric institution shaped by the racist, sexist, and imperialist character of the dominant social order (from which ranks its practitioners are still largely drawn), and disserving the needs and interests of the peoples of the Third World and minorities in Western society. She further suggests that science itself has suffered as a creative force by neglecting the potential of non—Western contributions. An impressively broad array of scholarship has been assembled to explore these issues, drawn from scientists and historians of science, activists, and public policy analysts. The essays address themes of non—Western scientific traditions, scientific views of race, who gets to do science, regressive effects of technology on peoples of non—European origin, the supposed value neutrality of science, and the possibilities for a different relationship between science and society. A rich lode of readily accessible thought on the nature and practice of science in society. Highly recommended. General; undergraduate; graduate.

SANDRA HARDING, a philosopher, is Professor of Education and Women Studies at UCLA. She is author of Whose Science: Whose Knowledge?: Thinking from Women's Lives and The Science Question in Feminism, and editor of Feminism and Methodology: Social Science Issues.