In this podcast, we examine the rich historical roots and contemporary developments of scientific practice and related disciplines in Africa. Often misconstrued as outside the history of science, scholars and science practitioners alike have sought to demonstrate the vitality of science in Africa, and this podcast aims to share these critical perspectives with a wider audience. While each episode is unique, common threads of discussion are: research methods, discourses of health and science, varying understandings of health and scientific inquiry, and the ways that the social and scientific are intertwined. The podcast is aimed at students and scholars of African studies, as well as casual listeners who are interested in learning about science, technology, and healthcare on the continent. We interview historians, social scientists, and practitioners of medicine and science who have published work on a variety of topics including epidemics, pharmaceuticals, food security, and environmental change. Each episode features a different guest, and takes one of the interviewee’s publications as a jumping off point for discussion. The suggested reading is mentioned at the beginning of each episode and listed on the website, but the conversation will not be lost on listeners who have not read. A complete transcript is available for download on the website which will include references to other works that we make in the podcast. Episodes will be released on the last Friday of each month.
Hosts
Conor is in his fifth year of the Ph.D. program in History at Columbia. He is currently writing a dissertation on the ecological knowledge of Bantu speech communities in Africa’s Great Lakes Region from ca. 500 BCE to the nineteenth century. He uses a range of methods and forms of evidence to study this past, including historical linguistics, comparative ethnography, archaeology, oral traditions, and archival research. He can be reached at cjw2166@columbia.edu
Jessie is in her third year of the Ph.D. program in History at Columbia. She focuses on histories of gender and medicine, and is particularly interested in gendered medical interventions in post-independence Africa. Her current research is on histories of family planning and contraception in Ghana, using archival and oral history methods. She can be reached at jmc2377@columbia.edu
Credits
Support for this podcast is generously provided by the Columbia University Center for Science and Society.
The faculty advisor for this project is Rhiannon Stephens.
Transcriptions are provided by Annarosa Zampaglione.
Angie Reisch developed all graphics for the podcast and website.